Our People in QLD
Mark Smith - Townsville
The Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace is a complicated agreement and Townsville’s Major Mark Smith now has the job of coordinating the international peace-monitoring operation in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
Mark is now the senior Operations staff officer with the Australian contingent at the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO). The MFO was created in 1979, the same year the treaty was signed, and Australians have been part of it ever since.
Mark was born in Gosford, but joined the Army as an infantryman in 1981 and moved to Townsville where he’s lived ever since.
“Being in the Army is something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Mark.
“The travel, being in uniform, representing my country and being part of a team are the things that appealed to me most.”
After a ten-year stint with the Army, Mark worked as a Police Officer in Townsville for another ten years before rejoining the Regular Army in 2001.
“I missed the Army lifestyle – things like physical training and being part of big family,” Mark said.
“When I was asked if I wanted to go to Egypt I didn’t know anything about the operation – only that it was a sort of peacekeeping mission.”
Now two months into a six month deployment, Mark is eating, drinking and dreaming about his job.
“I work with a Canadian, a Fijian, a Uruguayan, a Colombian and another Australian – It’s really a reflection of the whole MFO,” said Mark.
“Managing language and cultural differences is a real challenge but we work very well together – it’s the best part of working in the MFO.”
But Mark is also looking forward to getting back to Australia when his deployment finishes.
“I’ve worked out how lucky we are living in Australia – seeing how some people live in this part of the world really shows how good life is back at home,” said Mark.
“I miss my wife Marianne, son Nicholas and daughter Rhiannon and can’t wait to see them again. One of the first things I’ll do is go on a holiday around Australia and fully appreciate what it means to be an Australian!”