Inspiration...

If you have but one opportunity, make it count.




The strength to persist, the courage to endure.




Continuous effort is the key to unlocking our potential. -Winston Churchill

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well of ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty. -John F. Kennedy

See beyond the ordinary.



"Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and staedy dedication of a lifetime." - Adlai E. Stevenson



Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well of ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty. -John F. Kennedy





We will not waver; we will not tire; we will not falter; and we will not fail. Peace and Freedom will prevail. -George W. Bush



True greatness comes when you're tested. -Theodore Roosevelt



We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Prosperity..



Together they gave to the nation the undying proof that Americans possess the pride of the patriot soldier.



Gold is tried by fire, brave men by adversity.



The ability to face danger for the greater good.



It is the strongest who prevail.



It takes an extraordinary person to face danger and maintain composure.






The power to impress - the design to conquer & the ability to command respect.



The reward of one duty is the power to fulfill another. –George Elliot



The process of directing one's scattered forces into one powerful channel.

Sharing The Burden Of Deployment...

Another great share for you...

Trish Grace

There aren’t many Army wives who get to experience what their husbands go through when they’re deployed overseas and conversely not a lot of soldiers know what it’s like to keep the fires burning on the home front for months at a time while a spouse is serving on operations.

David and Trish Grace know what it is like to walk in each other’s shoes, having both served in Iraq over the past year as well as doing a stint alone with their two children on the home front.

David and Trish, both Corporals in the Australian Army, are now based in Darwin; David as a medic with the 5th Battalion The Royal Australian Regiment and Trish in the repair parts store at the 1st Combat Service Support Battalion, a workplace she describes as being “like an Army version of Repco”. Over the past two years, the couple has spent just four months together at home as a family with children Monique (14) and Dylan (10).

Trish is currently deployed as part of Security Detachment Baghdad (SECDET), the combat team which ensures the safety and mobility of Australian Government and Embassy staff in the Iraqi capital. Notice of her deployment came soon after David returned from a six month tour of duty with the Overwatch Battle Group. She was a late replacement for another soldier just weeks before the combat team left for Iraq. She runs SECDET’s spare parts shop out of a demountable hut and shipping container, a role that regularly sees her donning body armour and driving through Baghdad on re-supply missions.

Corporal Trish Grace, currently deployed to Iraq as part of Australia's Security Detachment in Baghdad, inside her repair parts shipping container which she likens to an "Army Repco" store.
Corporal Trish Grace, currently deployed to Iraq as part of Australia's Security Detachment in Baghdad, inside her repair parts shipping container which she likens to an "Army Repco" store.
Corporal Trish Grace, currently deployed to Iraq as part of Australia's Security Detachment in Baghdad, prepares to drive her armoured Unimog truck on a resupply mission.
Corporal Trish Grace, currently deployed to Iraq as part of Australia's Security Detachment in Baghdad, prepares to drive her armoured Unimog truck on a resupply mission.
Corporal Trish Grace, currently deployed to Iraq as part of Australia's Security Detachment in Baghdad, prepares to drive her armoured Unimog truck on a resupply mission.
Corporal Trish Grace, currently deployed to Iraq as part of Australia's Security Detachment in Baghdad, prepares to drive her armoured Unimog truck on a resupply mission.
Corporal Trish Grace, currently deployed to Iraq as part of Australia's Security Detachment in Baghdad, talks to her family back in Darwin while watching them live via web-cam.

Just Another Share

You know how sometimes I just see things and want to share them with others. This is one of those times. No build up, just the pics...

Women on the front line

Reconstruction Task Force 4 is expanding its operations north from its base in Tarin Kowt, building a series of patrol bases for use by International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the Afghan National Police and Army. The Task Force is now operating regularly north of Tarin Kowt, an area of great strategic significance to the Taliban Extremists in Oruzgan Province.

Australia has deployed an ADF Reconstruction Task Force (RTF), consisting of a combined arms team, to the Oruzgan Province in Southern Afghanistan as part of Operation Slipper. The RTF is in partnership with the Netherlands Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) and forms part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. The RTF has a clearly defined role to work on reconstruction, improvement of provincial infrastructure and community based projects. The RTF also provides trade training to the local population and military engineering training to the Afghan National Army. This type of assistance is designed to benefit the people of Oruzgan Province well into the future and form building blocks of a stable and prosperous community. The RTF contains around 400 ADF personnel from predominately Brisbane and Sydney based units. It includes elements to provide command, security, engineering, and administrative support and is equipped with Bushmaster Infantry Mobility Vehicles (IMV), Australian Light Armoured Vehicles (ASLAVs) and armoured engineer plant equipment. Australia's contribution to ISAF is an important component of the Australian Government's commitment to assist Afghanistan achieve a stable and secure future.

Peek a Boo! Private Lauren Maude becomes a hit with the local Afghan girls during her time on the front line with the Reconstruction Task Force in Afghanistan.
Try this for size. A little Afghan girl finds a new use for Private Lauren Maude Shamarg during her time on the front line with the Reconstruction Task Force in Afghanistan.
Sharing a moment. An Afghan girl becomes fixated with Private Lauren Maude as she meets the locals in Oruzgan Province.
Private Lauren Maude sits with an Afghan farmer’s daughter during her time on the front line with the Reconstruction Task Force in Afghanistan.
Secret girls business. Private Lauren Maude sits with a group of Afghan girls during her time on the front line with the Reconstruction Task Force in Afghanistan.
Setting a trend. Private Lauren Maude lends her ballistic sunglasses to a young Afghan girl during her time on the front line with the Reconstruction Task Force in Afghanistan.
Secret girls business. Private Lauren Maude sits with a group of Afghan girls during her time on the front line with the Reconstruction Task Force in Afghanistan.
Secret girls business. Private Lauren Maude sits with a group of Afghan girls during her time on the front line with the Reconstruction Task Force in Afghanistan.
Hello! A little Afghan girl sneaks a peek in front of Private Lauren Maude as she mixes with a young group of girls during her time on the front line with the Reconstruction Task Force in Afghanistan.
Secret girls business. Private Lauren Maude sits with a group of Afghan girls during her time on the front line with the Reconstruction Task Force in Afghanistan.

AC