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ANZAC Day in ... Bamian
22 May 2007
ANZAC Day was commemorated in style by Crib 10 personnel in Bamian. Having been in theatre for two weeks or less it was a privilege to have such an important day shared with some special guests. The visitors included the Minister of Defence, Phil Goff, Member of Parliament Ron Mark, the New Zealand ambassador to Iran and Afghanistan, Mr Hamish McMaster, Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant General Mateparae, Warrant Officer of the Defence Force, WO1 Barclay, the Governor of Bamian Provence, Dr Sarabi, the Commander of Task Force Cincinnatus, Col Ives, and a Turkish delegation led by the commander of the Turkish Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), Mr Hakan Abaci.
At 0415 on a cool pre-dawn morning the PRT members assembled to await the arrival of the guests. The breaking of the flags followed their arrival with the very special sight of the Turkish flag flying alongside those of the United States, Afghanistan, New Zealand and Crib 10. Respect was paid to all Service personnel with poignant words from both the Commander Crib 10 and the invited guests. Mr Hakan from the Turkish PRT remarked on the special bond of “mutual respect that has stood the test of time” between the Turks and New Zealanders. Governor Sarabi expressed the understanding Afghanis have with regard to the loss of combatants and non-combatants in the struggle for freedom and security.
Mr Goff’s remarks were especially important to PRT members as he expressed his thanks as the Minister of Defence, and on behalf of all New Zealanders, for the work that is being done by currently serving service personnel who are deployed on operations.
This page was last reviewed on 25 May 2007 and is current.
