No beef about this job ... Leading Aircraftman Peter Fisher provides water for a mob of thirsty cows

Leading Aircraftmen Peter Fisher and Ben Adams, both carpenters, found themselves on a civil aid task to provide water to 1200 head of cattle and 20 stock horses participating in a recent 2002 Year of the Outback event.

The mob were over-nighting beside RAAF Base Tindal and a cry for Air Force help came when the scheduled water truck broke down.

LAC Fisher's unit is No. 1 Combat Logistics Squadron, Det A, RAAF Tindal, but on this occasion it was more like No. 1 Cow Logistics Squadron.

The 2002 Year of the Outback stock-droving event started in Mataranka and followed the old stock route north past the entrance to RAAF Tindal and on to the Katherine sale yards in the Northern Territory.

"We haven't had rain up here for a couple of months, so the water supplies on the stock route are pretty dry and stagnant," LAC Adams said.

"The drovers and the cattle seemed pretty excited when we turned up with our tanker full of crystal-clear water."

LACs Fisher and Adams provided about 40,000 litres for the cattle using one of their new Mack Truck Water Tankers purchased for RAAF Airfield Engineering.

By SQNLDR Matt Thorpe