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 On the eligibility period for the Australian Defence Medal (ADM) the minister said: "Six years reflects a length of time that we could be reasonably certain that most people would have completed the requisite training and experience in the Regular or Reserve forces, to be considered fully deployable should they have been called upon." 

"Considered fully deployable"; what do you think that means? In the case of many of my mates and me who were regular soldiers, we took the long bus trip to recruit training at Kapooka (NSW) on the twenty eighth of July one year and by the twenty sixth of July the following year we were on a big plane to a destination outside of Australia to service this country. I can only conclude that we were "considered fully deployable" because we were actually deployed! 

There are many understandably angry veterans, who were obviously "fully deployable" but under the present criteria would be excluded from the Australian Defence Medal because they served less then six years. Conceivably, there would be many thousands of veterans from every conflict or other operational service that has occurred since 1946: Korea (K-Force), Japan (BCOF), Malaya, Borneo, Vietnam, Malaysia, Rhodesia, Somalia, Gulf War I, East Timor, and most likely the two most recent actions Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention those who didn't get the opportunity to serve on operations. 

Then of course, there are those who may have completed the six years but are upset that their mates with less than six years are discriminated against. I have a number of these people in my club. There will be many tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people who will be upset and angry about the ill-conceived eligibility criterion for the ADM. 

The point is obvious, and most military types will know it to be true; many defence force personnel become "fully deployable" inside six years and even three or two years or even one year. So why did the government select six years? The answer the minister's media man told me is to ensure that officers, trade & technically trained personnel have the opportunity to become "fully deployable" and so to ensure that they are not entitled to an ADM should they fail to reach a "fully deployable" state. In other words, if they bomb out we don't want them to get a medal. Thus the recommendation was that six years is based on having ample time for all ADF personnel to reach this stage of their career of being "fully deployable". 

Why create a system that discriminates against the general enlistment people, who often reach this state of being "fully deployable" in less than twelve months; does a short stint and "their bit" and then returns to civilian life? The ADM as I understand it has nothing to do with bravery, conspicuous service, campaigns or long service. Clearly, this new medal has come into being to 'balance the ledger' after the circulation of the Anniversary National Service Medal (ANSM) a couple of years ago.

Because the government issued the ANSM and overlooked our regular and reserve forces they were required at some point in time to conceive a new medal to recognise their service. The ADM is the result.

The government has accepted the advice that the eligibility period is linked to the concept of defence personnel being "fully deployable" without understanding that even in this modern era many of our defence force personnel are "fully deployable" well under the six years. The eligibility criterion for this new medal was conceived by a group of unknown people described as "experts", behind closed doors. It is obvious to anyone who has any knowledge about the honour and awards system that this group has clearly come from a mind set of -  medals are only given for bravery, conspicuous service, campaigns or long service.

Recognition for ordinary service has always been rejected and seen as unwarranted. People with these fixed values would have difficulty overcoming their bias to create equitable criterion for a medal that has been conceived in part because of a claim from the rank and file of the veterans' community. We now see the reluctantly concocted result; an arbitrary six year eligibility period, which reeks of a long service slant. 

Australia's military honours and awards system evolved from the British Imperial System. A class conscious Britain once considered the awarding of honours and awards to the ordinary soldiers as unnecessary, while at the same time it was common practise for the aristocracy and only high ranking military men to award themselves an increasingly larger number of medals to themselves. It can be argued that this attitude remains today. 

Have you seen Prince Charles dressed in his different military uniforms and all those non-service medals? On ANZAC Day; how do you feel about politicians walking around with Centenary Medals pinned to their chests while deserving ex-servicemen or women go without a medal? As Australians; do we feel comfortable with the idea that worthy ordinary Australians are excluded from receiving a deserving award? 

Some people say that by issuing the ANSM and the ADM devalues the honours and awards system. But who are the people determining what's valuable and what's not? If you are part of the aristocracy or the elite, then issuing an award, usually reserved for your peers, to ordinary people for service rendered might be snobbishly seen as devaluing the system. With regard to the ADM; are we Australians creating a uniquely Australian award or are we still colonials locked into British traditions firmly based on elite status and class? 

If our government is fair dinkum about creating an award that truly recognises the service of the ordinary former and current regular and reserve defence personnel who are, as the minister put it, "considered fully deployable", it makes more sense and would be much more equitable if the eligibility criterion be based, not on a single period of time which excludes many worthy Australian men and women but upon the stage in their service when each individual serviceman or woman actually becomes "fully deployable". This of course, would occur at the conclusion of their initial employment training. Criteria like this would likely satisfy the RSL, which has set a two year eligibility period and the government would have their "fully deployable" clause imposed. 

It wouldn't reward those who 'bombed out' before they are "fully deployable", and it doesn't discriminate against the likes of the K-Force veterans and alike who had only a two year engagement period, or anyone else who rendered affective service for five, four or three years. If they reached the status of being "fully deployable" then the period of time it took is simply not an issue. Of course officers, trade & technically trained personnel would do more time than a general enlistment person, but from the point of establishing an award based on the ability of an individual to provide real and tangible service to their country in the defence force it would be truly equitable. As the minister also said in his announcement of this ADM: "The Australian Defence Medal reflects the fact that by serving in the Australian Defence Force individuals make a contribution to the national interest, whether they served the country on operations, or whether they remained in Australia in a support role." 

Men and women in the defence force make tangible contributions to the national interest everyday, and many of them will not have six years service. I remind the reader, the ADM is not a long service award. It's a recognition for service award. There are many national servicemen with as little as one hundred and forty days service proudly walking around with a medal on their chest; isn't it reasonable that our regular and reserve servicemen and women who complete their initial training and reach a "fully deployable" state, regardless of the time it took, be entitled to wear a similar medal in recognition of their service as well. 

I would urge everyone who reads this posting and who feels either they are hard done by or that their mates are hard done by, to take some time to tap out a few emails or write some letters to a politician or three. 

Gary MacRae 

President Aldgate RSL (SA) 

PO Office Box 90 Aldgate 5154 

04088339232

aldgatersl@goldenknights.com.au

WOT A LOAD OF RUBBISH


In a harsh and ancient land of great mysteries lies the unique and rather odd antipodean Great Lakes District of WARP (Woomera, Andamooka, Roxby and Pimba.)                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Numerous are the mysteries of this unique region where everything is so very different (like WARP is the only lakes district in the world that usually keeps it’s water elsewhere) and, numerous too are it’s associations with… *dramatic pause*……the final frontier!
Was it any accident that, during the last rocket launch, the Japanese rocket returned to earth to take lessons from a passing flying kangaroo?!
Is it any accident that the Lake Torrens’ UFO Landing Site continuously witnesses some amazing events (I’ve been at a couple myself)… and could it be merely an accident that WARP was in the central path of the total eclipse, and offered such magnificent views?
Could it be just an accident that the residents of WARP viewed the first pictures of Mars and said, “Oh yeah, I know that place. It’s just up the road, I reckon that’s the place where Jacko threw up after that footy night.”?
Even as I write, there’s a team out training for survival on Mars: they reckon it’s just down the road, round Arkaroola way, but the pictures definitely looked more up the road to us.
And now, before our very eyes, in the remote Outback Martian landscape that is WARP, something suddenly GREEN has appeared!!

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(Isn’t it annoying when you get emails saying that?)

(Keep scrolling….)
(Your reading is important to me. Please keep scrolling and I’ll be with you shortly, meanwhile, go for baroque and enjoy the endless repetition of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.)
(Your reading is still important – even though it appears that the last human left half an hour ago.)
(Oops. You’ve probably forgotten what you were waiting for by now.)
(If you remember, you were waiting for something green to appear…)
[file:///C:/My%20Documents/My%20Pictures/Boof/08012004_162511/best%20pic%20of%20boofy%20lookin%204%20rubbish.JPG]
Boof The Wonderdog – World’s First, and Only Lime Green Heeler – Roxby Downs Resident and Reluctant Publicity Hound
As indicated in The Sunday Mail, 1st August, Pet Pages just across from those cute canine Bananas In Pyjamas, Boof The Wonderdog has dyed for his cause. He’s turned into a greenie, and he’s on the lookout for the first eager rush of Roxby Downs Tidy Town trainees.
During the next month Boof will appear at random locations and times around the town with an odd assortment of people, or an assortment of odd people depending on your point of view.
What will they be doing?
Well they’ll obviously be picking up litter, and that’s a good thing because the Tidy Towns judge is coming on 30th August and we want Roxby Downs to be looking her best before we start chanting, ‘Here come da judge.’
And they’ll also be undertaking a rubbish survey of Roxby Downs, and that’s a good thing because it might provide a few clues about ways to reduce litter in Roxby Downs.
And it will also be training for the grand finale of the world’s first Roxby Downs Tidy Towns Scavenger Hunt (RDTTSH – don’t you just love the way that it rhymes with rubbish when pronounced correctly?) on 29th August, and that’s a very good thing because it can prove that a community can get together, get stuck into some non-glamour volunteer work, and have a bit of a laugh and a party at the same time.
RDTTSH, an hilarious and not to be missed event, will see outrageously costumed celebrity led teams capering and cavorting throughout the township as they collect list items and bags of rubbish, hoping to earn the highest number of points so they can have first dip in the fabulous prize pool at the post hunt party. 
More amazing than a formal ball in the middle of nowhere (although the Curdimurka Ball is very highly recommended), zanier than a boat race in a creek that is drier than some long forgotten part of a dingo’s anatomy (and Henley on Todd is similarly highly recommended), RDTTSH offers something for everyone from gentle, limbering, highly recommended exercise for any grey nomad who cares to pop in and lend a hand to, and party on with, some locals to some great belly laughs, always useful to have after a winter of discontent.
But there will be more about RDTTSH, and perhaps a few clues about surprise celebrity guests, during the next couple of weeks.
Just be sure to mark Sunday 29th August in your diary because you’ll be really annoyed with yourself if you miss this one.
We were thinking about arranging grief counselling for those who have to miss out because they are working; but we believe that prevention is better than cure and the good news is that…
YOU CAN STILL BE INVOLVED
Yes it’s true!!!!
And you know you want to be involved.
Maybe it’s just for the laugh; maybe it’s because you think that, if the true worth of a man can be judged by the way he treats those people who can’t be of any use to him, then the true worth of a community can be judged by the way it deals with it’s less attractive tasks; maybe you see it as an opportunity to spend some time fun time with your kids, picking up some rubbish, cleaning it up, and turning it into the most outrageous fancy dress ever.
There are a lot of good reasons to get involved, and you’ll think of lots of ways to do that. Here’s some you might consider:
* Get the word out
* Consider what you can do in your circumstances, eg. if you’re a teacher, maybe you can make an art project out of picking up rubbish from the school grounds, cleaning it up, and turning it into artworks, preferably for public exhibition because I’d love to see what they would come up with.
* Contact Aunty Bev with ideas, suggestions, offers to help, advice and expertise, donations for the fabulous prize pool etc at roxbyfeedback@yahoo.com.au
* Look out for the training sessions, or listen out for them on RoxFM, and join in, or at least say hello
And if you don’t do anything else, consider collecting your empties for the month of August, then cash them in and donate the money to RoxFM.
Yep, there’s money in them there sand dunes and we might as well sort it out from the rubbish as we go and send it RoxFM’s way. Already they’re a great community radio station, imagine what they could do with a bit more money! The fact that they happen to be the richest source of costumed characters in Roxby Downs has absolutely nothing to do with it. And you’ll have to excuse me right now because there’s a flying pig trying to break into the aviary.
Cheers
Aunty Bev – on a mission for Roxby Downs Tidy Towns
Axehead Road Swat Experience – Unexpected Productions
This email has been sent to you because the more the merrier.
If you are not the intended recipient of this email, it’s about time you joined the real cyber world of FORWARDS, built a bridge, and got over it!
The major object of FORWARDS is to be forwarded, and if superstition is the way to do it, then so be it.
Every time you fail to forward this some stunningly beautiful puppy dog eyed Geko native to this area risks being poisoned by its rubbished habitat. How can you sleep with that on your conscience?
Every time you fail to forward this you miss out on a unique opportunity to pay back your forwarding mates.
Yet…
Forward this to six people and the sun will shine in Roxby Downs tomorrow!!!!
Forward this to eight people and the council will empty your rubbish bin once a week for a year!!!!
Forward this to ten people and you’ll get a year’s free subscription to The Monitor delivered straight to your doorstep every fortnight for a year!!!!! (WARP area).!!!!!!!!!!

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