No island holiday

Flight Sergeant Wayne Jones relaxes in his tent at Henderson Airfield in the Solomon Islands after a day of activity.

I HAD just arrived back in the section after lunch on Friday, June 19, when the phone rang.

Voice: Can you go to the Solomon Islands next week?

Me: Do I have a choice?

Voice: Not really.

Me: I guess I can.

Then started the mad rush – book travel to Townsville, go to medical and get a heap of injections, go home and explain to my wife that she will have to look after two-year-old twins on her own, manage the home extension that starts on Monday and, lastly, that I will be back in about four months.

Friday night was a flurry of packing and trying to organise what was left of my E2 kitting and wondering what jobs I had left unfinished at home and at work.

On Saturday I flew to Townsville to begin force preparation training on Sunday.

All equipment had to be sorted, prepared and packed during breaks in training. As it was such a short-notice deployment we were still trying to sort out what equipment needed to go and what had to stay.

The main Air Force contingent consisting of members from No. 38 Squadron and No. 386 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron arrived in the Solomons between July 24-29.

On arrival there were no accommodation arrangements so our airfield engineers found us an area to situate our campsite.

It was not until a week later that we really appreciated their forethought and expertise when the accommodation site selected by the Army was flooded and we remained high and dry. The rest of us secured office space wherever it could be found and went about our business of supporting 38SQN.

Our No. 1 Air Terminal Support detachment worked long and hard for the first week as tonnes of equipment arrived via the air bridge.

Supply runs into Honiara in the first few weeks to meet urgent demands really gave us an appreciation of the reason we were in the Solomon Islands.

There was still a “gang” presence around shops and on the streets, but the positive reception from the mass population was fantastic. When we were in the street or in shops people would come up and thank us for coming to help them.

The change in Honiara in the coming weeks was amazing and a testimony to the great job done by the combined police forces operating in the country.

The local markets were once again thriving and people were getting on with their lives without fear. It did not take long for the major warlords to surrender to police forces and many are awaiting trial for various crimes.

What really amazed me about this push was the way that a group of RAAFies, most who had never met, were able to quickly and effectively go about their jobs and yet have the best living accommodation on the airfield.

It did not take us long to migrate from mozzie domes and bush showers to 14 x 22 tents with wooden floors, a field-shower tent with hot, running water and an air-conditioned recreation area.

While the rest of the camp was trudging through mud with no electricity, no showers and no hot water we were slowly but surely improving our living conditions to make life in the hot and wet conditions as comfortable as possible.
After nearly 100 days in the Solomons it was time to come home. I returned with the feeling that Op Helpem Fren had indeed been a success.

The work of the combined police forces and the military from many countries in the Pacific will help the people of the Solomon Islands get back on to their feet and allow them to live the life they deserve.

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