Tassie five’s mission to keep Anzac spirit alive

A  TIGHT band of Tasmanian personnel serving in Afghanistan will today mark Anzac Day with a dawn service and gunfire breakfast.

A  TIGHT band of Tasmanian personnel serving in Afghanistan will today mark Anzac Day with a dawn service and gunfire breakfast – their first chance to enjoy a nip of alcohol since they arrived in Kabul.

Thousands of Tasmanians will today pay respect to those who have died in past armed conflicts.

But for the five Tasmanians – Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel Margaret Beavan, Lieutenant Commander Alwyn Johnson, Flying Officer Rebecca Gumley, Sergeant Bianca Mainella and Sergeant Tony Knox — their day will be restricted to a compound at Kabul International Airport, where they form part of the 400-strong ADF Operation Slipper team.

The team admitted soldiers on deployment often felt like the “forgotten ones” on Anzac Day.

But Lt-Colonel Beavan said their living conditions were good and spirits high, with the snow lifting in Kabul and the danger easing since Afghans went to the polls earlier this month.

She said the group was looking forward to a quick drink today with other Australian, New Zealand and Turkish troops.

“We are allowed a 10ml nip of rum in our coffee on Anzac Day if we so desire,” Lt-Colonel Beavan laughed.

“We don’t drink alcohol at all on deployment. Basically we are on call 24-7.’’

“Also Afghanistan is a Muslim country and we need to respect that culture.”

Lt-Colonel Beavan, from Battery Point, is in charge of administration, discipline, logistics and communication and is chief of staff of Joint Task Force 633A.

The task force is involved in security but also in training, advising and helping the Afghan National Security Forces keep control.

She acknowledges it was a big job, but one she was trained to carry out.

“At the moment it is fairly quiet from a threat perspective,” Lt-Colonel Beavan said.

It is Lt-Colonel Beavan’s third Afghanistan deployment.

She said it was often hard to be away from family and friends for months at a time, but overseas deployment also provided opportunities to form friendships with people from around the world.

The Tasmanians are a particularly tight crew.

All three of the Tasmanian female officers attended St Michael’s Collegiate School in Hobart and Lt-Colonel Beavan said the odd rendition of the school song helped lighten spirits.

Sgt Bianca Mainella, from West Hobart, is based in Darwin and her husband and four-year-old daughter await her return from duty.

Sgt Mainella is the chief clerk at the Australian Headquarters in Kabul and handles the administration associated with 400 personnel.

The accommodation in Kabul was much better than the mud brick buildings in which she bunked while serving in Iraq in 2005, she said.

She said modern communications made it much easier to stay in touch with family.

“With access to Skype and Face Time, being apart is a lot easier to deal with,” she said.

Flying Officer Rebecca Gumley, of Hobart, is part of a 24-hour surveillance of enemy activity.

Lt-Commander Alwyn Johnson, of Launceston, heads up personnel.

Sgt Tony Knox works in intelligence.

“There is not a lot I can say about what Tony does – but he does it well,” Lt-Colonel Beavan said.