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Baghdad Surf Life Saving Club, Iraq
Baghdad SLSC, Iraq
Australian troops to fly the surf lifesaving flags in Baghdad It may not have any surf, and won't be expected to make too many rescues, but Australia's newest Surf Life Saving Club will be special nevertheless. The 'Baghdad Surf Life Saving Club' will be established in the coming weeks at Baghdad International Airport as part of a joint initiative between the Australian Defence Force, Surf Life Saving Australia and DHL. The new Club will rely on the traditional Surf Life Saving values of mateship and Australianism to help lift and maintain the morale of the ADF members while based in Iraq. The Baghdad Surf Life Saving Club is the brainchild of Flight Sergeant Gary Mott, a former member of Maroochydore Surf Life Saving Club in Queensland who is presently based in the Iraqi capital. "This is going to be a huge boost on morale for our troops based here in Baghdad. For most of us, we have been away for about 4-5 months and we are really missing home. We have intermittent electricity, no running water and for most meals we are eating ration packs. "By working with Surf Life Saving to establish this Club, we are bringing a piece of Australia here with a reminder of how good it is back home. "This will also be a way for us to promote Australia and what a great country we have, especially to the 5,000 to 15,000 US troops based out here. "We have a number of lifesavers in our ranks here, from Surf Life Saving Clubs in NSW and Queensland, so this will be really good for us. We are all definitely looking forward to jumping in the surf as soon as we get home and this is a way to make that seem a little closer," Flight Sergeant Mott said. According to Surf Life Saving Australia CEO Greg Nance, the establishment of the Baghdad SLSC continues a strong tradition between Surf Life Saving and the Australian Defence Force during times of conflict.
Club of the Month - Bagdhad SLSC Readers may be aware that one of SLSA’s newest surf clubs was formed late last year, at Baghdad International Airport, to provide another recreational outlet for the Australian Defence Force personnel currently stationed there. The club has been a great success and Brendan Noake, one of the organisers, gives us a brief run-down on activities: On Wednesday 10 February we had a meeting with seven members of the Baghdad S.L.S.C. to discuss possible activities and functions to raise money for the cause. Due to the weather being pretty shocking at the moment, it has really limited our recreational activities. The big issue is that the water table sits only a few feet under the surface here, and at night it rises to almost ground level, causing it to become soft and muddy. The hot season is about to start, which will clear that up. At present we are having a unit BBQ approximately once a week and we are starting a ‘joker poker’ raffle. Hopefully the weather will permit competitions to start soon, including volleyball and possibly beach soccer etc. We hope to have the competition run two separate ways (for morale) having both a best team and the wooden spoon award at the end of the rotation. We’ll keep you posted with further updates from our team in Iraq. Any messages of support for members of Baghdad SLSC can be sent via soconnell@slsa.asn.au.
Tim Tucak created a competition cap for Baghdad SLSC in January 2004. The design is based on the colours of the Australian Defence Forces, but also incorporates the colours of the flags of the country in which they are serving. For Baghdad SLSC I have used the colours of the Iraqi flag, a red stripe, white stripe and black stripe and green star symbol, on a predominantly light blue cap to acknowledge the RAAF.
Check out this Crikey article: http://www.crikey.com.au/politics/2004/03/25-0002.html Charlie don't surf! After Defence Minister Robert Hill let the cat out of the bag about WMD on Tuesday, we're amazed he didn't jump on this issue to beat Labor about the head with this unforseen aspect of Iron Bark's "bring the boys back home for Christmas" strategy in Parliament. If the diggers come home, there will be a massive increase in drownings in the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. At least, that's what we presume after flicking through the RAAF News. Have a look at http://www.defence.gov.au/news/raafnews/editions/4522/topstories/story19.htm. Some of Our Boys deployed as part of the Air Traffic Control detachment at what was once the Saddam International Airport have established the Baghdad Surf Lifesaving Club. Undaunted by a lack of surf - or, indeed, water - club members have raised money for the local community and, we presume, kept them safe from sunburn, shark attack and dangerous rips. And Labor is prepared to put this all at risk? Shame!
Top Stories Riding a wave of tradition Leading Aircraftman Troy Warke, a communications/electronics technican with the Air Traffic Control Detachment at Baghdad International Airport, takes his turn on guard duty. Our people at BIAP have a busy workload, but they manage to find time for some recreational pursuits, which is where the Baghdad Surf Life Saving Club plays a role. Photo by CPL Darren Hilder   Surf’s up – well, sort of – for members of the first Air Traffic Control detachment who formed the Baghdad Surf Life Saving Club to boost morale among the unit and raise funds for the local community. By LACW Simone Liebelt THERE may be no waves at the home of the Baghdad Surf Life Saving Club, but that doesn’t deter its members from enjoying a bit of Australian tradition and mateship in the hot combat zone. More than 30 Air Force personnel deployed as part of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) detachment at Baghdad International Airport are members of Australia’s newest official Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC). Three members of the first ATC rotation, Flight Sergeant Gary Mott, Squadron Leader Steve Mallett and Flying Officer Cheryl March from No. 395 Expeditionary Combat Support Wing, came up with the idea as a way to boost morale and raise the profile of the deployed unit, while bringing a little piece of Australia over to Iraq. Surf Life Saving Australia helped set up the new club, sending over official red and yellow uniforms, flags, beach signs and a rescue board to Baghdad while promoting the club back in Australia. The club follows in a long tradition of SLSCs established in deployed locations by military members, including Papua New Guinea in World War II and more recently, East Timor. “The club has raised awareness to the general public of the relationship between Surf Life Saving and Defence and the fact that those deployed are being thought of back home,” FSGT Mott said. “During my time there we held the inaugural Baghdad Surf Carnival which featured beach flags, rescue events and a surf boat race similar to the Birdsville Races but without the beer cans. It provided a change of scenery and was simply a way to relax and provide a release for deployed members.” Now in its third month, the Baghdad SLSC is growing strong with a fully established clubhouse set up in the building adjacent to the control tower. Leading Aircraftman Jake Machacek, a plumber and previous member of Caloundra SLSC in Queensland, is now running the club, along with personnel clerk Leading Aircraftwoman Janelle Parkinson, of 395ECSW. LAC Machacek said while the club was good fun for deployed members, it also followed the surf life saving tradition of participating in fundraising events to help the local community. “We don’t enforce any hard and fast rules, we just try and have some fun and any money that we raise through donations goes to the local orphans for school books and stuff. It makes us feel good that we’re doing what we can,” he said. Participating in occasional meetings and carnivals, the eager SLSC members – two of whom are US Army personnel – dress up in their bright uniforms and participate in volleyball and rope relay games and plan more boat races and fundraising events. “We still have our primary role, so any spare time we get, we dress up and then we’re back in Australia being surf life savers,” LAC Machacek said. “People just need a good laugh, so if you can put a smile on their dial, that’s generally the best medicine.”   .             Top Stories | Letters | Features | Career | Recreation | Entertainment | Health & Fitness | Sport | About us
More news from our newest club - Baghdad SLSC With the situation in Iraq never far from the headlines, it’s timely to catch up with Cherie-Ann Borghouts, Vice-President of the Baghdad SLSC for an update on how things are going.  Cherie-Ann spoke to E-news late last week Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself, where you’re from in Australia, how long you’ve been in the RAAF, whether you had any beach-type experiences back here? A: My name is Flight Lieutenant Cherie-Ann Borghouts. I am 26 years old and hail from Berwick, Victoria. I love keeping fit and spend much time running and participating in triathlons back home. I am currently posted to RAAF Base Richmond in NSW. I am a civil engineer and completed my degree through the Australian Defence Force Academy. I have been serving in the RAAF for 8 years. I love the beach and will be spending holiday time on the Gold Coast when I return home. Q: How long have you and your team been Iraq and what have been the highlights and/or lowlights of your time there? A: The RAAF has been serving for nearly a year in Australia. We are here working in aid of Operational Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Of course the highlights of my time here has been in meeting and working with the local Iraqis. The largest low is being on the other side of the world from my family and friends. Q: What were your first impressions of Iraq and the Iraqi people? A: The Iraqis are generally very polite people who have obviously been devastated by the war. We have not seen too much of Iraq first hand, unfortunately, given our operational requirements. Q: How did the Baghdad SLSC come into being and what have been some of the activities arranged? A: The Baghdad SLSC came into being mid last year as a way to build camaraderie amongst those serving amongst us. Some of the activities we have arranged include Iron-man events, BBQs and various small time fun events such as 'Joker Poker'. Q: How close is the nearest surf beach?  Or the nearest river? A: Further than viewable to the naked eye - ie: too far. Q: What has been the reaction to the club from other coalition personnel and the locals? A: Coalition personnel and locals find the club hard to understand given that there is no surf, however, they find the cause very admirable. We are donating all proceeds to a local Iraq children's charity. Q: We’ve just run crowned a new Australian Open Ironman champion at the Gold Coast during the Australian championships.  Tell us about the Baghdad version, which is to be run this weekend? A: To encourage greater participation amongst serving members here, we have made the Ironman event a team event. We have purchased bikes for the event using raised monies from other events. Teams will be required to cover legs of running, cycling and boat races. Following the event, we will partake in a well-deserved BBQ. Q: Any other plans for Baghdad SLSC? A: We are intending to continue holding pizza evenings every 2-3 weeks in our club room. Further plans for another Ironman event are for later this month. We intend to make this one a more silly event. Q: When do you think you’ll be back in Australia? A; We are crossing our fingers for mid year as per what the government is pushing for. Q: If you had one message for all the readers of SLSA E-news - what would it be? A: Enjoy training in Australia. There is no other place like home...
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		Comments, corrections & queries to: Tim Tucak - President Swanbourne Nedlands SLSC
Copyright Tim Tucak 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 & 2007
Updated 31 October 2004