DEFENCE MEDIA RELEASE
Issued by Ministerial Support and Public Affairs, Department of Defence, Canberra, ACT
Phone: 02 6265 3343, Fax: 02 62656946
MSPA 209/09
Monday, 13 July 2009
VICTORIAN ARMY RESERVE SOLDIERS KEEP THE PEACE
IN THE SOLOMONS
An Australian Military Camera Team has just returned from the Solomon Islands with the
first imagery taken since November 2008 of Australian soldiers deployed to the Pacific
nation on Operation ANODE.
Operation ANODE is the name of the ADF contribution to the Australian-led Regional
Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). RAMSI's mission is to assist the
Solomon Islands Government in restoring law and order, economic governance, and
improving the machinery of government.
This latest deployment of 140 Army Reservists from Victoria’s 4 Brigade comprises men
and women from Melbourne and regional areas such as Ballarat, Bendigo, Warrnambool,
Mildura and Geelong. They arrived in the Solomon Islands in March 2009 shortly after
assisting in Operation VIC FIRES ASSIST.
The Military Camera Team captured video and stills imagery of Australian soldiers living
and working alongside their counterparts from New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and
Tonga, as well as assisting local police undertaking search and inquiry duties in remote
jungle villages, and an ADF medical clinic in a remote village where Australian Army
Medics performed surgical procedures and provided vital health care assistance to local
children.
On the Defence website there are also video and stills galleries of Australian entertainers
performing for the soldiers during a recent Forces Entertainment Tour, a tour of ADF
activities in the Solomon Islands for the employers of the current Army reservists on
deployment, and Federal Parliamentarians participating in the ADF’s Parliamentary
Program.
These latest photos and video can be accessed through the Operation ANODE Gallery on
the Defence website:
Lieutenant Colonel Neil Grimes is the Commander of the Combined Task Force,
comprising of soldiers from Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.
For further information contact Defence Media Liaison.
Media contact: Defence Media Liaison: 02 6265 3343 or 0408 498 664
NEWS 
