Mission well accomplished for bodyguard

FOR almost seven months, Brad Wilson was a bodyguard to Australia's top brass in the Middle East

HIGH RISK: The Australian Deputy Commander Joint Task Force 633, Sgt Brad Wilson and Commander JTF633 in front of the HQ building in Dubai. Picture: CPL Sebastian Beurich

WHEN it comes to high pressure jobs, there's not too many roles that would match being personally responsible for the safety and security of some of Australia's top military brass while travelling through some of the most dangerous war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan.

However this was the job tasked to Sergeant Brad Wilson, who has returned home to Grafton after a six-and-a-half months deployment to the United Arab Emirates after serving as the personal bodyguard to the Commander of Joint Task Force 633 Major General John Frewen.

During his time overseas, Sergeant Wilson was the Major General's shadow, travelling everywhere with the commander while he visited defence force personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, making sure every aspect of security was covered.

"There was definitely a lot of pressure, but in terms of the role it was just constantly being focused on what was around us and considering all possibilities if an incident was to occur, and if it did what actions we would take next," Sgt Wilson said.

"We were based in Dubai where the rest of the headquarters of the Joint Task Force 633, which is where all the Australian Defence Force personnel work under in the Middle East, and I pretty much travelled everywhere the Major General went in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Commander Joint Task Force 633, Major General John Frewen, AM (second from right) arrives in Kabul, Afghanistan during a visit to meet with the troops. Sergeant Brad Wilson is second on the left. Picture: SGT Ricky Fuller

With the Major General regularly travelling to combat zones to talk to commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan and visit Australian troops, Sgt Wilson was charged with the security planning of the trips.

"We had soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, so I was liaising with those commanders so all security aspects were considered and all administrative things were organised," he said.

"If there was any additional protection that was required I had to organise, and essentially I was arranging his program and itinerary for his visits. They were broken down into hours of the day for the whole duration of the trip, and with all the troops serving in different locations from Afghanistan to Iraq it was difficult making sure all the security aspects were looked after when we arrived.

"I was pretty much always where (the Major General) was, when he was conducting visits or watching training exercises or even talking to Afghani or Iraqi commanders, we would visit their buildings to meet with them, so I was always there watching for anything."

Born and raised in Grafton, Sgt Wilson joined the Australian Army in 2001, and spent his first three years in the cavalry division as an armoured vehicle driver and crewman.

In 2004, Sgt Wilson transferred to the Military Police, and completed his close personal protection course in 2006.

Sgt Wilson said he was deployed in a similar role in 2008 as part of a bodyguard team with six other soldiers, protecting the Australian ambassador to Iraq in Baghdad.

"It's not a well known or displayed position, but it's rewarding," Sgt Wilson said.

"You know it's a successful job when we return. We would travel to Iraq or Afghanistan once a fortnight for one to five days, depending on what the Major General would need to do, and each time we returned from that trip it was a success. When we went and came home in one piece, we knew we had done a good job.

"It's personally rewarding, and not too many people understand or realise that that's what I was there to do. It was very behind the scenes, I could have been another face in the crowd when he was talking to people. It's a cliche to say I was undercover, but that's basically what I was."

Sgt Wilson has now returned back to his unit in Darwin, where he will spend the rest of the year before looking to another posting in Brisbane next year.

Originally published as Mission well accomplished for bodyguard