Our People in NSW
Vicki Ide - Coffs Harbour and Orange
Nothing moves in the Sinai Peninsular without the knowledge of local girl Vicki Ide.
Vicki is now working in the peace-monitoring operations centre at the headquarters of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO). The MFO was set up in 1979, the same year the Treaty was signed, and Australians have been part of it ever since.
Now promoted to Sergeant, Vicki joined the Army in 1997 for the adventure, lifestyle and the camaraderie. She is certainly finding that in this desert mission.
The Sinai is one of the most war-torn pieces of land in history. The first battle of Armageddon was fought not far to the north between the Egyptians and the Hittites over 3,000 years ago.
Based in the MFO’s North Camp, Vicki is working with military personnel from twelve different nations including Canada, Fiji, Colombia, Hungary and Uruguay.
“Being able to use my years of training on an operation is very rewarding,” Vicki said
“My daily role is to monitor and co-ordinate all vehicle movements from the Suez in the west to the Egypt-Israel border in the east.
“We give all drivers a movement’s brief at the start of the day and, as they move through the area, we record where they are and what the conditions are like — it’s a duty that we take very seriously.”
“It’s even more important when the desert whips up sand storms. Keeping in touch with the MFO personnel as they move between camps is vital.
“If a vehicle has a breakdown or gets into trouble, it means we are able to send out an emergency response team to help,” Vicki said.
As the operations centre Vicki receives also reports from the outlying observation posts and in the event of a breach to the Treaty of Peace, can send an investigation team to verify the report.
“It has been a very busy but rewarding so far,” Vicki said. “The commanders place a lot of trust in our training and our abilities.”
On her return to Australia next April, Vicki is looking forward to catching up with her family and her daughter Paige.
“Although we are surrounded by sand out here, I am looking forward to going to the beach when I get home — and driving on the right side of the road!”