Thread: Employment Opportunities

Today was interesting. The culmination of a lot of negotiation, planning, frustration, and adjustment. Today we delivered the first delivery of food commodities to the National Security Force, of the Transitional Federal Government. The entity that the rest of the world is trying to stand up as the alternative to the clan based warlords and Al Quaeeda linked insurgents.

Firstly though, at 1015hrs, a 7.62mm round came through the roof and ceiling of the mess hall....bloody hell...it nearly broke the coffee filter machine!! It was not an aimed shot....it was a stray round that came in on a high trajectory. I had to do an Incident Report on it and I attributed it to the affect of...gravity.

Here are some photos of our delivery to the Somali troops up at what is their HQ, Villa Somalia. I'd never seen so many smiling Somalis.

These people have been living in such squalor for the past 30 yrs. It was a real pleasure to make some difference in their lives:











The place where we unloaded was some distance away from where we had originally planned to do so because, the insurgents were actively sniping into that side of the building today.

The sample weighing:



and, the most important bit....the 'sign-off':



Then.... get home back through the city. A good day. Now, some more of the same tomorrow.

I am enjoying the job.

It is challenging, trying to find the best way between people and interests but, you have the human moments amongst it all, and I can look at what I am doing and believe that, in some way, I am participating in making history, and then, it can seem worthwhile. Here's hoping.

Today, your yesterday, I went for a meeting with the Force Commander of the AMISOM Force, GEN Mugisha and with, GEN Gelle, the Somali Military Commander.

The occasion was the graduation of the Combat Intelligence Officers Course. All of us seated under a thorn tree, long speeches translated between Somali, English, and Swahili....it takes time. Then a parade of the Somali Troops and a speech by GEN Gelle, followed by lunch with both the Generals.

I trust the people and I have hope for their future. Genuinely, they are good people. I have been learning Somali greeting phrases and it really changes their engagement with you, a really warming experience:







The translator standing in front of me.....



GEN Gelle, the Somali Army Commander, also a German citizen..Nein sprechen sie Deutsche!!



GEN Mugisha, the AMISOM Commander, a Ugandan:



The assembled troops:









How young??



BBC sitting down for lunch with the Generals:

This thread is fascinating. Thanks for it.

mate what a great update, perhaps some sort of stability may happen there.
Haven;t seen Shanes book yet, but then I haven;t called him to find out the date either.
That pile of chopped weapons is interesting in the first photo there is the front half of a bren and the second photo the back half of one. Makes you wonder how on earth did it get there.

keep running


john

Originally Posted by BBC

This book will be out in shops at the end of May:



It is of special interest to me as Shane Bryant (the subject) and Tony Park (the author) are both friends of mine and were introduced to each other by me.

Tony has now written a shelf full of books and he spends half of each year driving around Africa with his wife in their Land Rover...'wucky bastard'! Tony and I grew to know each other from some assistance I provided him with the writing of his first novel, 'Far Horizon' that had the lead character as a Royal Australian Engineer Major clearing landmines in Mozambique.

Shane and I knew each other from 1991 when he was one of my soldiers when I was the Troop Commander of 3 Troop (Tunnel Rats) 1 Field Squadron.
Shane went from being a Sapper Combat Engineer to train and become employed as an Explosive Detection Dog Handler. One story I can tell about Shane is of the photo he has of himself and his dog lying in President George Bush's (the 1st one) bed in Sydney when he paid a state visit in 91.

The next time I met Shane was at Tarin Kowt, in southern Afghanistan. In between he had been a NSW Police Dog Handler.

Shane and I used to do 'sundowners' on the top of one of our 20' containers in my camp there. Shane was employed in the US Special Forces Camp next door as a EDD Handler. To all intents and purposes Shane was another soldier in a SF combat team. He wore the uniform, manned one of the .50Cals in the back of a Hum-V and then, as required, he went forward to detect and clear any ground they were uncertain of or, to look for explosives and weapons in quala searches. A soldiers job that he did.........for 3 solid years. The current ADF rotations are 8mths.

I was so taken with his story that I introduced him to Tony because....he had a story that needed to be told.

Shane's motivation for telling his story? He has a young son, and he wants to be able to let him know what his father has done.

They tell me the book is out on the shelves now. Shane is currently back in Australia and has been involved in some radio interview promotions. Tony Park has set up an excellent Blog here:

War Dogs - working dogs in Afghanistan

'BBC's' special commemorative signed edition is on its way to my place as I type. Gives me another, but a very much 'lower order', reason to get home soon!!!!

Who can remember your first ride in an airplane? BNE-SYD-MELB-PER...or somesuch?

Imagine what it would feel like to be on your first plane ride and be flying off to join the Army? Especially if the plane was bound for Mogadishu.

The following people were all 92 newly arrived recruits from a regional city, called Galckayo, further north and inland from Mogadishu. That tribal area has thrown themselves into the struggle for Somalia by aligning themselves with the Transitional Federal Government. Interesting to see 16 female recruits.

Here is hoping that all their efforts can bring positive change to our world:
















Try to imagine what is in front of this group of young Somalis, and think of the choices you have been able to make in your life.

Makes me feel very fortunate. Were the women joining or farewelling?

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