Tiger-pie

News report from yesterdays Sydney Morning Herald. Australian soldiers in Afghanistan have fought off a coordinated attack by Taliban extremists, calling in helicopter gunships and inflicting an unknown number of casualties on attackers. No Australians were hurt in the "close and intense" fighting on Wednesday. The soldiers, providing security to a Reconstruction Task Force (RTF) work site in Oruzgan Province, encountered coordinated fire from small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. The fighting continued for about two hours and involved several distinct engagements within the same general vicinity. Defence spokesman Brigadier Andrew Nikolic said the troops involved in the initial incident quickly responded to the extremist fire, returning fire with personal and vehicle-mounted weapons. A nearby patrol in Australian Light Armoured Vehicles (ASLAVs) moving to reinforce the soldiers met a volley of rocket propelled grenades fired from an adjoining extremist position. International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) helicopters supported the Australians, providing accurate fire support and increased situational awareness for the troops on the ground, he said. Brigadier Nikolic said the Taliban attack was unsuccessful with no Australian troops wounded, no RTF vehicles damaged and no disruption to the engineer task. "The RTF security element successfully defended the engineers, preventing extremists from directly attacking the work site," he said. "The fighting in these attacks was particularly close and intense." Brigadier Nikolic said the incident again highlighted the good coordination between Australian and ISAF elements, as well as the strong security presence the RTF maintained whilst working among the local population. On this occasion the Australian engineers were working on what they call a "backyard blitz" in a community near their base at Tarin Kowt in south-central Afghanistan. Such a quick impact development project is usually started and finished in a day. Half an hour before the attack, the Australian troops had noticed something amiss in the Afghanistan town and were on their guard. "Our troops, through weeks of battle preparation and cultural awareness have become attuned to the Afghan way of life and several things seemed out of place in what could be considered normal activities," he said. "Australian soldiers identified several indicators of potential change to the local security situation." That significantly blunted the impact of the extremist attack. "The Taliban extremist force is known to have suffered causalities during the engagement. The ADF does not routinely release the specific details of casualties suffered by its adversaries," he said. Brigadier Nikolic said this showed the Taliban remained active and Afghanistan remained a dangerous place. "The Taliban extremists clearly see RTF work as a threat to their continued existence," he said.

One SAS NCO was killed when his "Pink Panther" run over a mine. There are about 500 Australian troops in Afganistan, on the main they are there for reconstruction duties. Our Special Forces Task Group has been there since the war started. With regards to Iraq, the RAN has maintained maritime patrols there since 1990 up until the present. All three arm are represented, many RAAF specialists are working on military airfields, and the army are mainly involved in security patrols around the Green Zone, but we also have a cadre of SF based there too. About 1500 personnel are serving in Iraq. There has been grumbles from the US that we should be contributing more, but we are spread thin with commitments in our own part of the world (Timor-Leste, Solomons Islands etc.), and we only agreed to supply troops for the initial period of combat, not for the period following "victory". I can post a photo expose on Iraq if you are interested. Regards; Johnsy

On the contrary, any snippet of info is appreciated. Dark days indeed, I saw a doco on Beslan, it was very confronting. Regards; Johnsy

Solomon Islands, Operation Anode.

Given the clubs, knunkle-dusters and trench knives they used in close quarter combat, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they were "kills". A notable example would be Albert Jacka who killed about 12 men in one day at close quarters, that not counting those he killed from a distance, and previously he had killed 7 Turks in one action, two with the bayonet. If that level of killing was typical, then that would give plenty of oppurtunity for collecting a "scalp" or two. Regards; Johnsy

Each of those buttons were probably taken as a trophy from each enemy soldier the owner killed, soldiers would attach the buttons and insignia from killed and captured enemy soldiers to a belt as a souvenir hence the name "Hate Belt". It wasn't unusual to see other allied badges and buttons on these belts, usually traded for. Regards; Johnsy

Ahh, well then you have yourself a nice medal there then. I was guessing that it must have been an earlier issue. Regards; Johnsy

A photo would help mate. The GSM 1918-62 and the GSM 1962 were never issued with a clasp "EGYPT" (both have a green and purple riband). Or is your medal an earlier version? Without a photo it is hard to say. Can you give a description of it? Regards; Johnsy

G'da Ibrahim; Cool site mate, I have only had a brief look but what I have seen has impressed me. Where is the Tiger Club located? I have been to Singapore many times during my time in the navy, and haven't heard of it. Does it still exist? Regards; Johnsy

Not sure Kev, I will have to do some research on that from this end. There is a lot of oil in gum, and you do get pockets of resin in the wood sometimes but I'm not sure how corrosive it might be. It smells bad when it is first cut, but mellows quickly once cured. What I was pointing out in the post above is that it is a very hard hardwood, so that might put it in the same league as mahogany, it doesn't have the same dark colour, it is quite a light wood. Regards; Johnsy

Thanks Ed. Gents, "Tasmanian Oak" is a product name only. It is a type of gum tree, or Eucalyptus. Blue gum would be my preference, you can hit that with an axe when it is dried and it will bounce back at you, hit you in the fecking head, leave a dent in your skull and a small mark on the wood! I sh#t you not, it has happened to me when I was working out bush. Regards; Johnsy

They are brand new cabinets Ed, so there would be no chemicals in that respect. So I would be better off buying the metal version? Not as attractive but basically the same set up, they are lined with polyethylene. Would the polyethylene be a problem or is it neutral? My collection is currently stored in plastic sleeves in cardboard boxes and I am looking to store them in something a bit more special that is practical and attractive. A mate of mine is a cabinet maker and he said he would be happy to build me cabinet similar to those pictured above in a hardwood such as Tasmanian Oak, but with lockable doors like the one below. Would be sealed with polish and little or no glue (all dovetails). Regards; Johnsy

Hi all; I'm thinking of buying a wooden entomological cabinet to store part of my medal collection in. Are there any concerns with laying medals out on white polyethylene that anyone knows of? They are expensive, but then again so were some of my medal groups and it looks like a great way to store them. I like the wood look and it would suit the furniture in my study as that is all Tasmanian Oak too. See blurb below. I have included a link for those who are interested. The cabinet shell is made from polished cedar veneered brimsboard and the drawers from Kalantis and Tasmanian Oak timbers. The Cedar on the cabinet shell and the Kalantis on the drawers are highly polished externally resulting in a fine piece of furniture. Each drawer is accurately made, has machine dovetailed joints and is interchangeable with other drawers. A naphthalene recess runs along each interior side of the drawer. An accurate fitting frame, made from polished Kalantis and glass, fits snugly over each drawer. Twin pull knobs and a card frame are provided. White polyethylene pinning foam for the drawers is an optional extra. Regards; Johnsy http://www.entosupplies.com.au/?path=1_1_18_563

Not as nice as the official Estonian awards, but nice enough for what would be a limited membership. Yet another interesting facet of the war. Regards; Johnsy

The Sherman in post #16, does that have "zimmeret" on the sides? The texture of the steel appears to be coated on the flank closest to the cameraman. Regards; Johnsy

I would agree with the above, most likely wore the miniture medals as they are less of a hassle on a blazer / coat, and they don't leave a ruddy great hole through the cloth! Regards; Johnsy

Excellant. Only one small critisism, the Interfet medal, which is an Aussie award that in precedence comes after the AASM. Had great fun making up groups. Regards; Johnsy

Good question, but in the interest of brevity, I will keep it simple. Basically since the Korean War there has been a great deal of military co-operation between Australia and the US, with ties between here and England growning apart. This is mainly due to trade and treaty agreements, but that is an simplified way of looking at it. It has now got to the point that we use similar equipment and operate in the same spheres of operation as the US. We have had a presence in the Gulf since the first Gulf war and we are operating in Afganistan. We also have large joint exercises such as RIMPAC (Navy) and Talisman Saber (all arms). So overall there is a healthy alliance between our two countries, though obviously due to the small size of our military we have really only been able to supply a token force due to deployments in our own region. Having said that we do have many of our special forces, medical and communication specialists working in those areas. Regards; Johnsy

Good question, but in the interest of brevity, I will keep it simple. Basically since the Korean War there has been a great deal of military co-operation between Australia and the US, with ties between here and England growning apart. This is mainly due to trade and treaty agreements, but that is an simplified way of looking at it. It has now got to the point that we use similar equipment and operate in the same spheres of operation as the US. We have had a presence in the Gulf since the first Gulf war and we are operating in Afganistan. We also have large joint exercises such as RIMPAC (Navy) and Talisman Saber (all arms). So overall there is a healthy alliance between our two countries, though obviously due to the small size of our military we have really only been able to supply a token force as we have deployments in our own region. Having said that we do have many of our special forces, medical and communication specialists working in those areas. Regards; Johnsy

Yes it was sewn directly to the uinform if there was no riband to sew it too, that is how it is done out here in Australia, or more accurately, was down. It has now been replaced by the Commendation for Brave Conduct. (Photo from www.itsanhonour.gov.au). Regards; Johnsy

Does it show any evidence of having anything to hold it down? Seems a tad impractical, even dangerous around a gun system. Regards; Johnsy

Well they were the "forgotten army" and it was a tough campaign, so their camaraderie would be close. Very nice bit of emphera, always nice to pick up pieces like this with medal groups. Regards; Johnsy

I was wondering why you had fallen off the scope. I didn't notice this thread until this morning! Glad that your up and about againBob, take care of that ticker. Regards; Johnsy

If it is natural fibre then you will get ash, if it is modern synthetic it will melt. Don't use an oxy torch! Regards; Johnsy

What? Um, er sorry not sure what you were saying, I am concentrating on the attached image! Regards; Johnsy