By FLGOFF Melinda Boneham
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Leading
Aircraftman Brett McMurrugh and his Commander’s Coin.
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LEADING
Aircraftman Brett McMurrugh, a cook from No. 381 Expeditionary
Combat Support Squadron, has received a Commander’s Coin
in appreciation of his good cooking and Aussie humour while on
deployment.
Working in the combined mess in the Middle East, LAC McMurrugh
displayed his usual friendly service and good humour while serving
a regular diner in civilian clothes, unaware that he was General
Denis Tabbernor, Commander Canadian Joint Task Force South West
Asia.
Over several weeks, the two built up a good rapport, with the
General often engaging LAC McMurrugh in conversation over meals
he had enjoyed.
On his last day as Canadian Commander, GEN Tabbernor approached
LAC McMurrugh to thank him for his outstanding meal preparation
and his larrikin humour, which he found “refreshing”.
After shaking hands, LAC McMurrugh felt something in his hand
– a Commander’s Coin. A limited number of these coins
are presented by the Canadian Commander as a reward for outstanding
service or significant contribution to operations.
The greatest challenge for Australian cooks in the MEAO field
kitchen is managing different culinary tastes, with their coalition
partners preferring sweet, fatty foods to spicy ones.
While preparing various dishes, they often slip Vegemite into
the mix to boost the flavour, which is proving very popular.
Bronze
Star a Shaw reward
By
LACW Simone Liebelt
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Brigadier
General Larry Newman, Coalition Forces Land Component Assistant
Chief of Staff, Logistics, presents Wing Commander Greg
Shaw with the Bronze Star.
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AFTER
three months of managing transport operations on a scale never
seen in Australia, Wing Commander Gregory Shaw has been awarded
a Bronze Star for his work in the Middle East Area of Operations.
WGCDR Shaw was honoured with the US wartime award on August 4
for his service as Deputy Operations Officer of the Coalition’s
Joint Movement Centre (JMC) at a camp in the MEAO from February
16 to May 11.
WGCDR Shaw was responsible for overseeing the planning, coordination
and tracking of numerous missions for coalition Air Force, Army,
Navy and Special Forces in the combat zone.
During the operational build up, he successfully managed the movements
of more than 300,000 personnel, 2500 air missions and 250 ships
within three major areas of operations – the Persian Gulf,
the Horn of Africa and Afghanistan.
WGCDR Shaw said the professional highlight of his deployment was
forming part of a large and complex effort that allowed the combatant
commanders to prosecute their missions successfully.
“With about 60-70 personnel at the JMC, we executed one of
the largest movements of personnel and equipment in history,”
he said. “We were all working 20 hours a day, seven days
a week for over three months, so everyone got tired, but we all
understood the importance of our mission and just kept up the
effort.”
The most memorable moments of the deployment for WGCDR Shaw were
the first missile launch alert (followed by another half a dozen)
and the first train ride from Umm Qasr to Baghdad on the Iraqi
railway after the war.
“The railcars had no brakes and were stopped at the stations
by gravity and the rail workers throwing rocks under the wheels,”
he said. “There are no signals on the line so the train drivers
used a token system to detect if there were any other trains on
the track. Luckily it’s a relatively flat line.”
WGCDR Shaw believes Air Force training and teamwork while on detachment
contributed to his receiving the Bronze Star – a rare honour
for Australians.
“I am proud to have been awarded a Bronze Star, but I was
only part of a team.
There were also Australian movements staff in the Australian National
Headquarters and Movement Control Detachments throughout the MEAO
that were responsible for the vast majority of movements issues
and they did a fantastic job,” he said.
Intelligent
approach
Specialists demonstrate capabilities
By
W02 Al Green
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Group
Captain Pat Cunningham, Senior Intelligence Officer, believes
the performance of Intellos in the MEAO is an indication
of how far the Air Force specialisation has developed over
the past few years.
Photo by WO2 Al Green
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ONE
of the contributors to mission success in Iraq has been the integration
of specialised Air Force Intelligence staff into the coalition
force structure.
There they proved adaptive in supporting air, sea and ground operations
across the Middle East Area of Operations.
For Group Captain Pat Cunningham, Senior Intelligence Officer,
this success is an indication of how far the Air Force Intelligence
specialisation has developed over the past few years.
“The airmen and women deployed during war-fighting operations
and now in support of restoration in Iraq have successfully taken
on a broad range of operational intelligence roles from targeting
through to force protection,” GPCAPT Cunningham said.
“The array of specialist capabilities was demonstrated clearly
in a joint environment and acknowledged as extremely professional
by our coalition partners.”
The return for the Air Force, he observes, will be a more experienced
and knowledgable Intel specialisation and, importantly, one that
can play a full role in all aspects of ADF and coalition operations
globally.
For GPCAPT Cunningham, leading the Intellos is just one in a series
of personal firsts, having in the past two years being appointed
the first Air Force J2 in HQ NORCOM and the first Intello Base
Commander (RAAF Darwin).
He was particularly pleased about being able to help Air Force
Intellos rise up and exceed the requirement levied on them operationally
as they took on an extensive range of intelligence tasking.
“This can only bode well for the Air Force and our ability
to meet new challenges,” he said.
“It has been a significant personal experience for me to
lead an excellent group of specialists who have value-added to
the coalition plan.”
