135 electronic warfare veterans revisit the Borneo Barracks
IT WAS a special weekend for more than 135 electronic warfare veterans, who revisited the Borneo Barracks military base to attend a reunion.
It was a reunion of what was known as the Joint Telecommunications School and renamed as Defence Force School of Signals - Electronic Warfare Wing.
While more than 100 veterans attended the event on Saturday, about 780 veterans from all over the world keep in touch via an online group.
The military base at Cabarlah has always been a bit of a mystery, especially because the Joint Telecommunications School was where specialist Army, Navy and Air Force personnel were trained in the art of intercepting and transcribing foreign military communications.
Now that so many decades have passed, the veterans are able to share their stories.
Air Force veteran Maria Suarez said even within the Defence Force JTS students were regarded differently.
“Other military people mistakenly called us spies, because we couldn’t talk about our jobs,” she said.
Veteran Robert Tenaglia said none of them were really prepared for the challenge when they took the job.
“The job was so full-on and serious. It was also immensely exciting. Working in a specialised area of operations gave us a sense of satisfaction and ambition,” he said.
“We would go to work every never quite knowing what might be put in front of us and it was vital that we got it right.”