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13 march 2007
Ohakea turned on a sunny welcome for the Australian Defence Force personnel arriving in New Zealand for Anzac Exchange and Anzac Merit, at the beginning of March. The sunny skies were particularly welcomed by those from Townsville, who said they had happily left hailstorms behind.
A total of 17 Army, eight Air Force and six Navy personnel are involved in the exchanges. The majority of Army personnel were going to Linton, with others heading to Burnham.
Off to Linton was Sergeant Scott Parker, an artillery sergeant with 7 Field Battery in Perth. Now in the reserve after 16 years in the regular force, his civilian job is as a police officer.
“This is the first time I've been on an exchange and I'm looking forward to just the experience of being over here and learning what I can from the unit. Perhaps I'm going to be able to give them some information too.”
Corporal Joel Taeuber of the Australian Army’s 1st Aviation Regiment will be stationed with Ohakea’s 3 Squadron.
“I'm a command post supervisor for aviation ops in the Army. I'm hoping to experience the diverse cultures that New Zealand has to offer and learn the roles of the New Zealand Defence Force in rotary operations. I think it's going to be very different from Australia, because we have army aviation, but for three months I'm going to be an air force person!”
One of the Townsville residents glad to be somewhere warm was Corporal Anthony Ogden, of 3rd Combat Service Support Battalion.
“I've been to Iraq and the Solomons and I'm looking forward to a change, and to seeing how the New Zealanders work compared with how we do it. You get the chance to make lifelong friendships and there is the cohesion of teamwork and being able to network here too.
“I work in supply ordinance and I will be stationed at 2 Logistics Battalion at Linton. I want to see how other people work and I should be able to learn some new skill sets, as well as have a bit of a look around.”
Bombardier Dale Barron, of the 16th Air Defence Regiment, is also heading to Linton, to 16 Field Regiment.
“I've been in the Army for seven-and-a-half years, based at Woodside in South Australia. This is my first time here and I want to see how the New Zealand units and the different forces go about it. There will be subtle differences and I will be learning as much as I can about New Zealand air defence and hope to take on some sort of command role with the New Zealand guys. I work in ground-based air defence so the work will be similar to what I do in Australia.”
Joining the 31 ADF personnel is Duke, a handsome German Shepherd who, along with Corporal Tricia Reynolds, will be spending his time with the air security section in Auckland.
This page was last reviewed on 16 March 2007 and is current.
