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To our Australian fans...

By The Armorer on January 26, 2007 | | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (1)

Happy Australia Day! As far as I know, our Australian fans are... two - SezaGeoff and Trias, but mebbe more will come out of hiding today.

Australia Day

We'd have a pic of the Aussie Red Ensign flying over the Castle... but that flag is in the mail, literally. (However, Murray, the Kiwi flag - bloooooooooo - *is* here.)

Australia Day commemorates the arrival in Sydney Cove, Australia of the First Fleet, January 26, 1788.

MAY 1787 : DEPARTURE: "..AT 4 AM FIRED GUN AND MADE THE SIGNAL TO WEIGH, WEIGH'D AND MADE SAIL, IN COMPANY WITH THE HYAENA FRIGATE, SUPPLY ARMED TENDER, SIX TRANSPORTS AND THREE STORE SHIPS, AT 9 FIRED A GUN AND MADE THE SIGN'L FOR THE CONVOY TO MAKE MORE SAIL."

So records the logbook of HMS Sirius, the flagship of the fleet, under the command of Captain Arthur Philip. The fleet transported the first convicts that give Australia it's charm today... 8^).

Hey, it's not like *we* didn't get our share... Georgia, anyone?

Anyway - click the link below for the official Aussie site. Geoff, Trias, anyone - if you've got Aussie stuff you're proud of or think we 'Muricans should know more about - drop links in the comments!

Australia Day

Australia currently has circa 1400 troops in Iraq as a part of Operation Catalyst, and 400 troops in Afghanistan as a part of Operation Slipper.

Australia Day celebrations at Headquarters Joint Task Force 633 in Baghdad (L-R): Lieutenant Commander Petrus Jonker, Lieutenant Timonthy Minion, Corporal Krissy Dalton, Flight Lieutenant Glenda Preston, Lieutenant Kristen Leydon, Squadron Leader Tharron Kingston-Lee, Corporal Peter Herbert and Leading Aircraftman Aaron Beavington. Photo courtesy the Australian MoD.

Australia Day celebrations at Headquarters Joint Task Force 633 in Baghdad (L-R): Lieutenant Commander Petrus Jonker, Lieutenant Timonthy Minion, Corporal Krissy Dalton, Flight Lieutenant Glenda Preston, Lieutenant Kristen Leydon, Squadron Leader Tharron Kingston-Lee, Corporal Peter Herbert and Leading Aircraftman Aaron Beavington. Photo courtesy the Australian MoD.

I gotta admit, I'm jealous of the commander of that bunch. He has a bona-fide Minion! How cool is that?

20070110adf8502859_0231 Sapper Beau Best stands guard as Australian, Dutch and Afghan forces conduct a 'shurah' or meeting with local leaders. The meeting is to discuss the needs of the village and what the Reconstruction Task Force can do to improve their lives. Photo courtesy the Australian MoD.

Castle Denizen (and Aussie) Trias has his own post up on the subject right here.

Our Canadian Brothers at The Torch honor Diggers today, too.

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If .. you must 01/28/07 from Soccer Dad on January 28, 2007 6:03 AM

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9 Comments

By MajMike on January 26, 2007 7:52 AM
Up the Red Roo, you Bloody Beauty!
 
By MajMike on January 26, 2007 7:55 AM
(buy me a Fosters and i'll do the whole schtick!)
 
By Cricket on January 26, 2007 8:40 AM
Not only a Minion but a Beau Best. I need to quit before the snarktillery fires a few rounds. Looking good!
 
By Trias on January 26, 2007 11:23 AM
Thanks for the post John. I have mine here http://www.insanity.observationdeck.org/?p=72 and I'm in a good enough mood to even ignore the Fosters reference.
   
By fdcol63 on January 26, 2007 1:03 PM
Oh, if only we could have had John Howard as POTUS!
 
By Gwedd on January 26, 2007 1:14 PM
Comrades, I can say with great pride that my mother was an Aussie. She was born and raised in Murwillumbah, in the Tweed River area. See here for more: http://www.bigvolcano.com.au/places/murwillu.htm Although she passed on a few years back, she was always an outgoing and wonderful, vivaciouswoman who never lost her 'strine accent. Her father was a Machine Gunner in France during WWI, and her brother fought with them in the Pacific in WWII. Later, he bacame an architect, and designed the Australian Enbassy in Christchurch, NZ. My dad was a Pharmacist's Mate during that war, and met her whilst stationed there. He later accompanyed the Marines into New Guinea, the Solomons, and on up to Leyte before being sent stateside for retraining. Post-war, he was sent to accompany US POW's back to the states. At that time, my mother was working in MacArthur's HQ as a teletype operator. She and my dad met one weekend on the beach, and the rest, as they say, is history. They wrote back and forth for sometime, and he proposed, and she accepted. She and a close friend were the last two "Fiances" of servicemen given free passage to the states post-war. She got to fly across the Pacific on Pan Am, and I have a 1947 issue of the SF Chronicle with her and her friend's picture on it and a short article about them and the program. I am proud of my Australian heritage, and thank the Gods for such a strong and wonderful people. It is a better world because of them and their great NZ neighbors. Respects,
 
By AFSister on January 26, 2007 2:55 PM
Cool story about your parents, AW1 Tim!!!
 
By SezaGeoff on January 26, 2007 6:31 PM
Thanks very much for the best wishes, John and all. Sorry I am late to the comments, but I was busy setting up the traditional barbie and booze up, with great rib-eye steaks, fresh flounder, Ozzie red wine and cheeses. Our main guests this year were old friends of ours, both Aussies. One is from Poland and his wife is ethnic Chinese from Malaysia. I love that we have such an ethnic mix of people who have embraced our country. (And for those that do not wish to embrace it - you know where the airport is!)
 
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