Another Christmas holiday period has come and gone. For most Australians this time of year is about being with family and loved ones and sometimes it means just putting up with one another during this special time of year.
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For approximately 2,500 Aussies the past Christmas period will be remembered because they were not able to be with family as they were deployed overseas on Australian Defence Force (ADF) operations.
One of my favourite Banjo Paterson poems, simply titled ‘Santa Clause’ tells the story of Santa approaching Aussies in the trenches during World War One with gifts, blessings and good wishes from loved ones at home only to be turned away because he does not know the password. For me it is a clever but melancholy story that sums up the way it feels to be far from home while serving in the military at Christmas.
In Asia, Africa, the Middle East and in a number of oceans, our men and women in uniform are doing their duty at the coal face of this county’s foreign policy aspirations.
In most cases the ADF ensures that its personnel are able to enjoy traditional Christmas fare (less the grog) and much effort is made by Defence to have its leadership visit our military personnel to thank them for their service but it is never the same as being at home for Christmas.
Understanding the sacrifices of ADF personnel who are deployed at this time of year, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has made a Christmas visit to Iraq to visit the 800 ADF personnel who are mentoring Iraqi troops in the fight against Islamic State.
The Prime Minister also acknowledged the families of the troops who were celebrating Christmas at home without their loved ones. Mr Morrison went on to extend the gratitude of the nation to the troops and implored all Australians to remember their service men and women who are serving overseas at Christmas. Mr Morrison was to travel on to Afghanistan to meet with ADF personnel however the visit was cancelled due to security concerns.
Our way of life and the freedoms we are privileged to enjoy in this county and other peace loving countries are often under threat.
Because Australia is a good global citizen we send our service men and women off-shore to do our bit to protect this way of life.
This year, as your festive season comes to an end, spare a thought for those Aussies who wear this nations uniform on our behalf and could not be home for Christmas.
Lest we Forget.
