As a contemporary and proactive establishment, the Australian Army is constantly progressing to accommodate multifaceted hurdles. This includes effective deployment and organisation, investing in the latest military technology, and providing incomparable education and coaching. Our defence force is one of the world’s leading military forces.
There’s no better way to acknowledge the members of Australia’s military forces than by thanking them and recognising the service they do for our community.
The annual Holsworthy Barracks Sergeants Mess Christmas Party was one such opportunity to combine members of the public and defence force to encourage, support and maintain relationships through continued trying times. The Australian Army Defence Force has several units of operations that all achieve to one purpose: to serve the community.
Warrant Officer Class One Glen Donaldson, Regimental Sergeant Major, 5th Brigade speaks in detail about the event: “I think the message through the community from my perspective is our ability to say thank you. We know that the community are always seeking opportunities to thank members in uniform, and today’s activity gives us that opportunity to be able to say thank you collectively.”
“We appreciate that the community want to support us, and equally, we want to support the community the best way we can. Bringing us together gives us that opportunity to do so. We also want to say thank you to the community for their continued support.”
Keeping News Local had the privilege of interviewing some members of the Australian Army Defence Force, all of whom have 15-30 years’ experience. Their roles, accomplishments, keen skills and aptitude make it easy to recognise why these unique people are the elected who lead our nation’s Army.
Major Will Miles is the Operations Officer from the School of Military Engineering. This school is instrumental in the functioning of the defence force, focusing on advanced scientific projects and future developments.
Sergeant MacLeod is a Geospatial Technician. His team uses geospatial data to create mapping products, assist in intelligence assessments and support the commander’s decision-making process.
Officer Darren is a Regional Education Officer, who works with his team to ensure all educational tools are available across the defence force networks. One of the most important and complex divisions of the Defence Force.
Warrant Officer Class Two David Eason is a multimedia technician in graphics. His role and his team use training products that implement state-of-the-art software to develop informative marketing products for army and defence.
Up close and personal with Warrant Officer Class One Glen Donaldson, Regimental Sergeant Major, 5th Brigade:
Q: Do you work together with the community, or for the community?
A: Both. The defence force has been extremely busy with a number of domestic operations over the last couple of years and the community has always stood by us. We appreciate the community has faced some really hard times. Whilst we are always at the forefront of doing the hard, manual labour, we are doing it side-by-side with the community. When incidents occur, the community never get a chance to say thank you because when we complete the task, its then time leave. So this is the opportunity for us to get together to say thank you to each other. We work with each other, and for the community.
Q: The defence force is seen in the community in domestic operations all the time. Why do we need special days to talk with you?
A: You don’t; however we sometimes we forget that we [defence force] are members of the community. When I go home, I take off my green uniform, I live amongst the community and I am part of the community. We do have open days where we invite the public to come and visit. It’s not always about thanking, or giving, but also the opportunity to converse and build relationships.
Q: Why is it important to acknowledge our defence force members? Isn’t this your job?
A: It’s uplifting. It means what I am doing means something to someone else. Service is about giving greater than yourself. I’ve been doing this for 30 years. We all put our heart and soul into it, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
If you would like more information about the Australian Army or the Australian Defence Force, visit www.defence.gov.au
Sponsors for the event: Canterbury Bankstown Chamber of Commerce – CBCC, Dough Boss, Franky and Co, Defence Bank, Trooper Lu’s Garage.
Original article: https://keepingnewslocal.com.au/feature-articleaustralian-army-defence-force-holsworthy-barracks-sergeants-mess-say-thank-you/