Ted takes on Middle East
A plastic kangaroo deployed on Operation Catalyst has become an Aussie celebrity, as CPL Simone Liebelt discovered.

SGT Darryl Engler with his blow-up kangaroo Ted at a Coalition base in the Middle East.

Ted joins country singer Beccy Cole on stage during a Tour de Force concert.

Photo by CPL Simone Liebelt

A BLOW-UP kangaroo called Ted has made a big name for himself at a large Coalition base in the Middle East – all for a good cause.

Ted’s owner, Sergeant Darryl Engler, has become known as the “kangaroo man” around the base, due to his life-size travelling companion sporting an Australian flag design and a happy grin.

He takes Ted with him everywhere, leaving onlookers bewildered at seeing a bright blue Aussie emblem amidst the stark desert landscape and camouflage uniforms.

The novelty has been very well received by the Coalition – which is exactly what SGT Engler was expecting, in order to make his ingenious plan work.

The airfield defence guard from RAAF Base Amberley is currently deployed in the Middle East supporting the C-130 detachment.

Only days before leaving the country, his five-year-old son, Isaiah, underwent major surgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Sydney to remove a brain tumour on his right temporal lobe. He was discharged from the hospital the day before his dad left for the Middle East.

“Everyone was just magnificent, particularly Dr Annie Bye and Dr Erika Jacobson from the Royal Children’s Hospital at Randwick, Greg Dodwell and Amy Lonergan from the telemetry section and the staff at the intensive care unit, C1 North and Ronald McDonald House,” he said.

“We wanted to wait until I got back from the deployment in March (next year) to have the operation done, but they pulled a lot of strings to get Isaiah through the surgery before I left, so I felt much more confident leaving Australia knowing he was out of theatre and well enough to go home.”

He said only weeks after the surgery, Isaiah has fully recovered without any side effects.

“Like any normal five-year-old boy, he’s getting around kicking the footy and swimming, so he’s doing just great,” he said.

SGT Engler was so grateful for the support received by everyone involved, that he wanted to thank them in any way he could – which is where Ted comes in.

“I brought Ted over from home in the hope of selling him off at the end of my tour to raise a few dollars for the Royal Children’s Hospital,” he said. “The Americans have been asking me where they can they get one here, which they can’t, so hopefully that will increase his value down the track so I can raffle or auction him off.

“I take him everywhere with me – the mess, the gym, the movies, the firing range – and he always turns peoples’ heads. It’s amazing how many people don’t want to sit next to you at dinner with a blow-up kangaroo sitting beside you.

“The first time I went to the mess, I had a whole table to myself; there were people nudging in between each other just to eat their meal because they thought there was something wrong with me.”

He said despite the odd looks and comments, Ted always brings a smile to peoples faces.

“It’s such a great morale booster, because people can’t help but smile, even if it’s just a little one. It also makes a good icebreaker, because people start talking and that’s how you make friends.

“Even the US base commander came up to me and said ‘Where do you get a blow-up kangaroo in a place like this?’.
“The desert roo is the mascot for the C-130 detachment here, so everyone instantly knows it’s Aussie. I’ve only had one guy say to me, ‘What sort of dog is that?’.”

He said he’ll be sad to leave Ted behind, but looks forward to finding him a good home.

“If there’s an American family or unit that can take him home and put him in their boozer or wherever, and there’s a story behind it, then they can gladly take him,” he said.

“You don’t really understand until you’re in that situation with your own family how important it is to try and help
others out in the same predicament. So if I can make $50 or $100 for the Children’s Hospital from Ted, then I’ll be happy.”

Nearly $4000 has been raised in donations so far for the Royal Children’s Hospital - thanks to Ted’s popularity.

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What Ted’s done over the last few months

• He’s met Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer, CDF Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston and all the Tour de Force performers, including Angry Anderson, Beccy Cole, Little Patty and Bessie Bardot.
  
• He’s been a guest selector in the Desert Australian Ashes team that beat England 2-1 over the Christmas period.
  
• He’s flown in an Aussie C-130, an American C-17 Globemaster, J Star and F15 fighter, and a British Tornado with a navigator named John Howard. He’s received certificates of all his flight missions and has been booked on other Coalition flights.

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