Happy Tuesday Friends!
A great blog this week with lots of messages from around the world and great images so grab a cuppa, sit back and relax while you soak up some well deserved gratitude.
Only 59 sleeps away until the Thank You dinner.
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Dear Cath Hpr,
I will start by saying thank you very, very much for the quilt you have made me. It is truly amazing, and I am so thankful that you took so much time to make it for me. You did such a great job with the painting that I thought it was just the design on the fabric! I had no idea that it was hand painted until I read your letter.
Also, thank you for such a detailed letter! I did not expect someone to take the time to explain their passions in life in such detail. It was truly a remarkable gift, and I cannot thank you enough and all the lovely people at Hero Quilts for what you do for us. I’m going to do my best to respond to your letter!
I have been in the Army now for just over 17 years. I joined the Royal Military College when I was 18, and it turns out I am the same age as your son! I was allocated into the Royal Australian Armoured Corps (hence the badge request!) and spent my first six years in the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment (Queensland Mounted Infantry). It was with this Regiment that I deployed internationally and domestically, including operations in Afghanistan, and in North Queensland for Flood relief operations – most notably Bundaberg in 2013. My deployment in Afghanistan was very different to my operation here in Sinai. I spent much of my time in an isolated patrol base with about 40 other Australians, and about 15 Green Beret soldiers from the United States. We conducted security operations in the North of the Uruzgan Province, near the Helmand and Daykundi provincial borders. I finished my deployment in a patrol base in Kandahar Province. This trip was an amazing experience, but also terrible in parts. Unfortunately, three soldiers and two interpreters from my Company didn’t come home.
I then moved around Australia a bit with staff roles in Sydney and as an Instructor at the Royal Military College – Duntroon. I really loved this job, as instructing potential officers is such a rewarding experience. I was also surrounded by a lot of friends, which made working and living at the College so much better. After this, I moved down to Adelaide and was in Command of a Cavalry Squadron in the 1st Armoured Regiment. This was one of my most favorite roles in the Army – as I was relatively independent and got to do good training all over the country. Before coming here to The Sinai, I was in Australia’s Amphibious Force, which saw me pairing up with the Navy for a few deployments, including through the Indo-Pacific. This was a fantastic experience, as I went to six different countries and had a great time with a lot of great people. I also saw a part of the Defence Force that I had never seen and got a new appreciation for what the Navy does.
Now I am here in The Sinai. This deployment is very different to ones I have done before. We are here as peace monitors between Israel and Egypt – which comes with numerous challenges in this part of the world. I arrived here post the October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel, which saw many restrictions for the people on our mission because of the threat. Combine all of this with living in Egypt and working with soldiers and officers from 14 other nations and you can see this is quite an adventure!
But most importantly, I am happily married to my wife, who lives at home on the NSW Central Coast with our three beautiful children aged 8, 6 and 2. My wife is an Occupational Therapist and is now working two days a week while I am here. She has her hands full while I am away, but both our sets of parents live very close by, and they have been helping a lot. Our oldest is a very smart and lovely boy. He has also turned into a great little athlete, winning his School and Zone level Cross Country races since I have been away. I was the coach of his Soccer team before I came here, and his team has done well this year without me.
My darling middle child is a Daddy’s little girl – she can do no wrong. She has turned into such a sweetheart, which my wife and I find strange because she was such a terror as a toddler ha-ha. She has also done amazing academically this year, and spends her weekends in Dance classes for Ballet and Tap.
Our youngest is firmly in the “terrible twos” at the moment. He loves cars and riding his red bike – everywhere! Including up and down the hallways. The biggest challenge for me has been being away from the family. I just recently returned from a trip back home to see them in July and will have another opportunity in late September. I finish up here in December – so I will be home for Christmas. This is lucky, because I am posting to the United States in 2025, and I get to bring the whole family with me. We are moving there for two years and will be living in Virginia. I have had to do a lot of administration in preparation for this new posting, but the whole family is really excited about the trip and looking forward to our adventure!
But back to the quilt – I love it! I showed people when I opened it, and they all thought it was amazing. I was with people from other countries at the time including the United States and New Zealand, and they commented that they wished they had someone do that for them. I couldn’t believe that the middle panel was painted! I thought it was a single piece of fabric! And, I also love the detail for the logos, they came out great!
Thank you again for everything that you do. The gift you gave me will be cherished forever. I cannot wait to get home and show the family. Also, your treats were well received and quickly eaten by everyone I work with. Please pass on my regards to everyone in the Hero Quilt Team – your gifts are truly amazing and appreciated by everyone. I’m sorry to hear that some people don’t respond. I suppose some people are just not good at expressing themselves or returning kindness – but I can say that I have never once heard or witnessed someone saying they didn’t appreciate a package or a gift from home. All the best to you and your family, and I hope to hear from you again soon.
Take care.
(After reading this message I was pretty curious to see the painting he was talking about so I have added in the photo of the quilt Cath sent in for Weekly Dispatches. The embroideries were done by Keryn and she also quilted it)
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Good evening, Shirley D,
I just wanted to touch base and let you know that I’ve just returned home from my 4.5 month deployment to Bahrain. The first thing I did, after greeting my husband and 2 teenage boys was to open my AHQ parcels!
I absolutely love the laundry bag that you made for me, it captures everything and I especially loved the pineapples and my personalised initials. I may have to learn to quilt when I eventually retire from the RAAF because I too would love to do something for our deployed personnel.
I loved reading about your family and everything that your father went through during his time of service. He sounds like such an amazing man. I’ve been serving since I was 17, I joined in May of 2001. 23 years and still going for a few more yet. This deployment was my 4th, twice to the Middle East, once to Indonesia after the devastating tsunamis in 2005 and again to the Solomon Islands on peacekeeping in 2004. Luckily for me I was not in danger and did not get injured on any of them.
My husband and I met in the RAAF at recruit training, he got out after serving 12 years. We have 2 teenage boys and both are hoping to join the RAAF as engineers, my eldest is waiting for his letter of offer at the moment.
Anyway, I best get back to making our dinner.
Thanks again for my lovely laundry bag, I’ll treasure it for years to come.
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Hi Gayle W,
Sorry for the late response, but I want to take the time to thank you for your hard work on the Japanese style Quilt you made for me and the awesome stories that you shared while you were in Japan, it’s been awesome having this Quilt and doby bag and thank you for the lollies as well. I’d love to go to Japan in the future. I can’t wait.
Have a good weekend,
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Good evening Raelyn B,
Firstly thanks so much for your wonderful quilt, I am both amazed at the level of detail and also your enduring support to such a wonderful cause.
I am currently posted to 36SQN RAAF and Captain C-17A aircraft. Needless to say we deploy on a regular basis, some short and some long, but all in support of the guys and girls who are doing the heavy lifting.
I became aware of AHQ on my last trip in April and I must say I will be fighting the kids off to get the most use out of this wonderful quilt.
Once again, thanks so much for your tireless effort and gesture, in this day and age is wonderful to feel supported.
(Raelyne wishes to thank Philomena H for finishing the quilt)
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Hello Raelyne B,
Thank you so much for the beautiful quilt. ‘Shelley Beach’ is heading to my beach shack and will be very comforting while I sit on the veranda listening to the waves. You have done such a lovely job on this piece and I absolutely love it.
Thank you also for your kind words about my work here on the Taskforce. It has certainly been challenging work at times, but as you say, supporting those who defend us is a very good thing to work toward. I have had the privilege of working with many uniformed members in Defence who are lovely.
I’m very pleased for you that you have two beautiful grandsons. I have a daughter who is 19, and between you and I, I cannot wait to be a grandma. I look forward to taking those little ones to the beach and sharing my love for the ocean just like my parents did with me, and I did with my daughter.
We also have a beautiful border collie, who loves running along the beach and catching balls.
And thank you for the TimTams – they were well received.
I wish you all the very best Raelene – and a big thank you for making this beautiful quilt for me xxx
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Hi Raelyne B,
I just received your amazing laundry bag – what an awesome gift! Thank you so much!
You are right in your guess; I am a ‘Submarine Warfare Officer’ based out here in Perth WA.
Much like your son, I have been in for almost 11 years.
My deployments have taken me to multiple overseas ports, oceans far far away, with the Navy basing me in Canberra, Sydney, Darwin, Tokyo and now Perth.
It’s been a wild ride, and having support from people like yourself truly adds that humanistic touch to the service.
So thank you Raelyne! My new laundry bag will soon become the envy of everyone on board!!
Kind regards,
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Until next week keep your letters, emails and photos coming in.
Tuesday’s would be so totally boring without them!
🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
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