Volume 48, No. 23, December 14, 2006
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I’VE LOST MY MOJO: FSGT John Usher doesn’t move a whisker as 11SQN CO WGCDR Ted Saunders shaves off his 27-year-old moustache as part of the squadron’s ‘Movember’ fundraising efforts. FSGT Usher challenged his workmates to raise $300 in two days, offering his mo up for the chop.
Photos by LAC Casey Smith
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He grins and bears his new look, and inset left, real Muppet Waldorf and his famous mo. |
By Andrew Stackpool
MEMBERS of 11SQN got things started recently when they put on their own Muppet show.
Every November, a charity event called ‘Movember’ raises awareness of men’s health issues by encouraging people to grow moustaches.
11SQN technicians at RAAF Base Edinburgh heard about the event and decided to have a go.
LAC Joe Jackson said they formed a team called the Muppets, captained by CPL Adrian Borlace, after hearing the event advertised on Adelaide radio.
The team comprised CPLs Adrian Borlace, Robert Bishop, Mick Devlin, Brandon Arnold, Trevor Austen, Craig Underwood and Nick McKenzie, and LACs Joe Jackson, Josh Palmer and Pat Kenny.
“When we are on deployment we often have mo-growing competitions,” LAC Jackson said.
“So, we felt this was also an opportunity to have a bit of fun and raise money for a good cause at the same time.
“In the past we have raised money for breast cancer, Ronald McDonald House, and also the Phoenix Society for the mentally disabled.”
The team found sponsors around the base and among the local community and, by the end of the month, raised $5000 for their hairy efforts.
“LAC Pat Kenny had the biggest mo, but CPL Borlace had the best. CPL Mick Devlin by far made the feeblest attempt,” he said.
While the Muppets were growing moustaches, a veteran mo was about to be shed for the same cause.
On Melbourne Cup day (November 7), 11SQN’s maintenance coordinator FSGT John Usher challenged them. If they could raise $300 in two days (by Friday), he would shave off his moustache, a veteran of 27 of his 30 years in the Air Force.
FSGT Usher said he had intended to remove the mo on the morning of November 1 and participate in Movember with the rest of the team.
“I was running a bit behind schedule that morning and didn’t do it,” he said.
“After that, I thought I’d just support the other guys without actually being involved in the team.”
“That mo had been posted to Adelaide, Richmond, Melbourne, Richmond and back to Adelaide and went on deployments to places such as Malaysia, Hawaii and Texas and even managed to get an American University Card,” LAC Jackson said. “His wife had never seen him without it.”
The Muppets were more than equal to the task. 11SQN eagerly contributed, as did the 92WG P3 Club and 10SQN and 92WG EBUS section social clubs.
”We raised $400 and he agreed to go through with it.
“I thought they may struggle to get this much [$300], but was sure they would,” FSGT Usher said.
“On Friday, I told the family I’d be mo-less next time they saw me. The guys had raised $400, so the mo had to come off.”
It was an enthusiastic crowd that gathered in the 11SQN hangar to watch CO WGCDR Ted Saunders do the honours.
“I thought ‘Geez, oh well, it’s done’. I got mixed opinions from the squadron, but nothing derogatory.
“The kids laughed when they saw it [my face] and my wife just said, ‘grow it back’.”
