‘ Bomber Beazley’ gets call
enced it and we know how to confront it and perform.”
Officer Commanding the US Marine Corps 3/ 4 Infantry Battalion’s Company L Captain Tom Schueman said he began preparations in Febru- ary. He said his troops had been looking forward to the exercise and reuniting with US colleagues temporarily based in Darwin.
“The grand scale of it is going to be pretty incredible to THEY’RE from the other side of the world but their passion for enriching the lives of families with loved ones in hospital knows no bounds. US Marines with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division yesterday delivered toys to children at Townsville Hospital and then visited families at Ronald McDonald House for a barbecue and working bee. Sergeant Kyle Reid, 21, said his cousin was aged just four when diagnosed with leukaemia and a Ronald McDonald House in Houston, Texas helped keepp his familyy close. “Getting to give back and see the struggles of these little kids going be a part of,” he said. “It’s definitely the largest exercise I’ve ever been part of.”
Capt Schueman said he would get a sneak peek of the terrain through the eyes of a RAAF simulator, with condi- through what my little cousin when through and putting a smile on their face means the world to me,” he said.
Ronald McDonald House North Queensland CEO Amy Cooper said the facility was packed with families due to the school holidays.
“The Marines have been playing with the kids but they have also been planting the veggie patch, cleaning the kitchens, gardening and weeding,” she said.
Officer Commanding 3/ 4 Infantry Battalion’s Company L Captain Tom Schueman said the visit was rewarding. “Townsville has been a very good host to us so we are tryingy g to be goodg g guests and d … I think it’s our duty to give back to the community,” he said. tions in the Central Queensland region known to be notoriously cold and difficult.
“I always like a challenge, so I’m not too worried about ( the conditions),” he said.
“We’re Marines so we’re adaptable so in any climate or place we can fight. We’re from the desert and we’ve done a bunch of mountain training so we’re adaptive to austere environments and we thrive, we don’t just survive.” PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk has brought in the big guns in the Land 400 fight, seeking advice from former defence minister Kim Beazley.
Queensland is fighting Victoria to win a multi- billion- dollar war machine contract.
Victoria has called on its own former Labor minister, Greg Combet, to help its bid, so Ms Palaszczuk has sought help from Mr Beazley – known as “Bomber Beazley” in his days in government.
“Kim Beazley is one of Australia’s greatest defence ministers,” she said. “He knows the importance of this contract to the ADF and to Queensland.”
Land 400 is expected to be one of the Defence Department’s biggest projects.
Under phase two, about 225 state- of- the- art combat reconnaissance vehicles will be built, costing taxpayers up to $ 5 billion but providing local manufacturers with supply chain and maintenance work for about 30 years. About 150 vehicles will be based in Queensland to support brigades in Townsville and Enoggera.
If Queensland wins phase two, it will probably also win the next phase – building 450 infantry fighting vehicles and 17 manoeuvre support vehicles, worth up to $ 15 billion.