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Anzac saviours
The legend of Anzac continues within the ruins of the Banda Aceh Hospital.
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Water safety
The battle to save lives does not start and end in a hospital. Outside the clinical boundaries is another battlefront where Australian engineers are fighting hard to save lives by providing safe drinking water in Banda Aceh.
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Reserves pitch in
Some people think that mateship is a cliché. For the Victorians of Rifle Company Butterworth (RCB) mateship is second nature.
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In the presence of disaster
For many Australians the saga of the Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami were events that unfolded on the television screen.
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Hope floats

New Years Eve should be a time of rejoicing. For the families of the crew of HMAS Kanimbla it was a mixture of sadness and pride.
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Aceh's rotors of mercy

There are not enough words in the English language to describe the destruction along the west coast of Aceh.
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Squaddie shares the Anzac Legend

When Corporal Jason Summerfield saw the news of the devastating Asian tsunami of Boxing Day 2004, he suspected he might be recalled to duty.
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Sumatra's rising sun
From the safety of a salvaged humidicrib the eyes of a baby boy look into those of an Australian Army medic.

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Eyes of the storm
The eyes tell you what the mind refuses to comprehend.

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King of the sea
Banda Aceh has become the temporary home to many helicopters of different makes and operating countries.
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Engineered to succeed
You'd be excused for looking at the devastation in Banda Aceh and thinking the situation was hopeless. The scale of the destruction created by the Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami left many survivors thinking the task of clearing away the rubble and starting again was too big.
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Leading by example
The challenge of commanding Defence personnel busy working in tsunami-devastated Aceh is one, which Brigadier Dave Chalmers is well suited for, says Corporal Cameron Jamieson
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Aid flies in on Aussie wings
Barely 48 hours after the Boxing Day Tsunami, the first of two 36 Squadron C-130Hs touched down in Medan, Indonesia, providing an air lift capability to the international humanitarian assistance effort.
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Healing hands hard at work

As an Army Reserve surgeon, Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Ellis from Willoughby has often answered the call for duty.
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In Banda Aceh, unloading has been a big problem with no easy solution
Ships are great for moving lots of freight long distances, provided you can get the cargo off at the other end.
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Getting ashore without a port
There's a major problem planning coastal operations in the Banda Aceh area.
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Midnight oil burnt in abundance

THE race to get HMAS Kanimbla loaded with supplies for Banda Aceh required fuel of a different kind for the supply personnel at Darwin Naval Base.
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Air Force helps control Aceh's skies

The Air Force is assisting their Indonesian counterparts in managing the busy skies over Banda Aceh during one of the world's biggest humanitarian relief efforts.
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Mission arduous but rewarding
A crew member on the first B707 assistance flight to arrive in Indonesia after the tsunami catastrophe has described the mission as arduous but rewarding.
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HMAS Kanimbla was the Oriental Queen in previous life
Before it was broken down and scrapped in 1973, the original HMAS Kanimbla held a close connection with the Indonesian people as it was known to them as the "Oriental Queen".
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HMAS Kanimbla searches for land-access point
The task of navigating HMAS Kanimbla as close to the coast of Aceh as possible to off-load much-needed engineering equipment and supplies has proven to be a difficult task.
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Father and son assist relief operation
When Sergeant Peter Gray left for Operation Sumatra Assist following the tsunami disaster, he never expected he would be working alongside his son in the humanitarian relief effort.
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Air Force Hercs aid cricket appeal

A packed crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) were given a treat during the World Cricket Tsunami Appeal match on Monday January 10 when two Air Force Hercules made a special appearance between innings.
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145 Signal Squadron signaller deploys to Aceh
Some special family time was set aside by Australian Army signaller Corporal David Chatterton from 145 Signal Squadron, when he found out he was going to help tsunami-affected people on Operation Sumatra Assist.
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145 Signal Squadron officer deploys to Aceh
A young 20 year-old Australian Army lieutenant from 145 Signal Squadron is the latest addition to the ADF's tsunami relief effort, Operation Sumatra Assist.
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HMAS Kanimbla On Its Way To Aceh
Hope is floating swiftly to the tsunami-affected people of Indonesia with HMAS Kanimbla transiting the Lombok Straits, with an expected arrival in Sumatra later this week.
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Conditions of service for Operation Sumatra Assist

Personnel Policy and Employment Conditions Branch has released conditions of service for Operation Sumatra Assist.
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Co-ordination of a secondary hospital in Banda Aceh

AUSTRALIAN Defence Force personnel have been co-ordinating the establishment of a secondary hospital in Banda Aceh in preparation for Australian civilian doctors and medical personnel arriving in the region.
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Australian Army surgeons draw on previous tsunami relief experience
THE Australian Army Medical teams from 1 Health Support Battalion (1HSB) currently treating casualties of the tsunami in Banda Aceh, have dealt with injuries from this type of disaster before.
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Australian and US forces evacuate the injured
An Evacuation of tsunami disaster victims from Banda Aceh to a forward operating base in Medan has heralded the start of successful combined forces operations between the US and Australian Defence Force.
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From CDF: Support as long as needed

CDF GEN Peter Cosgrove has been unstinting in his praise of the ADF's personnel involved in the disaster relief operations in Indonesia's Aceh Province following the earthquake and tsunamis that cleaved a path of destruction through Sumatra.
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Four Iroquois ready for tsunami disaster relief
FOUR Army UH-1H Iroquois "Huey" helicopters from 5 Aviation Regiment have arrived in Indonesia, to provide humanitarian assistance to isolated tsunami devastated areas of Sumatra.
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ADF turns out for disaster relief
THE ADF has once again demonstrated what it does best, assisting those in times of need wherever and whenever needed after the horrific earthquake and tsunamis that ripped apart whole communities between Sumatra and the East African coast on Boxing Day, December 26.
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Army produces fresh potable water for devastated Banda Aceh
HUNDREDS of soldiers from across the ADF have been recalled from Christmas leave to support urgent disaster relief operations in the most devastated regions of tsunami-affected Indonesia.
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More Army engineers prepare for deployment on Operation Sumatra Assist
A further 150 solders from 1 Combat Engineer Regiment (1CER), Robertson Barracks in the Northern Territory are to be deployed to Banda Aceh on Operation Sumatra Assist this Friday.
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