In a gesture that has further strengthened ties between Defence and Queensland Police, Commissioner of Police Bob Atkinson APM has donated four pastel artworks which highlight the history of Victoria Barracks to the Defence Reserves Support Council.

Commissioner Atkinson donated the artworks, which he won during the Defence Charity Ball silent auction in September, while attending the recent Supportive Employers’ Pageant and Open Day at the Barracks.

When the Commissioner realised he was the successful bidder for the artworks, he immediately thought their true home was at Victoria Barracks Brisbane. So when Defence Reserves Support staff members asked the Commissioner if they could borrow the artworks for the Open Day, he quickly agreed.

“I am a great admirer of history and there is a wonderful history between the Queensland Police Service, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and Victoria Barracks,” said Commissioner Atkinson.

“When I saw them here today it was clear and obvious that this is where they belong and that this is their home.

“I was just delighted that the people organising this event today saw fit to put them on display.”

More than 1200 South-East Queenslanders came to the event, which celebrated Queensland’s 150th birthday and also commemorated the opening of Victoria Barracks on 27 October 1864 — 145 years ago.

Since the official opening of the Barracks, the area has been modelled and remodelled to accommodate Queensland’s Defence and police personnel.

“I think it is so important that we preserve and value our history, that’s not just the history of how this place started, but all the things that have happened between then and now,” he said.

“This day will go down in the history of Victoria Barracks and people will look back on us, one day, and the photographs and record of today, 100 years from now, maybe with a sense of amusement and enjoyment of an earlier time.

“It’s nice to be a part of this. The Police Department and I feel quite privileged that we are able to engage with the Defence Force and be part of the history of Victoria Barracks.”

The Commissioner also said he was “very proud” that so many Queensland Police members served as Reservists.

“I think it is true to say that in an earlier time, and quite properly so, the situation was that the Defence Force looked after Australia’s security at a national level in terms of those who would do us harm from outside of Australia.

“Fortunately all of that wonderful work and the wars that they were involved in took place off shore and the Police Department was seen as providing for Australia’s safety and security internally.

“That all changed after September 11 in terms of the threat of international terrorism and if it did not change then it certainly changed after Bali, a year, a month and a day later after on 12 October 2002.

“So, we work more closely together now… the importance of that relationship cannot be underestimated.”

“While it is great that my people can support the ADF by being Reservists, equally they get a lot from that and bring a lot back to the Police Department. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

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The Honourable Daryl Manzie’s CV reads like an extract from Who’s Who.

A Territorian for more than 40 years, the Chair of the Northern Territory’s Committee of the Defence Reserves Support Council says he hopes his six-year stint in the job will have resulted in growing the awareness of the benefits of employing Australian Defence Force Reservists.

Daryl’s retirement from a distinguished political career six years ago turned out to be a gain for the Defence Reserves Support Council and by no means signalled an end to the public service and civic duty that have been the hallmarks of his career. As the presenter of a Top End’s 104.1 FM current affairs show, he likes to “keep his finger on the pulse” of a community in which more than 10 percent of workers are directly or indirectly involved in Defence.

“I don’t go in for the shock-jock stuff on my radio show,” Daryl joked.

“We’ve interviewed everyone on my show from the Prime Minister down. We’ve had John Howard and Kevin Rudd in the studio and we talk with them and others about any issue that’s directly relevant to the Territory — whether that’s news and current affairs or sports and entertainment,” he said.

Before he came to the DRSC, Daryl spent 15 years as a police officer and 18 years as a Territory politician, including stints as Attorney General and as a cabinet minister in portfolios as diverse as health and education.

He also spent some years in the Territory Cabinet position as the Minister for Defence Support, a portfolio that makes him uniquely qualified to appreciate the big picture of the region and the military’s mutual reliance; a long-standing partnership that began with Darwin’s active involvement in WWII.

“It’s not just that Defence employs so many people here, it’s that the Territory’s history reflects the close ties the area has with the ADF. People tend to forget that Darwin was directly involved in the Second World War for 18 months,” Daryl said.

“Sydney might have had a miniature sub find its way into the harbour and had a bit of a scare but Darwin was bombed constantly by the Japanese for 18 months. That history has helped make a community that appreciates the importance of a strong Defence Force,” he said.

In addition to his role as the NT Committee Chair, Daryl finds time for the aforementioned radio journalism career as well as a bewildering and impressive list of hobbies and public service pursuits. He’s Patron of the Northern Territory Variety Club and the Northern Territory Football Association and is into vintage cars; getting around in a 1959 Mercedes Benz or an old Yamaha 650 motorcycle as the mood takes him. Each year, Daryl also joins a panel of judges to bestow the Territory’s Tourism Awards — along with Defence, the Territory’s major money spinner in terms of the local and national economy. He also likes to keep fit. One of his earliest inaugural actions as Committee Chair was to participate in a rigorous Exercise Executive Stretch for a first-hand look at what DRS puts the bosses through and in his spare time Daryl is a keen dragon boat racer with the Arafura Dragon Boat club. He even paddled his way to a bronze medal with the Australian Team when it contested the World Championship in 2006.

Married with three children and eight grandchildren, Daryl’s goals for his time with DRS are deceptively modest.

“During the past six years as Chair of the Territory’s Committee I hope I’ve managed to grow public recognition about the importance of Reservists in the military,” Daryl said.

“There used to be this perception among the community in general and ADF full-timers in particular that Reservists were just weekend warriors, a kind of Dad’s Army that was marginal to the country’s defence effort.

“People are only just now starting to appreciate the terrific things that Reservists have been doing in Defence — whether that’s keeping the peace in the Solomons or helping to re-build East Timor after a devastating civil war. In the Territory, people understand Defence’s role in keeping our borders secure; Navy, Army and Air Force are strongly supported here. Many of the crews of Patrol Boats include Reservists in key roles. They’re doing great work helping to keep our borders secure.”

Daryl's job at DRS, in fact, all of Daryl’s jobs, benefit from his strong ties to the community as well as his easy sociability.

“I do a lot of talking to people,” he jokes.

“A very large part of my job involves getting together with people, talking to them and hearing their views on the things that matter to them. It’s all part of educating employers on the positive benefits of having Reservists working for them and telling the community what a great job Reservists are doing.

“When they employ a Reservist, employers are not just about getting more than $1000 per week compensation under the Employer Support Payment scheme. They’re getting staff with tremendous self-discipline and dedication who have received management and skills training that’s incredibly valuable.”

The call came in the middle of the night for the medics aboard HMAS KANIMBLA.

After an exhausting day spent treating the victims of Sumatra’s earthquake, a rapid response team geared up quickly and a landing craft was launched to take doctors and nursing staff to shore where they were needed.

Army soldiers involved earlier in the day with rebuilding Sumatra’s earthquake-damaged infrastructure were suffering from what doctors describe as “acute respiratory distress”; swollen tongues and severe difficulty breathing. It was as though a whole section of troops was suffering from a severe and life-threatening allergic reaction.

“The troops had contracted a very uncommon disease,” said Lieutenant Commander Noel Tait, a Wollongong-based surgeon, who was serving his first operational deployment as a Reservist aboard the KANIMBLA at the time.

“Scomboid Disease is caused by an excess of histamines in the bloodstream.

“The emergency response team dispatched very quickly and stayed on the island overnight before we could bring the troops back aboard for hospital care. It was a dramatic incident that highlighted the team’s efficiency. All the members of the medical team put the time that we’d been trained together to good use. The team worked very well together,” Lieutenant Commander Tait said.

“During my two week deployment, we had many other emergencies to deal with including joint and crushing injuries, burns caused by the earthquake, a case of lymphatic cancer and we even delivered a baby.”

A Professor of Surgery at Wollongong Hospital and the University of Wollongong, Lieutenant Commander Tait and an emergency medical team comprised almost solely of Reservists were part of the ADF’s rapid response to Sumatra’s call for international help.

Operation Padang Assist was a measured and graduated response from the ADF that delivered fresh water, tonnes of equipment and humanitarian supplies as well as fresh drinking water within days of the earthquake off Sumatra that killed more than 1000 people.

“I’ve only joined the Reserves recently and have only just finished Officer Training School,” Lieutenant Commander Tait said.

“I got a call in the office asking me ‘Can you get on board KANIMBLA tomorrow. We’re deploying to render assistance to Sumatra after the earthquake’. It was very short notice and we didn’t know how long we’d be needed or when we’d be getting back but I said ‘Yes, I can. But it’s going to be complicated’.

“We were flown to Darwin and boarded the KANIMBLA a day later. It took three days to sail to Sumatra.”

For Queensland Government Environmental Health Specialist, Paul Clancy, Padang Assist was also a first operational deployment.

Flight Lieutenant Clancy, who belongs to 1 Expeditionary Health SQN based at RAAF Amberley, went to Padang to assess the level of damage to the island’s infrastructure and ensure that clean water, food and shelter were available to the thousands left homeless by the quake.

“Most of the infrastructure was still in good condition when I arrived and the local emergency services were handling the crisis very well,” Flight Lieutenant Clancy said.

“But there was no fresh drinking water available to the hospital, which had been badly damaged, farmers were worried that newly unstable land would cause landslides and subsidence in their paddy fields and we had to check a number of buildings to ensure that they were still structurally sound and able to be rebuilt.

“Within two days of arriving, we had set up a primary health care facility to deliver badly needed medical help to an outlying community and Army engineers had come up with an ingenious solution to the problem of getting fresh water supplies at the main hospital so that water was flowing freely again for the doctors and patients there. We hit the deck running when we arrived and within three days were able to supply government aid agencies with an environmental assessment that would help them rebuild everything that had been damaged.

“I’ve been working as a sanitary engineer for local government for 13 years and for the State Government for five years. I’ve been in the RAAF three years and the work we do there renews the foundations of my profession. Towns and cities have elaborate infrastructure to deliver environmental safety, but landing in an earthquake zone or constructing a mobile base in the middle of nowhere both require a return to the basics and it’s my job to ensure that these displaced populations have access to clean water, food and air.

“If there are open drains or no drains at all or rubbish isn’t being disposed of properly, there’s a risk of disease breaking out. Vector control is also part of the work I do with the RAAF. This is grass roots stuff that takes me back to the foundational science of my profession. It was a very positive experience and great to see that the city’s services were coping so well with losses of electricity, and damaged roads and bridges after the earthquake,” he said.

Lieutenant Commander Tait agreed that his first deployment to a regional humanitarian disaster was a “very positive experience”.

“When I first boarded the KANIMBLA, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew I was uniquely qualified in my area of expertise but I realised that I had something to learn from everyone from Officers to Non-Commissioned Officers about ship protocols and deployments,” he said.

“Working aboard a ship is a very challenging environment.

“The operation showed that the Navy and other services were able to put together a full casualty reception team, including general and specialist nurses, surgeons, GPs and an anesthetist at very short notice.

“I’ll certainly be putting up my hand for more operations like this one in the future and am looking forward to the commissioning of the new Canberra class ships that have very large hospital facilities that will make our humanitarian responses even more effective.”

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The State Library of South Australia has provided an impressive backdrop for the State’s annual Employer Support Awards.

A group of 28 employers were recognised for their support of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Reserves.

ABC Radio personality Sonya Feldhoff announced the winners, before Dr Pamela Schulz, Chair of the South Australian Committee of the Defence Reserves Support Council, presented the awards.

“It is exciting to see such an array of distinguished and dedicated employers who are themselves part of what I call the ‘Champion Network’,” said Dr Schulz.

“The real champions though, are our wonderful Reservists who take the time to wear the uniform and represent all that is great about Australians who are indeed ‘twice the citizen’.”

Employer Support Award Winners
State Employer of the Year	Adelaide Airport Limited
Small Business Category	Churches of Christ in SA & NT Inc
Medium Business Category	Conroy’s Smallgoods Pty Ltd
Large Business Category	Baptist Care (SA)
Government Category	Department of Correctional Services

Several businesses have been highly commended
Small Business Category	South East Vet Service Internode
Government Category	Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service – Women’s and Children’s Hospital
	Warrant Officer and Non-Commissioned Officer Academy South Australia Wing
Individual Recognition	Associate Professor Andrew O’Neil and Doctor Maryanne Kelton, both from the Faculty of Social Sciences, School of Political and International Studies, Flinders University

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An invitation to visit their Army Reserve employees on deployment saw three senior officers of NSW Police head to the Solomon Islands recently as part of Exercise Boss Lift.

Conducted by the Department of Defence’s Cadet, Reserve and Employer Support Division (CRESD), Exercise Boss Lift allows employers to experience first hand their civilian employee’s Reserve role and duties while deployed overseas.

In early November, Superintendents Max Mitchell (Newcastle) and Peter McErlaine (Maroubra) and Detective Inspector Greg Randall (State Crime Command) joined with 13 other employers to travel to the Solomon Islands for a four-day visit to the Combined Task Force 635 Rotation 19 -– the Australian Defence Force contribution to the Regional Assistance Mission Solomon Islands (RAMSI).

The visit gave Superintendent McErlain an opportunity to catch up with one of his sergeants, Russell Thomas, who is a Warrant Officer Class 2 in the Army Reserve with 21 years’ service.

“It is good to see him and good to know that he is actually over here as I thought he could possibly be just on a tropical holiday,” Superintendent McErlain said.

“I appreciated the invitation to come over and see Russell and it’s good that he’s looking fit and healthy as well.”

Warrant Officer Thomas was as equally as pleased to see his boss and the two wasted little time in catching up.

“It’s great – good to have the boss over so he can see what we actually do here and the way we do our training,” Warrant Officer Thomas said.

“He can get to see what he’s given to the Army and what I can bring back to police.”

Superintendent McErlain said the absence of a member for long periods of Reserve may impact on police operations.

“Russ is one of around 15 sergeants in my command at Maroubra and to lose someone as capable and confident as him from the workplace for long periods of time does impact at the coal face.”

“Having said that, the leadership and the decision making qualities he uses as a Reservist only enhances the skills he brings back to policing.”

For Detective Inspector Greg Randall, catching up with Corporal (Detective Sergeant) Sheldon Klotz was a reunion of a policing team that had been operating together for the past six years.

“As a small unit of around half a dozen officers, and as Sheldon is a very good operator, I had some trepidation about him going away for that period of time,” said Detective Inspector Randall.

“But when he explained what it was about and the skills he would gain over here and bring back to our workplace, I knew it would be worthwhile.”

“As I said, he had been a very hard worker and it would be good for him to have this experience deploying as a Reservist.”

Detective Inspector Randall said that seeing his Reservist employee in the operational environment reinforced to him the value of Army Reserve.

“Sheldon is a section commander in charge of nine Reservists and I didn’t really know what he did as a Reservist until I came over here to the Solomon Islands – aside from training including two weeks a year and the occasional weekend.”

“Exercise Boss Lift has provided me with an opportunity of seeing first-hand the contribution that the ADF Reservists are providing to the Solomon Islands.”

Detective Inspector Randall said he was very impressed with their professionalism and the commitment to their role in restoring peace and providing security to the Islands, which was echoed by many of the locals that he spoke with.”

“Sheldon and his fellow officers are doing a fantastic job representing our country and they are being exposed to a diverse range of operational duties that enhances their personal development and leadership skills, which will provide benefit to the NSW Police Force.”

“My Reservist is Kurt Greenwood who is attached to signal operations within the ADF Reserve,” Superintendent Max Mitchell said.

In policing, Kurt is a senior constable posted to general duties at Newcastle.

“Kurt is a general practitioner of policing, and coming over here, watching him functioning as a corporal with other ADF members around him, how he conducts himself, his leadership skills, his planning and his decision making has really opened my eyes as to his capability when he returns home.”

“I would describe [Exercise Boss Lift] as a tremendous experience, not only from a personal perspective, but also seeing the schools at Gifu and the Deaf School in addition to experiencing what the Reservists are involved in was outstanding,” Superintendent Mitchell said at the conclusion of the trip.

“Their community spirit and what the Australian Army is doing here has to be applauded.

“It’s been very enlightening for me to come over and watch what our Reserve members can do not only for our country but for the people of the Solomon Islands.”

During the four days the three officers took battlefield tours, shot on the range under the tutelage of their Reservists, visited schools with the Army and toured Honiara.

“Boss Lift is primarily about bringing employers of Reservists, that is their civilian employers, to operational or training areas to facilitate an awareness of what the Reservist does in that environment,” said Head CRESD Major General Greg Melick.

“This awareness also includes the benefits of that training or experience that the Reservist can take back into their every day jobs.”

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Enthusiastic, energetic, committed and knowledgeable - a very apt description of one of Defence Reserves Support’s hardest working personnel, Squadron Leader Del Gaudry.

On the weekend, Squadron Leader Gaudry was presented a Vice Chief of the Defence Force Commendation for her dedicated approach to promoting the benefits of Reserve service.

Squadron Leader Gaudry, who is the Defence Reserves Support - New South Wales (DRS-NSW) State Manager and a proud member of No. 22 (City of Sydney) Squadron, joined DRS in Nov 2006.

During the past three years, she has promoted Reserve service to thousands of employers and members of the community, attending hundreds of events, often after hours.

Cadet, Reserve and Employer Support Division’s Executive Director Reserve Support Ian Flawith said he was delighted Squadron Leader Gaudry had been honoured with the award.

“It is wonderful that the Vice Chief of the Defence Force, Lieutenant General David Hurley decided to highlight Del’s achievements in this way,” said Mr Flawith.

“Del has made such an important contribution, not only in New South Wales, but nationally.

“She has a wonderful ability to be able to liaise with all ranks, all types of employers and members of the community, both one-on-one, and also when speaking at large events.”

Squadron Leader Ivan Benitez-Aguirre, Commanding Officer 22 Squadron, said SQNLDR Gaudry “is a worthy recipient of this award”.

“Del embodies the essence of the Air Force Reserves — committed, innovative and an utmost professional.”

While Squadron Leader Gaudry, who is a Reservist on Continuous Full Time Service, is pleased her work has been recognised, she is very humble when asked to speak about her achievements.

One of her most notable accomplishments is building Defence’s relationship with the business community in Western Sydney.

The Greater Western Sydney region represents 43% of Sydney’s population and it includes a labour force of more than 900,000 people, and 242,000 businesses. Western Sydney produces more than 10% of Australia’s GDP and is the 3rd largest city in Australia. One in ten Australians live in Western Sydney.

In 2008, Squadron Leader Gaudry was elected Senior Vice President Western Sydney Business Connection (WSBC), a business to business networking and development organisation. On 25 November this year, her title was changed to President!

Through her involvement with the WSBC, Squadron Leader Gaudry has the opportunity to liaise with employers, politicians and the local community, explaining the benefits Reservists bring to business.

“I was really surprised was they called out my name on parade at RAAF Richmond,” said Squadron Leader Gaudry, who is a Human Resources specialist, having led HR teams in companies such as Mobil, Pacific Brands and Visy.

“While the award is lovely to receive, I am happiest in knowing that I have been able to make a difference to individual Reservist’s lives, helping them through issues with their employers and giving them guidance on how to deal with issues that may occur in the future.

“I find it extremely rewarding to talk to Reservists to help them work through the problem, especially when they ring back to tell me how it all worked out for the better without having to bring in the heavy artillery.

“My background in HR helps me convert military speak into a language that employers understand. I can talk to them about the skills Reservists bring to business.

“Employers are obviously focused on their bottom line and I want to help them and their Reservists so it is a win-win situation.”

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While thousands of Australians join the Defence Reserves, not many people do it twice!

Army Reservist Glen Waters falls into this latter category.

The Queensland Police Liaison Officer has just rejoined the Army Reserve, six years after leaving it to follow his law and order career.

The newly re-enlisted Corporal at 25th/49th Battalion in Toowoomba is continuing a proud family tradition in the Australian Defence Force.

“My uncle, Leonard Victor Waters was a decorated fighter pilot in World War II,” Corporal Waters said.

“In fact, he was Australia’s first indigenous fighter pilot in the war. Uncle Len was posted to 78 Squadron and flew more than 90 sorties against the Japanese.

“He flew in a Kittyhawk aircraft that, coincidentally and luckily for him, was called ‘Black Magic’.

“I guess you could say the military was in my blood. I was in the school cadets at Mt Lofty High School in Toowoomba.”

Keen and proud to continue a family tradition, Glen Waters joined the Army Reserve in 1981 and served until 2003 when his job as a Police Liaison Officer took him back to his home town of St George in western Queensland.

“I became a Liaison Officer so I could work more closely with my people,” he said.

“It’s a community-based job where I help to divert people away from the justice system.

“I do home visits, interventions and programs, mainly with young people. If I keep them out of the court house, then I’ve succeeded.

“Another part of my role is to educate other police in Aboriginal culture and awareness. Aboriginal people don’t like being interviewed or being in confined spaces. When police know this and alter their methods it works out better for everyone.

“I’m proud that in the five years I was a Liaison Officer in St George, not one Aboriginal person ended up in the watch house. Some were summonsed and went to court, but they weren’t locked up, which is a victory in my eyes.”

While working hard in his civilian role in Queensland Police, the Reserves were never far from Glen Waters’ mind.

“I couldn’t meet my Army commitments in St George but when I returned to Toowoomba my old mates asked me to re-enlist. I guess you could say I was conned into it,” he laughed.

The legacy of his Uncle Len is always close by.

“He had a brother, Jim, who was in the infantry in WWII.

“They were both in New Guinea at the same time and it’s likely that Uncle Len gave Uncle Jim air cover a couple of times in 1943 and 1944.

“Not bad for a bloke with just a Grade 5 education at Nindigully and St George in western Queensland!”

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The Employer Support Payment (ESP) expenditure for the month of October and the progressive expenditure for FY 09/10 are detailed in the table below.

Information on ESP is available on this website however should you require additional information or clarification on any aspect of the Employer Support Payment scheme that is not already covered by our website, you may email an enquiry to esp@defence.gov.au.

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