True Blue April 2023

FREE GUIDES

ARE THEY TRIPLE OK?

Even the most resilient emergency services workers and volunteers can be affected by stress and trauma related to their work, or as a result of other life challenges. Are They Triple OK? resources provide practical tools and tips on how to start an R U OK? conversation with a workmate, friend or family member in the emergency services, to help them feel connected and supported, long before they’re in crisis.

True Blue Magazine

The United Nations & Overseas Policing Association of Australia, (UNOPAA) is an Australian incorporated, non-profit organisation, whose members are both serving or retired Police Officers from Police Forces throughout Australia, who have served or are serving with United Nation Peacekeeping Forces or AFP International Policing Operations throughout the world! TRUE BLUE is provided to its members throughout Australia and worldwide to where Australian Police are serving. Our magazine contains welfare, legislative and social information relevant to the well-being and camaraderie of UNOPAA members who have, or are serving in Australia’s National Interest.

Aims of the UNOPAA:

1. To maintain and foster the memory of UNOPAA members killed whilst serving with United Nations Forces or Overseas Policing operations.

2. To provide welfare, legal and financial support where and when appropriate to members.

3. To promote social occasions such as Reunions, etc., including United Nations and Anzac Day Marches.

4. To pursue and lobby industrial, legal and political avenues, when necessary in order to improve the welfare and industrial benefits to our members.

We acknowledge the assistance of Countrywide Austral Pty Ltd, who, in conjunction with the UNOPAA, have made the publication and distribution of ‘TRUE BLUE’ magazine possible! Your financial contribution to the publication of our magazine is greatly appreciated.

Views and opinions expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of the United Nations & Overseas Policing Association of Australia, the editor, the publisher or printer. “True Blue” is published by Countrywide Austral Pty Ltd, Melbourne from funds supplied by advertisers in this magazine. Please support our advertisers and their products.

Rod Walker True Blue Editor

Email: enidandrod@tpg.com.au

Mobile: 0411 953 966

UNOPAA Contacts

National President

Mr Mick Travers APM

Mobile: 0418 297 086

Email: mt2976@gmail.com

National Vice President

Mr Rod Walker

Tel: 0411 953 966

Email: enidandrod@tpg.com.au

National Secretary/Treasurer

Mr Peter McDonald APM

28A Dinah Parade, Keilor East Vic 3033

Mobile: 0418 131 352

Email: vp14970@gmail.com

Australian Capital Territory State President: Dale Cooper RFD PO Box 7099 Karabar NSW 2620

Mobile: 0418 266 033

Email: unopaa@gmail.com

New South Wales Acting Branch President: Dale Cooper

Victoria/Tasmania

State President: Gavan Ryan APM

Email: gavan.ryan@bigpond.com

Queensland State President: John Walker APM Unit 230, 96 Village Way, Little Mountain QLD 4551

Mobile 0474 157 982

Email: whiskeywalker41@gmail.com

South Australia State President: Garry Casey

40 Yarrabee Road, Greenhill SA 5140

Tel: 08 8390 3568

Mobile: 0427 188 449

Email: garryecasey@yahoo.com.au

Western Australia State President: Darcy Boylan

21 Templemore Drive Heathridge WA 6027

Tel: 08 9402 0030

Mobile: 0408 120 299

Email: gdboylan@bigpond.com

Northern Territory

President: Allan Mitchell

5 Eureka Court Anula NT 0812

Tel: 08 8927 2676

Mobile: 0417 804 546

Email: almitch@bigpond.com.au

Proudly published by:

Countrywide Austral Pty Ltd

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Ph: 03 9937 0200

Email: contact@cwaustral.com.au

Cover Photo – Save the Date for our next reunion in Darwin, 2024.

Do we have your Email Address?

THERE IS NO BETTER STATE FOR A CAREER IN POLICING.

Ready for a change?

You could be a police officer in Queensland. The QPS is now recruiting experienced officers.

From the Editor’s desk

I’m a bit of a Facebook scanner and I can see by a number of posts that many of us are starting to venture out after the COVID period and taking extended holidays both overseas and around our great country. It’s fantastic to be able to get our freedom back after a few years of forced ‘hibernation’. If you are venturing out on that holiday – enjoy yourselves and stay safe.

As most of you are aware, the 5th COVID vaccine for those over 60 years of age and those with underlying health conditions is now available. My wife has had her 5th vaccine, but I haven’t as yet due to recently being hospitalised and in need of a recuperation period before I get it. Nevertheless, I am lining up for this one. I have spoken to a few people who have had the latest (5th) vaccine and they have mostly advised that the reaction is worse than from previous shots – our doctor advised that this is because the vaccine incorporates resistance to the latest strains of the virus (the most communicable). It is your decision as to whether you get the 5th jab but please don’t become complacent. As we venture out more and more, we are exposing ourselves more than ever to the virus.

On a brighter note – Allan Mitchell and his organising committee are working hard on arranging our next Reunion and AGM in Darwin. Dates have been set (Tuesday, 27 May to Saturday 1 June 2024) so put the dates in your diary. If you intend to attend the reunion let Allan and his team know by sending them as email (as per the article from Allan in this edition).

This is to provide an indication of numbers to anticipate and plan for. As per previous reunions in Darwin, next year’s is sure to be a ‘hum dinger’ and I’m looking forward to a great week of camaraderie and experiencing the Darwin atmosphere again. In this edition of ‘True Blue’ there is a great article from Bob MacDonald who has provided a recollection of his time in Cyprus including the good and bad time he had. It’s a good read and many of us who have served in Cyprus will recall our own memories of our time there while reading Bob’s article.

We would like to congratulate two of our members who received Australian Police Medals (APM’s) in the Australia Day Honours List – Mark Colbert and Craig Huxley. Well done gents and well deserved.

A new book was released in December 2022. It is the 1st volume of the Official History of East Timor. Upon its release there was no formal launch as it caused a bit of a stir in official circles – I haven’t read the book as yet but my understanding is that it is a ‘warts and all’ account and didn’t sit well with the establishment. Nonetheless a ‘tamed down’ launch eventually occurred in March at the AWM. Could be a good read for those who deployed to East Timor, especially in the early contingents.

I hope you enjoy this edition of ‘True Blue’

Rod Walker

Editor True Blue

Hi everyone, I hope this edition of ‘True Blue’ finds you all well and in good spirits.

Save the date now

The United Nations and Overseas Policing Association of Australia (UNOPAA) is holding their next Reunion in Darwin in May 2024.

The NT Branch will be is hosting the 4 day event around the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers celebrated on the 29 May each year.

Strong push to welcome back those who served in East Timor.

We are very much encouraging all those serving and retired members of the State and Federal Police Forces who served in East Timor. May 2024 will be the 25th Anniversary of the first contingent to go to East Timor in 1999.

“The challenge right now is to find them all and invite them to come”, said organiser Allan Mitchell. Allan is a former member of the NT Police and served in the 10th Contingent to Cyprus way back in 1973/74.

Australian police have served in UN operations and Peacekeeping Missions since 1964, when the first contingent flew to Cyprus. Australian police then served continuously for 52 years before ending their commitment in 2017. Over that time, we have served in UN Missions in Cambodia, East Timor, Mozambique, Somalia, Namibia, South Sudan, Sudan as well as Peacekeeping Missions to Bougainville, Solomon Islands and Haiti. 2024 is also the 60th Anniversary of the 1st deployment of Australian Police to Cyprus.

“How good would it be if we could have every mission represented in Darwin next year,” said Allan.

“We have a great committee on board and keen to welcome you to Darwin”.

For members who might be attending for the first time, our reunions follow a well-established pattern of social activities, a march and church service and a formal reunion dinner. Wives and partners are especially welcome.

Attendees will pay for their own travel to Darwin and arrange their own accommodation. We are seeking favourable deals for you and will nominate a preferred hotel in due course. Additionally, there will be a reunion fee which will cover most of the activities during the week, including the welcome function, reunion dinner and other official events, transport costs etc.

What to do now:

• Note the dates in your diaryTuesday, 27 May to Saturday 1 June. Allow a day or two either side.

• Drop us an ‘expression of interest’ - see below. We’ll add you to an email list to ensure you get regular updates.

• Pass this information on to all of your mates and suggest they come along.

• Feel free to contact us with any questions at all.

We look forward to seeing you all in May 2024.

Allan Mitchell

For the 2024 Reunion Committee 0417 804 546

E. almitch@bigpond.com

E. darwinreunion2024@gmail.com

Photo from our last reunion in Darwin 2011.

Women & Leadership Australia

Women & Leadership Australia is currently offering professional development scholarships for United Nations and Overseas Policing Association of Australia staff and members.

The scholarships are open to women across all areas of the policing sector, and we encourage you to share this opportunity with your members.

Women & Leadership Australia (WLA) supports women at all levels across all sectors and industries. Our career-defining leadership programs bring together a focus on applied learning with the latest in leadership theory and practice. We believe that advancing gender equity, especially in leadership, is central to creating a more fair and inclusive society.

Through our Industry Partnership Framework, we work with hundreds of Australian associations and professional

bodies to increase awareness and action around gender equity. With your support, we can continue to create meaningful opportunities for women leaders across the country.

Scholarships of $1000-$5000 per person are available for women in the policing sector

To encourage more women to increase their impact at work and step into leadership roles across the policing sector, WLA is offering scholarships for four leadership development courses. Apply by 9 June or find out more by clicking here: https://www.wla.edu.au/ industry/pdes

To help you share this information easily across any platform your

members engage with, we have created a suite of social media tiles, images and wording you can access via a Dropbox link. We know that support from associations like yours makes a significant difference to the number of women who are able to access high quality leadership development opportunities. We appreciate your assistance and look forward to supporting more women leaders across the country. Kind regards,

Nick Williams

Women & Leadership Australia

P. 1300 735 904 | f 1300 451 031

W. www.wla.edu.au

E. nwilliams@wla.com.au

Australian Police Medal

AUSTRALIA DAY HONOURS 2023. UNOPAA MEMBERS RECOGNISED

Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Colbert is a frontline veteran with more than 34 years of experience with Victoria Police. His entire career has been at the frontline of policing, serving with some of the organisations most challenging work units. On multiple occasions working at various ranks for extended periods of time at the Homicide Squad and Missing Persons/Cold Case Squad.

He has served with Victoria Police and partner agencies, in both intelligence and investigative capacities, ensuring the terrorism threat to Australia is mitigated.

Serving overseas with the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste, the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands and the United Nations Special War Crimes' Court in Sierra Leone, he is one of the most respected and experienced homicide, coronial, terrorism and serious and organised crime investigators in the country. Highly regarded by subordinates, peers and supervisors alike, Detective Senior Sergeant Colbert commands a quiet respect that comes from a lifetime of dedication to his craft and to those that follow.

Superintendent Craig Huxley commenced with the Queensland Police Service (QPS) on 3 October 1983 and was sworn in as a Police Officer on 6 April 1984.

He commenced his career as a General Duties Officer at Brisbane City Police Station and further served at the Fortitude Valley and Woolloongabba Police Stations and Brisbane Mobile Patrols. He went on to serve as an Investigator and obtained his Detective appointment whilst serving at the Brisbane Criminal Investigations Branch, various specialty units within State Crime Operations and with the Internal Investigation Branch. He also volunteered to deploy on two occasions to East Timor/TimorLeste, where he provided operational policing advice and service.

He has served as a District Duty Officer in Wynnum; as Regional Duty Officer, South Eastern Region; District Inspector, Logan District; Specialist Services Coordinator,

Disaster Management Unit; Patrol Group Inspector, South Brisbane District; Commander, Mobile Capability Group and is currently Commander, Aviation Capability Group.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was Commander, Task Force Sierra Linnet at the State Police Operations Centre and as the Overall Deputy Commander, QPS Operations for COVID-19. He provided essential leadership and guidance for the QPS COVID-19 disaster response, working tirelessly to support the whole-ofgovernment effort to contain and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Queensland. Superintendent Huxley was instrumental in coordinating the QPS state-wide COVID-19 operations, with priorities including hotel quarantine, state and national border security and compliance functions, to ensure community safety in accordance with the Chief Health Officer’s Public Health Directions.

VICTORIA Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Laurence COLBERT

QUEENSLAND Superintendent Craig Robert HUXLEY

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Hilton Hotel Bombing: 45 Years on

13 February 2023

At around 12:40am on 13 February 1978, a bomb detonated in a bin placed in a City of Sydney Council garbage truck outside the Sydney Hilton Hotel’s George Street entrance. Today marks 45 years since that horrific day.

A Sydney Morning Herald article published on the day reported that the explosion reverberated through the foyer of the Hilton, ripping out ceiling and light fittings and that at the time police had feared that further bombs might have been placed in the near vicinity. Significant damage was sustained by nearby retailors including Angus and Coote Jewellers and Fletcher Jones.

Tragically, two Sydney City council workers, Alec Carter and William (Arthur) Favell were killed instantly and several other civilians were injured. A number of NSW Police Force members assigned to guard the hotel were also seriously injured in the blast including Sergeant Edward Hawtin, Senior Constable Rodney Wither and Senior Constable Terry Griffiths.

Sadly, a NSW Police Force (NSWPF) Constable First Class Paul Burmistriw died of his injuries a week later. At the time, the Hilton Hotel was hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Regional Governments Meeting (CHOGRM),

where a number of regional heads of government were staying, including then Australian Prime Minister Malcom Fraser.

Remarkably, the driver of the garbage truck, Mr William Ebb who was situated in the front cabin at the time of the blast survived. Ebb told the The Sun newspaper published on 14 February 1978 that he believed the large amount of compacted rubbish in the back of the truck protected him from serious injury. Along with heightened media attention, the Hilton Bombing generated a significant government and law enforcement response. An original poster held in the AFP Museum collection shows that a reward was issued offering $100,000 for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of any persons responsible. The Commonwealth and NSW state governments originally published the reward poster on the 2 March 1980.

Investigations into the bombing were often complex and controversial, leading to a federal government review of policing in Australia. Public concerns about how the bombing was and continues to be used politically continue to this day.

Significantly, the Hilton Hotel bombing revived the longstanding

idea of a single federal law enforcement agency. This led directly to the amalgamation of the Commonwealth Police, ACT Police and the Narcotics Bureau to form the AFP in 1979 who began operations some 18 months after the bombing to prevent terrorism and consolidate federal law enforcement.

Forty-five years on, we pause to reflect upon the lives lost in this tragic incident and the significance of the bombing to the formation of the AFP.

Source: AFP

Cyprus, 1973 - 1974

UNITEDNATIONSCIVILIANPOLICEINCYPRUS(UNCIVPOL)

Last Thursday evening, at my local RSL club, I stood to attention as our president recited ‘The Ode’, read as a tribute to all casualties of war.

I’ve heard the Ode poem recited so often that I know the wording by heart, but in this latest reading, one particular segment caught my attention.

The words ‘….. as we who are left grow old…..’ jumped out and grabbed me.

That phrase bounced around in my head, akin to a musical jingle experienced by those suffering from the ‘Stuck Song Syndrome.’

By being a member of the second half of the 10th Contingent to Cyprus, I realised that the year 2023 represents the 50th anniversary of our arrival on the beautiful island nation. And to me, the operative words in the phrase ….. as we who are left grow old….. are ‘ WE WHO ARE LEFT.’

Several of my colleagues in the ‘Fighting 10th’ no longer grace this earth, and some of those who ‘are left’ have the misfortune of suffering various health problems. I pray memory loss is not prevalent because I will call on my recollections of my time in Cyprus and jog the minds of others.

My air travel experience before taking off from Sydney airport in a Qantas jumbo jet (can you imagine the government of today okaying First Class travel for a bunch of coppers?) was in a prop Focker Friendship or a four-seater light plane. The stopovers in Singapore, Bahrain and Beirut helped me on my way to shedding my unworldly status quo.

The Australian detachment had bases at Limassol, Paphos and Polis.

As new arrivals, we, the 10th, filled positions vacated by the outgoing 9th Contingent members who’d completed their tenure. Limassol was my early posting, with village patrols as my primary calling.

Guided by the first half of our contingent, who’d already served six months of their one-year term, I soon settled into the carefree lifestyle of the island. I met people from the British (Brit or Brits), UN armed services, and other UN civilian police. In addition, I learnt, with a warm degree of pleasure,

that many single British women lived and worked in and around Limassol. These ladies worked as school teachers for the children of married Brit service personnel, as nurses, in the NAAFI, and in various admin jobs.

Sport. After settling into our new surroundings, I discovered that most of my colleagues continued with the nation’s love of outdoor activities. And before long, I was a member of the Australian squad competing in the island's armed forces rifle shoot at Famagusta.

Though an unarmed civilian body (no other UN CIVPOL entered a team), the powers to be allowed us to nominate a team, most likely for the novelty essence it might add to the day. We, a group of five, travelled to the competition by hitching a ride in the Limassol Brit’s bus.

Once at the shooting range, we borrowed SLR rifles from the Brits to compete. And who did we draw in the opening round? You guessed it, the Brits. No one expected the Aussies to progress further because the Brits enjoyed having the island’s highest number of personnel from whom to select their team.

To everyone’s surprise (us included), we outshot the Brits and progressed to the next leg of the competition. We lined up against the Finnish unit and bested them as well. But the Finns fired in a protest; God knows the reason. But the top brass overseeing the event ordered another shootout to decide the issue. In the reshoot, the Finns came out on top by one target.

Thinking our day had ended, we did what came a la natural: we retired to the beer tent. However, the Brits shot in a counter-protest on our behalf, and after another hearing, the disputes panel scrapped the result of our reshoot and reinstated us as the official winner over the Finns. All was well and good, but having sampled the beer tent offerings, we could take no further part in the shoot. The Finns replaced us and went on to win the day and, by doing so, held the bragging rights for being the top riflemen in the combined services.

Volleyball. Once again, we were the only CIVPOL team to enter a UN armed services competition. A volleyball carnival in Nicosia drew teams from all the armed forces, and akin to our

efforts against the West Indian cricketers, we came up well short. No, actually, we fared okay against contingents other than the Swedes and the Danes. Both sides featured players who were members of their country’s national squads. They were way above our level. Cricket. The Ashes series between the Aussies and the Poms received as much banter between the Brits and our mob as it did back home. We played two matches on a village green, winning one and losing the other. Good fellowship followed as we played the games in a sporting spirit. We got a bit carried away and challenged the West Indies. Their team comprised British forces personnel with West Indian heritage, and they handed us a thorough flogging. We learnt our lesson and showed little interest when they mentioned future contests.

Soccer. I took part in one game against the Brits at Paphos. The event never reached a finale as the Brits accused us of employing illegal roughhouse tactics with our tackling. They threw in the towel midway through the first half.

Squash. I tried my luck against my girlfriend, Maggie, at the Brit’s Polimedia army barracks on the outskirts of Limassol. I kept trying to belt the stuffing from the ball and kept missing with that piddly little racquet they use in that inane pastime. She beat me, so I refused to play against her again.

Aussie Rules. We had several footballs and often indulged in kick-to-kick on open patches of ground.

Basketball. A group of us drove to Paphos and played the Brit’s Other Ranks in a social game, and everyone had a great day. We didn’t even bother keeping score that day. The Other Ranks didn’t enjoy the benefits of a wet mess, so after the game,

we sat on makeshift seating surrounding the playing court, drinking room-temperature beer. Not taking to the warm beer, we asked our hosts to join us at the Paphos barracks to continue the social activities. The Brits were over the moon to receive the invite and hitched a lift by cramming into the backs of our two Landrovers. Because of their low rank, they never otherwise got the opportunity to frequent the mess halls of ‘officers.’

The unchilled beer at the basketball court had brought on bloated bellies, so we hopped into the spirits rather than do the sensible thing and give further boozing a spell. Paymasters and vodka sours were the order of the day. And we downed them as we might a glass of cordial. Soon we were pie-eyed and talking left-handed, with one of our VicPol members the most affected. The only trouble was that he had our Landrover’s keys in his pocket and refused to surrender them. With four in the front seat and VicPol driving, we headed for Limassol. In those days, the road bypassing Aphrodite’s Rock featured steep drop-aways and sharp bends.

Whenever VicPol lost concentration, and it looked as though we might head for a dip in the Mediterranean, we’d yell at him and sometimes grab the steering wheel to correct his erratic course. Our interference and VicPol’s manner of driving caused the vehicle to sideswipe and bounce off the sheer rock face on the offside on two to three occasions.

On arriving at Limassol, VicPol, abiding by station requirements, filled out the vehicle’s running sheet for the day’s activities. When checked the next morning, no one could make head or tail of what he’d written, and it needed

retyping in its sum total. And once again, the Brit REME officers at the Polimedia base did a clandestine job of knocking out dents and repainting our Landrover (at least they didn’t paint it bright pink this time).

Swimming. I snavelled a set of swim flippers, a mask, and a snorkel from the Limassol sports locker; and swam and dived most days. The mentioning of Limassol’s Lady’s Mile Beach still brings back fond memories.

Horse racing. Before my arrival on the island, enterprising representatives of our mess coerced the Limassol council to clear a racetrack in the bush behind the Brit army base at Polimedia. We used donkeys hired from local villagers as the mounts for race meetings, which we held on Melbourne Cup Day and Australia Day.

One of our members acted as an SP bookie and took bets on the races. P.A. sound-system speakers hung from trees to broadcast the race caller’s description of each event. Only Aussies could ride in the two cups, and the mounts wore saddle cloth numbers and nicknames of the riders; Boong, Blue Vein, Horny, Super Slug, Puff-puff (how he got that name, God knows!), Biggles and so forth. I can boast of finishing third in the 1974 Cypriot version of the Melbourne Cup.

The meetings featured an International Stakes race, with personnel from different armed forces as the jockeys. The same with the Maiden Handicap, with wives and girlfriends doing their best to stay on the backs of the unpredictable donkeys. One jackass became as mad as a cut snake whenever anyone tried to climb atop. A Brit officer, a doctor, had the habit of boring everyone to tears with his fetes of grandeur on the polo field.

So, to test his riding skills, we allocated the crazy, self-willed animal to him in the International Stakes. Four of us held it steady until the race began. On giving the red-eyed beast free rein, it kicked, bucked, pig-rooted and headed for the scrub, tossing the doctor into the dirt. His brother Brit officers laughed harder and louder than us Aussies, so I guess he’d also been bashing their ears.

A refreshments tent sold stubbies of Carlsberg and Heineken beer at the equivalent of AU$0.20 each (we got them from the Nicosia Duty-free shop at AU$0.08). The beer profits went to pay for the free barbecue at the end of the meeting.

Duties. Until the island coup and Turkish invasion, our responsibilities, in the main, comprised village patrols. We ventured out, on twoman jaunts, in our Landrovers, of villages in our respective regions. These were carefree events, and we spent much of our time drinking Turkish coffee with villagers or sitting at a seaside restaurant sampling the local fare, with yoghurt and crusty bread, calamari or whitebait being the most popular.

One outing sticks in my mind. Bill Cummins (VicPol) accompanied me as we set out to a group of small, far-flung villages hidden among the back blocks of Mount Troodos. Bill, the navigator, in his wisdom, directed me onto a seldom-used section of a hazardous road. Sleet was falling, and we hadn’t fitted chains to our wheels because we had not foreseen driving in such trying conditions.

On one narrow stretch, with a sheer drop of several hundred metres to the on-side, Bill sat, holding the passenger door open and with his feet positioned to propel his body from the vehicle if we shaped to go over the edge. The Landrover was slipping and

sliding on the greasy surface, even though I was driving in low fourwheel-drive gear.

After extracting ourselves from that predicament, we drove into another. Bill further showed his navigation skills by directing a turn, which resulted in me piloting the Landrover headlong down a flight of steps leading to a small village. I continued into the cluster of stone dwellings because I could not reverse back.

We found no one able to speak or understand English, so with no other alternative available, we followed the cobblestone donkey path, which bisected the village. When negotiating the tight corners of the track, if using a three-point turn as an example, I needed to make fifteen-to-twenty-point turns to progress. We feared we’d have to abandon the vehicle at the centre of the village. This brought on a brainstorming session, trying to arrive at a reason that might be suitable to use as an excuse for our stupidity. After inflicting a few scrapes to our vehicle’s fenders, we cleared the village. I felt shattered by my efforts and ended up bathed in sweat. In addition, I had used up my entire vocabulary of cuss words. Bill claimed to be an old hand and accomplished horseman of Victoria’s ‘high country.’ That he may have been, but he was finding the thoroughfares of the Troodos mountain range a tad different to the Victorian Highlands. We both had a good laugh after clearing the village obstacle course. Bill and I remain in contact and we always enjoy a laugh together whenever we recall that memorable day.

Cypriot Cuisine. I at once fell in love with the local cuisine: Greek, Turkish, and the food we received in our mess. The two chefs based at the Limassol mess, Michale and Zenon, had worked at Limassol’s top two hotels, The Royal Apollonia and the Amathus Beach Hotel,

until being head-hunted by the Aussies. Our designated Impress Officers, Bob Oliver (NSWPol), followed by Graem Lawton (SAPol) were tasked with the job of buying the food for the chefs to cook. Both officers excelled, and no one ever heard a complaint from the well-fed troops.

Niazi’s Turkish Restaurant in Limassol held pride of place with our contingent and became a favourite whenever an event needed celebrating. The meat meze proved second to none. The meal involved the intermittent serving of entrée sized offerings during the evening. They comprised kitchen-made sausages, meatballs, kebab skewered meat cubes and baby chops, with a quarter of chicken being the last on the line.

Bowls of fresh salad produce and fruit (I loved the cherries) graced the table. Bottles of kokinelli came buckshee with the meal. The banquet, accompanied by jukebox music for grooving on a small wooden dance floor, cost AU$5.00 per head. A waterfront restaurant in Paphos dished up a great fish meze feed. The eatery’s offering, by and large, comprised whitebait, calamari, and small red mullet (head, gills, guts and all).

Still, the goats’ milk yoghurt and coarse crusty bread dishes served across the island took some beating. So did the donna kebabs (goats’ meat) available from little old men pushing their charcoal-burning carts around the streets, which was another of my favourites.

Entertainment. Parties. We soon learnt that parties staged by the Brits differed from what we experienced in Australia. Most invitations received at our mess stemmed from single girls (schoolteachers). The tried-andtrue modus operandi involved two or three girls pooling their resources and staging a shindig

at a private residence, supplying alcohol, food and the services of a hired DJ/bartender.

At a mess meeting, we set the rules to limit our number responding to an invitation to six. Plus, we voted to continue the Aussie tradition and cart an armful of beer with us when attending. So, with six fronting, we’d take three cartons, each of 24 stubby bottles of Heineken, as an offering. The beer came from the Nicosia duty-free store and cost AU$1.92 per carton, an outlay of under one dollar for each member.

As cheap as chips, one might say, but that fact failed to stop many guests from rocking up emptyhanded. I recall the warm welcome from three attractive hostesses when we turned up and added six dozen bottles of beer to their stock. They had bought their alcohol at the NAAFI store at a price much higher than our source. At that gathering, we bore witness to a minibus laden with Canadian soldiers arriving from Nicosia.

They didn’t need to kick the door to announce their presence because they had nothing in their hands to prevent them from using their knuckles to knock.

We continued with the take-beerto-party tradition, and the practice ensured we appeared at the top of most invitation lists. Our group, The Fighting 10th, gained a reputation as the island’s Number One party hosts; current and past contingents included. It was fame we wore with pride.

The Aussies excelled in holding beach barbecues, mess happy hours and sundowners. Guests from other CIVPOL and UNFICYP detachments often expressed their wonder as to how we Aussies put on excellent shows of entertainment time after time. The best on the island, so they said. But, on giving the matter thought, our climate and lifestyle in Australia provide for outdoor recreation, a practice not always available in countries such as Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Scotland and others.

British armed ferret cars outside the Australian mess, Polis - Friday happy hour time.

My strongest memories stem from the nights I attended the Kourion amphitheatre and saw a magnificent spectacle per favour of the Royal Scots. Their pipes and brass bands alternated during the evening, highlighted by demonstrations of sword dancing. As did several of my colleagues that night, my girlfriend accompanied me.

We took lounge settee cushions for comfort while sitting on the bare limestone seating—eskies with beer, wine, chicken, and salads made for a comfortable evening’s entertainment. The heavens blessed us with ideal weather on both occasions, and the site, on the side of a mountain overlooking the Mediterranean, was breathless to behold.

To be accompanied by a lovely lady, an esky with drinks nearby, while being charmed by the Scottish musicians and dancers, left me spellbound. To top off the night’s entertainment, a lone piper enthralled everyone with that old favourite, Amazing Grace, while standing at the highest outcrop of the ruins. The organisers extinguished all lighting for the piper’s solo performance except for a spotlight focused on him. Things don’t come much better than that.

We enjoyed ourselves so much that we ensured we didn’t miss a second Royal Scots presentation at the same venue a couple of months later. Plus, after the Turkish invasion, the Brits (armed forces personnel, wives, schoolteachers etc.) staged a variety night at the same venue. The British government sent a team of celebrities to the island to add to the entertainment, and they chose the amphitheatre to showcase their talent. I can’t remember the performers’ names except for Julie Ege.

She was a Norwegian actress based in England. I don’t recall whether she did other than offer eye candy to the many single servicemen who jostled for stage-side seats.

The whisky bars of Hero’s Square in Limassol were a law unto themselves and were on the banned list for UN personnel. One evening, out of the blue, VicPol said to me, “Stuff this. I’m heading for the whisky bars. Are you coming with me?”

VicPol had just had an inquiry dumped in his lap where Greek Cypriot police had opened fire on a vehicle occupied by Brit civilians, believing them to be outlawed EOKA B fighters, killing one man and wounding another. VicPol was under pressure from the UN to gather the details for a report, but found himself ostracised by the Cypriot police. At that time, he held the contingent’s executive officer position, with a workload causing him to be on the go from dawn to dusk. He’d had enough and needed to shed the stress build-up and let off steam.

After donning our duffle coats to hide our uniforms (UN personnel couldn’t wear mufti outside of barracks), we headed for Hero’s Square. On arrival, we searched for the biggest and noisiest of the bars and waltzed inside to strut our stuff. We had no sooner sat at a table when approached by two bar hostesses. One hailed from a small West Indies island, the other from Lebanon.

VicPol told them he’d buy them drinks, but it must be whisky, not cold tea or ginger beer. Then, I only drank beer (Boy, did that change!), so I left the whisky to VicPol and the girls. We drank and talked until the wee hours, with Australia, the West Indies and Lebanon all getting a mention. Both ladies and VicPol ended up tipsy from downing several shots of whisky in its undiluted form.

After bidding the girls goodnight, we returned to our mess without incident.

A few days later, alone and window shopping in Limassol’s old city St Andrew’s Street, I bumped into the bar girl from the West Indies. When I stopped to speak with her, she expressed surprise that I’d stop and talk with a nightclub hostess in public.

Before we parted, she told me how she and her friend enjoyed our company in the bar the night of our visit. She claimed we made a welcome change from men who spent time with them, groping and propositioning them for sex. She hoped we’d call again. But, no. My drop-in with Max proved to be the only occasion I saw the inside of a Limassol whisky bar. Nor did Kelly or Baker say anything to me regarding the incident. Island coup and Turkish invasion. On July 15, 1974, a military coup took place in Cyprus, instigated by the junta in Athens, giving Turkey a pretext to invade five days later. Being based in Polis at the time of the invasion by Turkish forces proved to be a godsend. Five officers comprised the Polis outpost staff, and we were more or less left to our own devices as far as the UN bigwigs were concerned. Our colleagues, based at Paphos and Limassol, suffered strict time curfews and limitations on travel. Whereas, in Polis, we relied on common sense regarding our movements.

When the Turkish warships appeared off Polis, and their warplanes buzzed the village, the residents struck a Greek flag in the village square and fled to the hills. That left the five Aussie UN peacekeepers and a squad of Brit Coldstream Guards who manned an outpost nearby.

The planes began dropping bombs, which changed the

complexity of our dilemma. Whenever we heard the aircraft, we’d make a mad dash for a stairwell on the ground floor and huddle there, holding bed mattresses above our heads. We commandeered a couple of white sheets and, applying blue paint, endorsed them with the letters U and N. These we fixed to the roof of our barracks/mess (once used as a hotel). We also fitted a pole to our street-side balcony and hung a UN flag. Both the flag and the pole disappeared overnight. Days later, a Brit army patrol came across a Greek National Guard vehicle driving with our flag flying in the breeze. They confiscated it and returned it to us. The Greeks’ purpose in using our flag was to fool Turkish forces into believing them to be a UN patrol vehicle. From a vantage point of an upperlevel balcony, we saw exploding bombs in the distance, but the Turkish pilots didn’t bother with downtown Polis, much to our relief. Every time the warplanes buzzed our barracks, we huddled beneath the stairwell, covering ourselves with our mattresses. That means of protection stood no chance should the Turks have dropped a 500 lb bomb on us, as they were doing elsewhere nearby. One evening, with fighting between the Greek National Guard and the Turkish army more or less on our doorstep, two police officers visited our mess and demanded we extinguish all lighting. They feared the Turks might use our lights as a benchmark to launch an attack. We killed everything other than weak globes in hollowed-out gourds hanging above our bar. The next thing we knew, the two police had returned with half a dozen armed National Guard soldiers in tow. We received orders to snuff out ALL illumination; otherwise, bear the consequences of spending the night in a cell.

The dousing of the lights proved life-saving. In the pitch-blackness, with no moonlight and a dense low cloud cover, night vision was nigh on non-existent. Ken Millar (NSWPol) and I retired to a balcony on the upper level of our barracks for a chat and a beer. Next moment I ended up on my back with my ears ringing and my head in a whirl. I didn’t know what had hit me, but when members of the Brit OP heard the noise and sent a patrol to investigate,

they told me I’d suffered a nearmiss from the projectile of a highpowered firearm. The percussion and vacuum caused by whatever passed near me were enough to numb my senses.

Ken fell victim to the same symptoms, but to a lesser degree. I thanked my lucky stars and the police officers for making us turn off our lights. Otherwise, I might have provided an easier target for the shooter. We, plus the Brits, logged the incident, though

The famous Australian UN Landrover.

Village Patrol, Limassol Limassol.

the sniper’s identity remained unknown. No Turks had advanced as far as the village, so we suspected a rogue National Guard. At the height of the troubles, a gunman using an automatic firearm fired a burst through a bedroom window of our Limassol barracks. The glass pane shattered and fell onto a bed which, by chance, was unoccupied. The regular occupant was absent, sleeping in the radio room while doing his seven-day compulsory duty.

At Paphos, an unidentified shooter shot up a member’s private car, putting a bullet into the windscreen and out through the rear window. That incident appeared just an act of wanton damage.

My Brit schoolteacher girlfriend, Maggie (later my wife), had her flat in Limassol sprayed with bullets. I dug machine gun slugs from the walls and collected two large howitzer shells from the driveway. She moved to accommodation in the Brit army compound of Polimedia, but rogue Greek National Guards overran the base and looted her unit of everything of value. The Brits did nothing to stop the looters for fear of causing ‘an incident.’ She shared her next accommodation, a converted school classroom at the RAF base at Episkopi, with other girls in the same boat.

Things changed when Gurkhas arrived on the island to boost the strength of the Brit forces. A Brit officer told the story of overhearing a Gurkha officer confront Greek soldiers advancing on the Brit RAF base of Akrotiri, no doubt with looting on their minds; shades of what they did at the Brit army base of Polimedia. The Gurkha said, “You go back, or we kill.” They went back.

In Polis, one day, while patrolling an olive grove where fighting had

taken place between Greek and Turkish forces, I spotted a Greek steel army helmet lying in a field. I was driving, with John Maree (NSWPol) as my offsider. I stopped the vehicle and asked John to do me a favour and fetch the helmet for me.

He obliged, and when we examined the headpiece, we saw it featured a large bullet hole and splattered brain matter lined the insides. John wanted nothing to do with the gory item and was happy to pass it on to me.

I said, “Thanks, John. I didn’t want to get out and pick it up in case it was booby-trapped.”

On reflecting on what I’d said, John did not appreciate my thoughtless comment. We’d both heard reports of such happening in areas of armed conflict. In hindsight, what I thought was funny at the time could best be described as irresponsible behaviour on my part.

With fighting raging a few short miles from Polis, I stood on our street-side balcony one evening and watched a Greek army truck convoy ferrying dead and wounded soldiers from the battlefront. The bodies were lying in the backs of the trucks. As one vehicle passed, I heard someone yelling, “Big Bob! Big Bob! Big Bob!”

‘Carlsberg George,’ a Greek Cypriot from Limassol, was waving with gusto as he sought my attention from the back of a truck. I responded by gesturing for him to join me in our mess. He obliged by fronting up soon afterwards while accompanied by five or six of his soldier mates.

George was a man well known to those of the Aussie contingent. Before the war, he worked as a representative of the Carlsberg Brewing Company and spent many hours in our Limassol mess.

Now an army conscript fighting on the front line, George and his friends laid bare visible signs of stress. They’d been involved in the thick of the action and witnessed the deaths of their soldier compatriots. They showed relief inside our compound, feeling safe for the first time in weeks.

As the town’s only residents, we appreciated the company, and the beer soon flowed. One of our crew cranked up some Greek music on an audiocassette player, prompting the soldiers to demonstrate their traditional dancing skills. They balanced on chairs; they linked with teeth-held scarves, whirled and kicked out and really let their hair down.

Later, when it came for them to leave, they bade farewell with hugs and kisses on the cheeks. It made us feel good to have provided them with the opportunity to release pent-up emotions.

Not long afterwards, the conflict moved to the island’s northernmost region. We became more active concerning patrols, food, and refugee escorts. Liaison between our mess and other UN bodies resulted in Graem Lawton and me being designated to escort two young Turkish girls from Polis to Nicosia. We were to use the northern route through Xeros. Because of the fighting in the region, I called at the Polis Brit army base and spoke with a couple of sappers. The sappers spared no effort in briefing me on what we could run into on our travels. They warned me to look out for landmines on the road and off-shoots. The Brit sappers had removed and defused many mines from the road but, as they admitted, may have overlooked the odd one on patches of unsealed roadways.

With me driving, Graem and the two girls crammed into the front

seat of our Landrover, we set out for Nicosia. We encountered several places on the sealed sections where the Brit sappers had deactivated and removed mines earlier laid by the Greek or Turkish armed forces. Still, we dodged those areas in case the mine layers had returned and booby-trapped the road again. Travelling on unsealed roadway segments proved to be the most stressful and time-consuming. After negotiating that patch of No-man’s-land, we continued on our trip only to run into Turkish army blockades. The gun-wielding soldiers we encountered neither spoke nor read English, so our English-written passes were useless. On our prompting, the Turkish girls (they couldn’t speak English, either) talked us through the barricades.

On delivering the girls to the designated drop-off point, Graem and I headed to Ellen’s bar to calm our frazzled nerves. I’d never been to Ellen’s bar (because it was in Nicosia!), which was a favourite watering hole for UN troops of all ranks and contingents. And I must admit my visit that day, opened my eyes and instilled lasting memories.

Neither Graem nor I fancied returning through No-man’s-land, so we set off on the longer route via Limassol and Paphos. Between Paphos and Polis, angry Greek soldiers stopped us at a roadblock. Brit troops, travelling in armoured Ferret cars, had taken to driving through without stopping. They’d send the barriers flying and spin their gun turret to face the Greek soldiers. For good reason, those actions raised the soldier’s hackles. While I was wondering what to do, Graem reached into his bag and produced two bottles of kokinelli wine. These he handed to the scowling, rifle-wielding servicemen, resulting in the scowls turning to smiles and the barriers cleared from the road.

I took Graem’s subtle bribery technique on board and utilised it on future occasions.

On a sad note, a similar escort conducted (a few weeks after our tenure on the island had finished) by two members of the 11th contingent met with tragedy. While travelling the same route as Graem and me to Nicosia via Xeros, their Landrover struck a land mine. One officer lost his life, and the other received serious injuries. On escort as a passenger

in the vehicle, a Turkish girl did not survive the explosion.

To be stopped at roadblocks by riflewielding soldiers became a regular occurrence. Except for having a few concerns when confronted by the Turks on our way to Nicosia, most confrontations went without incident. I never worried over much that someone might, by design, shoot me, but now and again, I needed to pay close attention to nervous young conscripts. Their behaviour caused me sometimes

An evening at Niazi’s Turkish Restaurant, Limassol.

The Australian 10th Contingent (2nd half) on the steps of the Limassol Barracks.

to fear that their shaking hands, holding their rifles, might trigger off an accidental shot. I tried to position myself, so if that happened, I’d not cop a wayward bullet.

The only time I feared for my wellbeing happened when patrolling with John Maree in the Polis hills. I spotted a Greek flag beside the road and pulled up to check it out. John and I climbed from our Landrover to investigate. I held up the banner and saw it to be drenched in blood. We assumed it had been used to stem the blood flow of a wounded soldier.

With our vehicle standing in neutral, I’d left the motor running, and its engine drowned out another vehicle’s approach. A car with three Greek army officers, weapons in hand, jumped out and began yelling at me. I offered the flag to them while explaining we’d had no involvement in the bloody item. Finally, much to our relief, after snatching the flag from me, the angry soldiers drove away. The villagers returned to their homes when the fighting near Polis moved to other parts of the island. Their re-emergence coincided with a protest march through the streets of Polis. Residents, school children and people from nearby towns took part. I spoke with two to three women who marched, and they advised that we (Australian police) were not targets of their rally but the armed forces of the Brits, Austrians, Danes, etc. They understood our limitations and did not expect five unarmed officers to confront the Turks on the battlefield.

The Turks ran roughshod through the island’s northern section, seizing the most prosperous and fertile tracts. The protestors wanted the UN to act! Noisy they may have been when marching, but we saw no acts of violence or disorderly behaviour.

Wedding Bells. Max Hibbert was the first of our group to tie the knot when he wed the English lass, Jacqui. They got married at the English air base, Episkopi. We, as a contingent, formed a guard of honour as they exited the church. We wore our mess uniforms and provided a grand spectacle. At Max’s buck’s party, held at one of the few Limassol restaurants to continue trading during the troubled times, an incident sparked high humour. During the evening, someone fired a burst of gunfire outside the front and near proximity of the restaurant. Those gathered ignored the shooting as we’d become blasé to such happenings, except for a wag in our midst, who declared, “I’ve attended many a shotgun wedding in my day, but this will be the first machine-gun wedding for me.”

Leon Kemp (TasPol) became the second member of our contingent to wed on the island. He married Paphos Greek Cypriot girl, Maria, in a full Greek wedding.

Once again, the Fighting 10th showed up, and our numbers helped pack the tiny church to capacity. My girlfriend on the island, Maggie, followed me to Australia, where we wed in January 1976. Bill Cummins married his Cyprus girlfriend, Jane, in England after his tenure. Alan Woodcock (NSWPol) wed his Cyprus lady friend, Glenys, in Australia soon after returning home. The end of our twelve months deployments in Cyprus caused several of our crew to hide teary eyes as they bid farewell to the friends they made during their stay. The Brit service families (they treated us as they would their own); Danish, Swedish and Austrian CIVPOL members; armed forces servicemen; Greek Cypriot police officers; domestic staff attached to the Limassol, Paphos and Polis barracks. So many people from so many different walks of life stay forever in my mind.

By Bob MacDonald (WAPol) Lest we forget!

Street protest, Polis.

The Are They Triple OK? Podcast

BUILDING CONNECTION AND COMRADERY

R U OK? has launched a new podcast series to encourage life changing conversations, early intervention and supportive behaviour amongst the peers, family and friends of those who work and volunteer in the police and emergency services.

The ‘Are They Triple OK? podcast’ features personal stories and practical tools to increase social support for emergency services personnel and build a mentally healthy workplace. It also includes tips on how to ask, ‘are you OK?’ and navigate a conversation if someone is not OK.

Episode one features James Maskey, a retired front-

line Queensland Police Officer. In 2013, James was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

“As first responders historically, we talk about everything except for mental health and, importantly, suicidal thoughts,” said Mr Maskey. “Either because we didn't have the confidence to have that conversation, or we were worried

about the impacts of having that chat. And when I say we, I'm talking about me. Certainly, that was my experience.”

Mr Maskey says frontline first responders, in the fire truck, in the ambulance, in the patrol car, have a unique opportunity to get to know their colleagues.

“You know what they like to eat, their coffee order and what their

family and their children are up to,” he said. “You know the intimate details of their lives because you've got a long time in the car sitting side by side to share so many experiences.”

Mr Maskey is now the National Sector Specialist at Fortem Australia, and is passionate about enhancing the mental, physical and social well-being of the first responder community.

“My advice to the emergency services community is to learn how to have an R U OK? Conversation and start having them,” he said. “If someone is struggling, reaching out for help can feel like a heavy thing to do, it can be a hard task and it can feel overwhelming.

“But when you take the time to ask someone how they’re travelling, you can take some of the weight off and some of the burden away. People are often relieved to have a conversation and feel that level of camaraderie.”

The ‘Are They Triple OK?

podcast’ is hosted by Matt Newlands, R U OK? Community Ambassador and former police officer is one of a suite of free resources available from R U OK? for those who work in the police and emergency services, their families and friends. The podcast and resources including a conversation guide and personal stories that demonstrate the life changing impact of an R U OK? conversation can be found at ruok org.au. The ‘Are They Triple OK? podcast’ will also be available for download on a range of streaming services, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play and Audible.

‘Are They Triple OK?’ was developed in response to the Beyond Blue nationwide ‘Answering the call’ survey which found more than half of all police and emergency services employees indicated they had

experienced a traumatic event that had deeply affected them during the course of their work. Positively, personnel with higher levels of social support and resilience reported lower levels of suicidal thoughts and behaviours.

“The results from ‘Answering the Call’ showed us that the support of peers, family and friends does make a difference for those who work in frontline services. It’s OK to not be OK. It’s OK to lean on each other, and it’s OK to retire that unhelpful stereotype of being that six-foot bulletproof superhero,” said Maskey. “I would urge leaders to explore vulnerability to share their own story if they have one, or to support others to share their own story as well. We know that this helps in demystifying mental health."

If you’re worried about someone and feel they need professional support, encourage them to contact their Employee Assistance Program (EAP), appropriate agency support service or connect with a trusted health professional, like their local doctor.

Pinnacle Charitable Foundation is a Funding Partner of R U OK? and is proud to fund the ‘Are they Triple OK?’ campaign.

Specialised wellbeing and mental fitness support for first responders and their families can be accessed through Fortem Australia at fortemaustralia.org.au.

For 24/7 for crisis support call Lifeline on 13 11 14. Text support is also available: 0477 13 11 14.

About ‘Are They Triple OK?’

• ‘Are They Triple OK?’ is an R U OK? initiative that encourages higher levels of peer and social support for police and emergency services workers and volunteers nationwide.

• The initiative responds to key recommendations in the

Beyond Blue ‘Answering the call’ survey into the mental health and wellbeing of Australia’s police and emergency services workers.

• The initiative focuses on the support networks around our police and emergency services workers and volunteers, both at home and in the workplace e.g., supervisors, volunteers, friends and family.

• ‘Are They Triple OK?’ provides free digital and printable resources.

• Resources include storytelling from police, fire, ambulance, and SES employees and volunteers to ensure the voices of lived experience are heard and to model the life-changing impact of an R U OK? conversation.

• Pinnacle Charitable Foundation is a Funding Partner of R U OK? and is proud to fund the ‘Are they Triple OK?’ campaign.

• ‘Are They Triple OK?’ can be found on the R U OK? website at ruok.org.au and is distributed through the existing communication channels of each service.

About R U OK?

• R U OK? is a public health promotion charity that aims to inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with friends, family and colleagues who might be struggling with life.

• A renowned suicide prevention theory is that of Dr Thomas Joiner . Joiner’s theory describes three forces at play in someone at risk of suicide, one of which is a decreased sense of belonging. This lack of belonging and sense of connection is what R U OK? are working to prevent.

• R U OK?Day is an annual National Day of Action; held on the second Thursday of September (14 September 2023)

and a reminder that every day is a day to start a conversation that could change a life.

• Throughout the year R U OK? delivers free resources that increase the willingness and confidence of all Australians to recognise the signs someone is struggling, start a genuine conversation and lend appropriate support. R U OK? also tailors these resources to meet the needs of targeted population groups and settings.

• R U OK? draws on the valuable lived experience of Australians in the development all campaigns.

• R U OK?Day was founded in 2009 by adman Gavin Larkin who tragically lost his father to suicide in 1995. Larkin (who died of nonHodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011) wanted to spare other families the grief his family endured.

• A spark of an idea has since become a nationwide community movement that encourages everyone to genuinely ask the question and have a meaningful conversation with those in their world who might be struggling.

• Conversation tips and crisis support contacts can be found at ruok.org.au

About Fortem Australia

• Fortem Australia is a not-forprofit organisation that supports the mental fitness and wellbeing of first responder families - the people who protect and care for Australian communities.

• As a result of their occupation, first responders in national security and emergency service roles experience high psychological distress, experience suicidal thoughts, and have suicide plans at rates significantly higher than the average Australian adult.

• Tragically, first responder families are also impacted through

‘spillover stress’, with many experiencing secondary trauma and stresses that cascade from first responder employment.

• Fortem Australia provides free evidence-based mental fitness and wellbeing support to the first responder community. We run wellbeing activities designed to connect families and build communities, provide psychology support to first responders and their families, as well as supporting those looking for new life and career opportunities following service.

• Fortem Australia’s wellbeing activities are making a difference in the lives of first responders across the country, increasing social connectedness among the first responder community. Nearly all (97 per cent) of participants felt that the Fortem activity benefited their health and wellbeing.

• Fortem’s clinical support team are highly experienced in the challenges and traumas that first responders and their families go through. One in four psychology sessions are provided directly to family members of first responders.

• Fortem Australia’s Transition and Employment Program provides specialised career management support to transitioning first responders, delivered by an expert team with lived experience in various first responder agencies.

• As we approach four years of operation, Fortem Australia has received over 23,500 wellbeing activity registrations and provided more than 3,600 psychology sessions to first responders and their families across the country.

More information can be found at https://fortemaustralia.org.au/

At Least 32 Peacekeeping, Associated Personnel Killed in Malicious Attacks during 2022, United Nations Staff Union President Says

Missions in Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo Continue to Suffer Greatest Number of Fatalities.

At least 32 United Nations peacekeeping personnel — 28 military and four police, including one woman police officer — were killed in deliberate attacks in 2022, the United Nations Staff Union said today.

For the ninth year in a row, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was the deadliest for peacekeepers with 14 fatalities, followed by 13 fatalities in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), four fatalities in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and one fatality in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

“Peacekeepers and the civilian personnel who work side by side with them are on the front lines of the United Nations work in the world’s most challenging environments. We honor the memory of our 32 colleagues whose lives were taken in 2022,” said the United Nations Staff Union President, Aitor Arauz. “Each malicious attack against UN personnel is a blow to peacekeeping, one of the pillars of the multilateral edifice. It is a collective responsibility of the international community to put in place appropriate mechanisms to ensure accountability for these heinous acts, which may constitute

war crimes under international law. To this end, we were encouraged by the launch in 2022 of the Group of Friends to promote accountability for crimes against peacekeepers. We look forward to seeing Member States’ strong commitment on this issue lead to tangible outcomes on the ground.”

By nationality, the peacekeepers who died in 2022 were from Bangladesh (3), Chad (4), Egypt (7), Guinea (1), India (2), Ireland (1), Jordan (1), Morocco (1), Nepal (1), Nigeria (2), Pakistan (7), Russian Federation (1) and Serbia (1).

This brings the death toll to at least 494 United Nations and associated personnel who were killed in deliberate attacks in the past 12 years from improvised explosive devices, rocket-propelled grenades, artillery fire, mortar rounds, landmines, armed and successive ambushes, convoy attacks, suicide attacks and targeted assassinations.

Fatality Trend

The figures for preceding years are as follows: 2021 (25 killed); 2020 (15 killed); 2019 (28 killed); 2018 (34 killed); 2017 (71 killed); 2016 (32 killed); 2015 (51 killed); 2014 (61 killed); 2013 (58 killed); 2012 (37 killed); 2011 (35 killed); and 2010 (15 killed).

Deliberate Attacks Resulting in Death

Following is a non-exhaustive list of deliberate attacks in 2022 which

resulted in the death of United Nations and associated personnel, compiled by the United Nations Staff Union Standing Committee on the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service.

On 7 March 2022, Samir Ahmed Moataz and Mohammed Sobhy Bassiouni, two peacekeepers from Egypt serving with MINUSMA, were killed and four seriously injured in an improvised explosive device attack against a United Nations logistics convoy in the region of Mopti, in central Mali.

On 15 March 2022, the vehicle of Elsayed Moussa Abdelgawad Sameh, a peacekeeper from Egypt serving with MINUSMA, hit an improvised explosive 12 kilometres from the MINUSMA camp while he was overseeing a logistics convoy between Gao and Tessalit. He and three of his men were seriously injured. Mr. Sameh passed away two days later, on 17 March, during his evacuation to Dakar for further treatment.

On 29 March 2022, Muhammad Ismail, Faizan Ali, Asif Ali Awan, Samiullah Khan, Muhammad Saad Nomani and Muhammad

Jamil Khan, six peacekeepers from Pakistan; Aleksei Miziura, a peacekeeper from the Russian Federation; and Dejan Stanojevic, a peacekeeper from Serbia, all of them serving with MONUSCO, lost their lives in a helicopter crash in the east of the country. The MONUSCO

helicopter that crashed in the Tshanzu area, 20 kilometres south of Rutshuru, in North Kivu, was part of a surveillance and reconnaissance mission, carried out in an area where clashes had taken place between the M23 militia and the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

On 5 April 2022, Anil Gurung, a peacekeeper from Nepal serving with MONUSCO, was killed in an attack in Bali, Djugu territory, Ituri Province, by suspected militia members of the Coopérative pour le développement du Congo (CODECO).

On 1 June 2022, Ali Aljawabrah Jumah Ali, a peacekeeper from Jordan serving with MINUSMA, was killed and three others wounded in an attack against a United Nations logistics convoy near the town of Kidal in northern Mali. For roughly an hour, the convoy came under fire from suspected members of a terrorist group using small arms and rocket launchers.

On 3 June 2022, Baheer Abdelgalil Abdelaziz Sherif and Elsayed Ibrahim Ahmed Mohamed, two peacekeepers from Egypt serving with MINUSMA, were killed and another peacekeeper injured in an IED/mine attack against a United Nations convoy approximately 46 kilometres north of Douentza, central Mali.

On 19 June 2022, Haba Emmanuel Jean, a peacekeeper from Guinea serving with MINUSMA, died in Kidal after being seriously injured by an IED explosion while carrying out a mine detection search operation.

On 5 July 2022, Hamza Ali Ahmed Elsayed and Sayed Sawy Mohamed Shawky, two peacekeepers from Egypt serving with MINUSMA, were killed and nine others injured when their armoured vehicle hit a mine approximately 62 kilometres north-east of Gao, in northern Mali.

On 26 July 2022, Sanwalaram Vishnoi and Shishupal Singh, two police officers from India, and Azzouz Znaidi, a peacekeeper from Morocco, all three serving with MONUSCO, were killed and a police officer from Egypt injured when violent protesters targeted the MONUSCO base in Butembo, North Kivu. The demonstrators called on the Force to do more to protect communities from the many armed groups that roam the mineral-rich east.

On 30 September 2022, Babar Siddique, a peacekeeper from Pakistan serving with MONUSCO, was killed in an attack on the Mission’s operational base in Minembwe, South Kivu, by suspected members of the Twirwaneho armed group.

On 3 October 2022, Mohammad Sharif Hossain, Mohammad Jahangir Alam and Mohammad Jasim Uddin, three peacekeepers from Bangladesh serving with MINUSCA, were killed following a roadside bomb explosion near the border with Cameroon. The peacekeepers were on a night patrol, near the village of Kaita, when their vehicle detonated an explosive device.

On 17 October 2022, Dady Barkai Abakar, Brahim Toubaye Ali and Hisseine Hassan Mahamoud, three peacekeepers from Chad serving with MINUSMA, were killed and three wounded in an IED attack against a MINUSMA patrol near Tessalit, Kidal region, Mali. The peacekeepers were on a mine search and detection patrol.

On 18 October 2022, Ahmat Moukour Sabour, a peacekeeper from Chad serving with MINUSCA, succumbed to his injuries from the improvised explosive device attack sustained on 17 October near Tessalit, Kidal region, Mali.

On 15 December 2022, Seán Cormac Rooney, a peacekeeper from Ireland serving with UNIFIL, was shot and killed while on

patrol in Al-Aqbieh, just outside the UNIFIL area of operations in south Lebanon. Three other peacekeepers were injured.

On 16 December 2022, Nasiru Bawa and Saratu Haruna, a male and a female police officer, respectively, from Nigeria serving with MINUSMA, were killed when unidentified armed men opened fire on a United Nations Police patrol in Timbuktu town. Four other peacekeepers were injured, one of them seriously.

Other Incidents

On 4 January 2022, peacekeepers with UNIFIL on their way to meet Lebanese Armed Forces for a routine patrol were attacked at night by unknown perpetrators, their United Nations vehicles vandalized and official items stolen.

On 27 January 2022, the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia was the target of an attack, when three vehicles that were part of a joint expedition heading to the rural area of Guayabero to meet with local communities were approached by armed individuals, who made the United Nations personnel step out of the vehicles. Two of the three vehicles were incinerated a few minutes later. Nobody was injured. The attack on the joint mission, also comprising the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and a non-governmental organization, took place in San José de Guaviare.

On 30 January 2022, Cristofer José Citan Ramos of Guatemala was the military point person during a MONUSCO patrol when it came under attack by the CODECO armed group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. During the assault, he was shot and wounded. Despite his injury, Mr. Ramos continued to return fire to deter the combatants and protect his colleagues. Secretary-General António Guterres awarded him a letter of commendation on

26 May, the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.

On 11 February 2022, five United Nations staff members were abducted by suspected Al-Qaida militants in Abyan governorate, southern Yemen, while returning to Aden after a field mission. On 3 September, Al-Qaida released a video showing one of the staff members.

Independence of International Civil Service Continued to Be Threatened

On 21 February 2022, four members of MINUSCA were arrested by the Central African Republic gendarmerie in Bangui while escorting a senior military officer of the Mission.

On 20 July 2022, MINUSMA was informed of the decision of the Government of Mali “inviting” the Mission’s spokesperson to leave the country within seventy-two hours. According to media reports, the spokesperson was accused of having

posted “unacceptable information” on Twitter the day after the arrest of 49 Ivorian soldiers in Bamako, capital of Mali, on 10 July 2022.

On 3 August 2022, the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo expelled the spokesperson of MONUSCO. According to media reports, the spokesperson, in a 13 July 2022 interview on the sidelines of the weekly MONUSCO press conference in Kinshasa, said that the deployment of a large part of the resources of the Mission and the army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the fight against M23 rebels had “negative implications” on other regions where other armed groups operated.

Finally, on 29 January 2022 a military court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo sentenced 51 people to death for the killing of Zaida Catalán and Michael Sharp, members of the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

and their local interpreter, Betu Tshintela. Ms. Catalán, of Sweden, and Mr. Sharp, of the United States, were investigating reports of mass atrocities in the Kasai region surrounding fighting between Government forces and armed militia, when they were abducted on 12 March 2017. Their bodies were found by United Nations peacekeepers two weeks later outside the city of Kananga. The verdict, which might be appealed, resulted in the conviction of Colonel Jean de Dieu Mambweni, Thomas Nkashama, Jean Bosco Mukanda and others associated with them. Noting that there was a de facto moratorium on the imposition of the death penalty in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations urged the country’s authorities to maintain the moratorium on the death penalty and to consider abolishing it in law.

Source: UN Website

Born of Fire and Ash

Australian operations in response to the East Timor crisis 1999–2000.

large multi-national force. In short, International Force East Timor was the most complex politico-strategic challenge Australia had faced, at least since the 1940s.

Written from classified government sources and buttressed by hundreds of interviews with veterans and stakeholders, this first volume in the landmark Official History of Australian Operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and East Timor  Born of Fire and Ash — is an honest, challenging and compelling account of the 1999–2000 East Timor crisis and Australia’s response to it. It tackles the good alongside the bad, successes and failures, to chart a complex ‘truth’ unknown to most Australians, then and now.

In memory of fallen Australian Peacekeepers

On 6 October, SRSG Colin Stewart, accompanied by UNPOL Senior Police Advisor, Assistant Police Commissioner Satu Koivu, received Australia’s High Commissioner, Fiona McKergow and her delegation at the UN Protected Area to place a memorial plaque to remember the three Australian police officers who lost their lives while serving for peace in Cyprus.

Remembrance Day

On 13 November, SRSG Colin Stewart, UNFICYP Force Commander, Major General Ingrid Gjerde, together with senior UN officials, peacekeepers, and representatives of the international community during the annual ceremony to mark the Act of Remembrance at Wayne’s Keep Cemetery in Nicosia.

Forgotten Monument to PPCLI Uncovered

A British contingent stationed in Cyprus has unearthed a hidden monument to Canada’s Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. While clearing an overgrowth of vegetation, UK Fusilier McRae discovered the monument and restored it to its former glory, as a tribute to the Canadian peacekeepers that have been deploying there since 1964.

Digital transformation underway at UNFICYP

On 12 December, UNFICYP became the first United Nations peacekeeping mission to receive enhanced situational awareness capabilities with the launch of the Unite Aware technical platform and redesign of the Joint Operations Centre.

Designed to enhance the near real-time data capabilities of missions, Unite Aware consolidates existing systems into a single point of access for mission personnel. It incorporates patrol planning, incident reporting, real-time asset tracking and multilayer mapping tools in a user-friendly interface. UNFICYP’s Force Chief of Staff, Colonel Ben Ramsay OBE, commented on the launch’s importance: “Having timely and accurate information being provided through the Joint

Operations Centre up to senior leadership will mean that we’re able to inform their decision-making process, and also inform both the opposing forces of activity happening in the buffer zone,” supporting efforts “to ensure that there is no reoccurrence of fighting within the buffer zone and that we are able to provide a stable environment for the peace process to take hold.” Unite Aware’s roll-out is part of peacekeeping’s Enhancing Situational Awareness programme. This initiative

aims to improve the situational awareness capabilities of missions, as prioritised in the Strategy for the Digital Transformation of UN Peacekeeping. The launch comes after testing in MINUSCA in 2018-19, with user feedback supporting further refinement of the platform. Tailored for UNFICYP, the platform’s roll-out follows a programme of technical assessment and implementation visits to the mission by the joint Department of Peace Operations and the Office of Information Communication

Technology Situational Awareness Team. The launch was accompanied by a scheme of online and inperson training designed to equip mission personnel with the skills necessary to effectively exploit the platform’s tools. Unite Aware was wellreceived at in-person training sessions, with John Culleton, an Assistant Sector Civil Affairs Police Liaison Officer, remarking: “It is very user-friendly, and the access to the information available is a lot easier to obtain than (in) the current system. Where before you would need a screen for every application in support of data entry and crosscomparison/integration, now the information is easier to obtain without having to go search for it.” Captain Gaston Figueras, one of our Military Observer and Liaison Officers, highlighted the platform’s capacity to “significantly improve

and reduce the time it takes to make different reports,” with the new system meaning that “all the steps for the elaboration of the reports and info-reports are even simpler and faster since you can create a map in a short period because the map is already integrated.” Munehiko Harada, UNFICYP’s Civil Affairs Officer, commented: “This technology platform should be able to assist the mission’s integration better at tactical and operational levels as we all can have smart access to information and help our communication across the components.” Unite Aware was also praised by mission staff for its enhanced patrol planning and tracking capabilities, with Sergeant Sidhartha Gurung, the Mission’s Tactical Operations Centre Watchkeeper, stating that the platform “is more precise and

Women’s walk and talk

On 3 November, women from across Cyprus gathered this morning for a walk in Lefka/ Lefke village organized by the Women’s Walk and Talk initiative. More than 70 participants met for a guided tour of the area and an interactive discussion on the how progress can be made towards a solution on the island. The initiative, co-organized by the Centre for Visual Arts and Research and the Turkish Cypriot University Women Association, allowed opportunities for increased dialogue and understanding on issues of consequence for women across the island. The event was also supported by the Embassy of Japan.

enables personnel to monitor and compare occurrences through the data analytics provided.” Sergeant Alexander Rocks, the Mission’s Force Cartographer, anticipated that “using the patrol plan tool to understand where patrols have been and when, separate to SAGE [the existing monitoring platform], and also knowing where patrols are going to go may make it easier for cartographers to direct questions to them.” Following the handover of responsibilities to mission staff, the Situational Awareness Team will turn its attention to future implementations of the programme – exploring potential deployments of the Unite Aware platform to other peacekeeping missions.

Source: UNFICYP Blue Beret (Winter 2023)

UNFICYP welcomes Bangladesh and Indonesia at UNPOL flag-raising ceremony

On 13 December, UNFICYP held a flag-raising ceremony for Bangladesh and Indonesia at the United Nations Protected Area.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Cyprus and Head of UNFICYP, Colin Stewart, accompanied by UNPOL’ Senior Police Advisor, Assistant Police Commissioner Satu Koivu, welcomed the Police Contributing Countries with the arrival of

UNPOL officers, Anita Devi, Tika Nur Pratiwi and Mohammed Alam. “Bangladesh and Indonesia are one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping operations and they both are committed to increasing the number and role of female peacekeepers,”

stated the Senior Police Advisor, Satu Koivu. The Honorary Consul of Indonesia, Antonis Michaelides, and Honorary Consul of Bangladesh, Pavlou Kalalydjian, on the island also attended the ceremony together with other UNPOL officers.

Investigating Vulnerable Witnesses Program

The program is delivered by the TLPDP with support from UNICEF to enhance the skills of PNTL Vulnerable Persons Unit, Office of Prosecutors General and Child Protection Officers in interviewing vulnerable persons.

The Timor-Leste Police Development Program (TLPDP) continues to enhance the protection of vulnerable people in Timor-Leste through delivering the inaugural Investigating Vulnerable Witnesses Program.

Source: Australian Embassy (Timor Leste) Facebook PageFebruary 14 2023

Timor Leste Prime Minister visits Canberra

In late February, the Timor Leste Prime Minister His Excellency Taur Matan Ruak visited Canberra on official state visit.

While in Canberra he couldn’t resist a photo opportunity by mounting an AFP Traffic Motor Cycle (one of his motorcade escort vehicles)

Source: Australian Embassy (Timor Leste) Facebook Page

All hands on deck as Naha and White River Police Stations cleaned up

10 February 2023

Solomon’s International Assistance Force (SIAF) members, Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF)-AFP Policing Partnership Program (RAPPP) contractors, and RSIPF members recently combined forces for a clean-up day at the White River and Naha Police Stations.

The teams got to work cutting back overgrown grass, picking up rubbish in the street and digging mud and rubbish out of the drains that had become blocked after the recent rain.

Many of the RSIPF officers helping with the clean-up were on days off, but insisted on coming into work and helping. The clean-ups were done to improve the approaches to the stations and assist members of the public to access them.

As the day went on, the team of RSIPF and SIAF/RAPPP members at Naha continued their clean-up, repairing the station’s driveways, filling potholes out the front of the station, and building a new pathway from stones donated by an RSIPF officer’s family.

The days ended with dirty uniforms, trailers full of rubbish and some very tired police officers, but the stations and the surrounding road are now looking fresh and clean.

The clean-up days were another opportunity for RSIPF and SIAF/RAPPP to work together, building pride in the services offered by police and improving public access to RSIPF facilities.

Source: AFP

RSIPF Acknowledge RAPPP and ADF for Gifting of Sporting Equipment in Honiara

Royal Solomon Islands

Police Force (RSIPF) Assistant Commissioner (AC) National Capital and Crime Prevention Simpson Pogeava acknowledged the gifting of a range of sporting equipment to the RSIPF from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Defence Force (ADF) members at Rove Police Head Quarters on 13 March 2023.

Acting Commander Clinton Smith, who oversees the RSIPF & AFP Policing Partnership Program (RAPPP) and Lieutenant Colonel Justin Bywater of the ADF’s Defence Cooperation Program (DCP), handed over the balls and other sports equipment to AC Pogeava that will be dispersed across the RSIPF to promote the health and wellbeing of its officers.

Lt Col Bywater says, “The ADF’s Defence Cooperation Program in the Solomon Islands has

been running for over 40 years and cooperates with the RSIPF to support the operation and development of key capabilities in particularly with the Maritime Division and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team.”

Mr. Pogeava says, “RSIPF health and wellbeing is very important and with these gifts our officers will make good use of it to keep healthy, fit and smart in decision making as part of their daily job.”

Source: RSIPF Media

RSIPF and RAPPP Rolls Out Copen Awareness Program in Honiara

The Royal Solomon Island Police Force (RSIPF) and the RSIPF-Australian Federal Police (AFP) Policing Partnership Program (RAPPP) in cooperation with the National Community Police Department of the RSIPF has rolled out copen awareness programs in Honiara schools.

The awareness program, which comes under the RAPPP Health and Wellbeing and jointly driven by RSIPF, targets primary and secondary schools and the surrounding communities in Honiara. The first program was delivered to Koloale Community High School (KCHS) on 1 March 2023.

RAPPP members were joined by RSIPF and SIAF officers, staff from the Honiara City Council (HCC)’s Health Division and Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) and an athlete from Solomon Island National Institute of Sport (SINIS). The program involves interaction between facilitators and students and informative presentations aimed at educating students about the dangers of copen, how to

identify risks and protective factors and how to deal with peer pressure.

Copen is a new drug with potential harmful effects that is becoming popular in schools and youths in communities in Honiara and the provinces.

Copen is a mixture of tobacco and other substances like Colgate toothpaste and coral lime which creates a “high” effect. Users often experience vomiting and headaches after its use.

RAPPP locally engaged member, Roy Kimisi, said a survey conducted in schools, on children between the ages of 8 to 20-years-old, revealed that Copen use is highly prevalent in teens and is becoming a serious

concern in schools. He said users can be addicted to the drug. The effects can make users unable to concentrate on their studies in school.

Kimisi said Copen has already been shown to be risky to the body with some users collapsing after having swallowed the Copen “juice” which forms in the mouth. The Deputy Principal of KCHS thanked the visiting team for bringing the awareness about Copen to their students.

“Copen is a big problem in our school. It’s high time that students are made aware of this issue,” the deputy principal said.

Source: RSIP Media Website

Peace Begins with Me

Around

the world, millions of people are suffering immense harm from conflict.

Their lives are torn apart by death, destruction, and displacement. For 75 years, United Nations peacekeepers have worked to save and change lives in the world’s most fragile political and security situations.

Since 1948, more than two million uniformed and civilian personnel have helped countries to transition from war to peace and progress. We are ordinary people working in extraordinary and dangerous conditions to secure sustainable peace.

We help prevent conflict, protect civilians, advance political solutions, and support democratic processes. We promote human rights, build capacity of state institutions, and ensure that women and youth

lead and participate in peace processes and nation-building. Today, peace-making is harder than ever amidst rising global political tensions. Conflicts are more complex and prolonged, peacekeepers face terrorists, armed groups and their allies who have access to powerful modern weapons and technology. Misinformation and disinformation are fueling violence against our personnel and partners. Attacks against peacekeepers increased from 280 in 2020 to 463 in 2021.

Despite these challenges, peacekeepers persevere, alongside many partners, in the collective pursuit of peace. We are constantly searching for new ways to be more progressive, innovative, and effective through

the Action for Peacekeeping and A4P+ initiatives, which set ambitious goals and priority areas for progress.

The service and sacrifice of our peacekeepers, past and present, and the resilience of the communities we serve, inspires us all to take action in the knowledge that Peace Begins with Me.

Starting January 2023, join our campaign, Peace Begins with Me.

• Follow #PeaceBegins and UN Peacekeeping on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok to learn more, meet peacekeepers and peace leaders, and take action

• Visit https://peacekeeping. un.org/ for stories that inspire

Source: UN Website

Vale

On behalf of the UNOPAA National Executive, our National Committee, State Branches and all members of UNOPAA, we would like to acknowledge the service of the following, particularly to overseas peacekeeping, and to express our sympathy to family, contingent colleagues and friends. It is with regret that we advise of the passing of:

KEN SAWKINS

A New South Wales police member of the 11th Contingent to Cyprus (1974-75).

Ken passed away on 5 December 2022. His funeral was held privately.

JOHN BRIAN OWENS

Victoria Police member of the 1st Contingent to Cyprus (1964-65).

John passed away on 2 January 2023 at the Gold Coast University Hospital after a battle with lung cancer.  He was 86 years of age..  His funeral was held privately on 16 January 2023.

This information was provided by Sigrid Wendtlandt, his partner for over 50 years.

JOHN STUDD

a Victoria Police member of the 5th Contingent to Cyprus (1968-69).

John passed away on Saturday, 28 January 2023.  He was aged 83.  His funeral was be held at Abbey Funerals (Tobin Brothers), Orlando’s Chapel, 238 Settlement Road, Thomastown (Victoria) on Friday, 3 February 2023.

STANLEY FRANK WILSON

A Compol/AFP member of the 16th contingent deployed to Cyprus. Stan passed away on 27 January 2023 aged 83 years. A private funeral service was held for Stan.

WARREN JOHN THOMPSON

a New South Wales police member of the 11th Contingent to Cyprus (1974-75).

Warren passed away from cancer on 3 February 2023 at the Bolton Clarke Fairways Nursing Home in Bundaberg, Queensland. His funeral will be held privately at the Clarence Valley Lawn Cemetery in Braunstone (near Grafton) NSW.

ROBERT (ROB) AITKEN

An AFP police member of the 26th and 27th Contingents to Cyprus.

Rob passed away in Thailand on 24 March 2023. He had been living in Thailand for the past 9 years. Rob’s daughter advised that it is planned for a traditional Thai funeral at a local temple.

UNITED NATIONS & OVERSEAS POLICING ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA (UNOPAA)

Membership Renewal or Application

Your annual UNOPAA membership subscription is $20.00. Please complete this form and return with your subscription to address at the bottom of this form.

Please send this Application Form and remittance to:

UNOPAA

c/- Peter McDonald, National Secretary

28A Dinah Parade, East Keilor, VIC, 3033 Mobile: 0418 131 352

Email: secretary@unopaa.org

UNITED NATIONS & OVERSEAS POLICING ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA

UNOPAA (Inc. NSW)

ABN: 83 146 901 797

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Please note – GST, postage and handling included

CHEQUE OR MONEY ORDER

TOTAL:

Send cheque or money order in mail, payable to “UNOPAA”, and this form completed with your order to PO Box 7099, KARABAR NSW 2620

DIRECT CREDIT – INTERNET TRANSFER

Account: UNOPAA Merchandise S2

BSB: 815000

Account: 100343942

Reference: <your last name> and ‘MRCHDS’ in the reference field

Then e-mail details of the transaction including your reference number and a copy of this completed form to heldale.cooper@gmail.com

The United Nations & Overseas Police Association of Australia (UNOPAA) will accept returned products/ merchandise where:

• The product is faulty, or not fit for purpose, or the product does not match the sample or description. Proof of purchase (UNOPAA merchandise receipt) must be provided in order to:

• Obtain a refund (by cheque) will be provided or re-issue alike article.

IMPORTANT NOTES

The UNOPAA will take the utmost care in packaging; however, we will not accept any responsibility for goods damaged in transit. The UNOPAA will not accept returns where the product or merchandise is ordered specifically for an individual (eg Montage, clothing, etc)

All queries for return of merchandise must be received within 30 days from date of purchase and directed to the UNOPAA Merchandise officer at heldale.cooper@ gmail.com. Item returns will be at the discretion of the APPVA Merchandise Officer provided the above criterion is met in the first instance. Please choose carefully as UNOPAA cannot accept returns due to a change of mind.

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Here are ThinkUKnow’s top tips for safer online interactions:

• Question suspicious accounts, and trust your instincts if something doesn’t seem right - not everyone is who they say they are.

• Avoid meeting someone in person that you have only ever spoken to online. However, if you do meet, choose a public place and take someone with you.

• If something goes wrong, know how to block or un-match and report.

• Your safety should always come first!

Sometimes things don’t go to plan but there is always help available.

For more information, visit www.thinkuknow.org.au

ThinkUKnow is a national online child safety program led by the Australian Federal Police, delivered in schools through educational presentations and resources for young people and their parents and carers.

Being online has made meeting and interacting with others easier than ever before, but it’s important to know how to stay safe.

Don’t touch it, report it.

UXO. Curiosity Can Kill You.

You need to understand the real danger of unexploded ordnance (UXO). If you touch UXOlike an old bomb, bullet or hand grenade - it could seriously injure or even kill you. You must know - Don’t Touch It!

Report it to the Police on OOO

www.defence.gov.au/uxo