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13 March 2007
The 3rd Health Support Team (3 HST), Burnham, unveiled their new flag in Burnham recently – marking themselves as ready for business.
3 HST was formed in August 2005. Incorporating medical, dental, physical training and nursing units from the Canterbury and Otago regions, the team brings together a legacy of over 100 years of health support to the South Island.
When 3 HST moved into their current headquarters in December 2006, a flagpole was recovered from Burnham’s Medical School.
The flag was unfurled by one of the unit’s former soldiers, Brigadier Anne Campbell, the Director-General of Defence Medical Services. As BRIG Campbell started her military career with 3 Field Ambulance, Otago University Medical Unit, in 1977, it was fitting that she should unfurl the new colours.
Officer Commanding 3 HST Major Brendan Wood, who also started his military career as part of 3 Field Ambulance (in 1980), describes the unit as being in a very buoyant mood after their successful deployment as part of Exercise Northern Kiwi.
The unfurling of the colours was accompanied by the Royal Army Medical Corps bugle call, played by WO1 Gary Burt. The bugle call was found in the 1908 Field Call Manual when MAJ Wood was researching unit history.
With the 100-year anniversary of the Medical Corps in 2008, MAJ Wood said that many people were keeping an eye out for items relating to the history of the corps.
This page was last reviewed on 16 March 2007 and is current.
