It was fellow soldiers who made the time in Afghanistan worthwhile, an Australian soldier says. Source: AAP
IT was his fellow soldiers who made the time in Afghanistan worthwhile, a soldier says.
At an official welcome home parade held for about 250 Australian Defence Force personnel in Darwin on Saturday, Captain George Minns reflected on his last tour of Uruzgan province.
As the Second Cavalry Regiment Taskforce helped wind down activity in Tarin Kowt and hand over to the Afghan National Army (ANA), everything seemed different, he said.
"It really started to get to the circle the wagons stage, because you had to maintain that ability to provide security while seeing off those last few tasks," he told AAP.
"It was quite eerie."
His second tour of Afghanistan ran for the second half of last year as the ADF prepared to leave, and he saw no trouble.
"For me the trip was pretty quiet; no one tried to shoot us, no one tried to blow us up.
"We knew activity had dropped off significantly but we still expected something - someone at some point having a crack. But it didn't happen."
Sapper Robert Muraru, preparing to march with his explosives detection dog Chipper, said he didn't detect much hostility from the locals.
"Some of them didn't like us there, (but) when we were patrolling through villages most of them would come out and wave at us," he said.
On Saturday, he faced a more welcoming crowd as friends, family and the wider Darwin community lined the streets as troops marched to applause and flag-waving.
About two dozen veterans on motorcycles staked out a strip along a main street, their leather vests proclaiming them proud returned servicemen.
"This is my spot now," said one man who identified himself as Bronco, who left the army last year.
"We're here not for us but to support the troops."
Sam Kav of the Military Brotherhood, a social group for veterans and current serving members, said support was crucial for those returning from deployment.
"A lot of people find it hard to transition from the military to the civilian world, and we provide that link to allow us to integrate back into society," he said.
Mateship was key, Captain Minns agreed.
"The best bit was always the people you're sharing the experience with and that's always true of the experience in the army in general: it's the mates that make or break it."
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