Patron: Col J Fuster                                          PO Box 484,
             COL Commandant RACT 3MD	                         Black Rock. Vic. 3193
	
President:	 Laurie Taig							                                Secretary: Bob Tyler

Website; www.3md-ract.raasc.org.au
Telephone Number; 9589 0297 (W) 9584 3791 (AH)

3RD MILITARY DISTRICT RAASC/RACT ASSOCIATION

NEWSLETTER 5/2009
(Aug 2009)

Committee Members
		
Col Commandant	Col Joe Fuster
President			Laurie Taig
Vice President		John Davidson
Secretary			Bob Tyler	
Treasurer			Bob Glaister
Membership		John Casey
Members			Leon Slusarski
				David Angee
				Danny Hill
				John Pearce
Web Master		Vacant 
RSL Liaison Officer	Ian Ward

Special Funds Committee
President			John Davidson
Members			Ian Ward
				Brian Neal
				Michael Jefferson
Padre			Maj Dave Horne
				
Reminder - Pls provide Email address to assist in mailing costs

Vale - Lest We Forget

Ian Clarke on 5 June 2009


Sick Parade

Morris Penn 
Wally Syrett
Laurie Taig - had a visit to Hospital. 
			
Diary Dates

AGM - 6 Nov 2009

RESERVE FORCES DAY  5 th July 2009

Well what can one say. Firstly thank you to all those who were unable to make the parade and contacted the Sec with an appology - Thank you.
The attendance was good we had 30 members and accompanied on the march by the RAEME Assoc numbering six.
The attendance overall for the parade was small but with all the confusion and the NIL Uniform presence the meaning of the parade  was still achieved.
The march commenced at 1030h with only two bands  to assist marchers, just as well we were all trained soldiers.
The service commenced at 1100h with again long winded speeches that lost there relevance after 5-6 minutes.
I do agree that we need to have these types of parades but there is also a need to think of those who are standing within the ranks.
A short meaningful service are ones that all who attend remember. Those that attended will receive a attendance certificate signed by the GG.
The  group headed for an ale or two - I am not sure which hotel they ended up at as there were three mentioned when I left.
Over all it was great to see all the members again and hope that I will see them and the rest of you at the AGM in November.

Plaque Dedication & Reunion AWM Canberra 2010

The Supply Platoon Association, on behalf of all RAASC Vietnam Vets, has been working to place a RAASC plaque at the AWM.
The Commemorate Plaque Layout and Commemorative weekend will run 25-28 Mar 2010 and you are all invited to attend.
If you are interested, especially if you are a Vietnam Vet, register by mail to PO Box 214, Calwell. ACT. 2905 or email to dabblers1@bigpond.com .

General Information

A story provided by Tony Butterworth - Thanks
An Aussie truckie walks into an outback cafe' with a full-grown
Emu behind him. The waitress asks them for their orders.?
The truckie says, 'A hamburger, chips and a coke,' and turns to the emu, 'What's yours?' 'I'll have the same,' says the emu.?
A short time later the waitress returns with the order 'That will be $9.40 please,' and he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for payment.?
The next day, the man and the emu come again and he says,
'A hamburger, chips and a coke.' The emu says, 'I'll have the same.'
Again the truckie reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change.
This becomes routine until the two enter again. 'The usual?' asks the waitress.
'No, it's Friday night, so I'll have a steak, baked potato and a salad,' says the man. 'Same,' says the emu.
Shortly the waitress brings the order and says, 'That will be $32.62.'
Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the table.

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer. 'Excuse me, mate, how do you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every time?'?
'Well, love' says the truckie, 'a few years ago, I was cleaning out the back shed, and found an old lamp. When I rubbed it, a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes..
My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything, I would just put my hand in my pocket and the right amount of money would always be there.'
'That's brilliant!' says the waitress. 'Most people would ask for a million dollars or something, but you'll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live!'
'That's right. Whether it's a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce, the exact money is always there,' says the man. The waitress asks, 'What's with the bloody emu?'
The truckie sighs, pauses, and answers, 'My second wish was for a tall bird with a nice bum  and long legs, who agrees with everything I say.'

A Well-Planned Retirement - From The London Times:

Outside the Bristol Zoo, in England , there is a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 coaches, or buses.

It was manned by a very pleasant attendant with a ticket machine charging cars £1 (about $1.40) and coaches £5 (about $7).

This parking attendant worked there solid for all of 25 years.  Then, one day, he just didn't turn up for work.

"Oh well", said Bristol Zoo Management - "we'd better phone up the City Council and get them to send a new parking attendant . . . "

"Err . . . no", said the Council, "that parking lot is your responsibility."

"Err . . . no", said Bristol Zoo Management, "the attendant was employed by the City Council, wasn't he?"

"Err . . . no!" insisted the Council.

Sitting in his villa somewhere on the coast of Spain (presumably), is a man who had been taking the parking lot fees, estimated at £400 (about $560)
per day at Bristol Zoo for the last 25 years. Assuming 7 days a week, this amounts to just over £3.6 million ($7 million - or $280,000 every year for 25 years)!

And no one even knows his name.

Subject: RAASC Soldiers in Malaysia

Hullo to the RAASC/RACT Association

You are probably aware that the Malaysian govt awarded the medal Pingat Jasa Malaysia to ALL Commonwealth Service personnel who served in Malaysia
from 31 Aug 57 till 12 Aug 66, and among them are all those who served in various units in Malaysia and Sarawak during that time, including those who
were posted to the various British/ Australian units such as 3 Coy RASC/3 Tpt Sqn RCT, those with 55 AD Unit, and even the two members of RAASC
with each Infantry battalion (Unit Pay Sgt and his offsider) plus drivers with the field ambulance, brigade headquarters,and many in other integrated Brit/Aust units.   
Those soldiers will by now received their PJM and can wear it mounted with any other medals they have been awarded.

The Queen gave approval for British veterans to accept the medal also, but their Ministry of Defence then decreed that although they could accept the medal
they could not wear it, as it is a foreign award, (yet Malaysia is a Commonwealth country) and the award was made more than five years after the end date
of the qualifying period.

They have been fighting since 2004 for the right to wear the medal.   
We Australians were issued our medal by the Honours and Awards branch of the Defence Dept and can wear it with pride with our other medals,
the Brits can accept the medal and not wear it.  I am urging all Corps and Regimental associations to protest, via the British High Commission,
that our brothers in arms are having an injustice done to them, and ask that your Association add your voice to others who have protested to the High Commission.

The veterans in UK who are the main push in their fight to have their rules changed have a website "fight4thepjm" and on that site you may read the background
to their fight.  If and when your Association does make a protest, and it seems the best way for us to do so is to send a message to the British High Commission,
would you also send an email to the fight4thepjm site letting them know of your support.

Thank you, in anticipation, for your support.
Tom Vincent (ex 3 RAR)

This is is provided by a number of Emails from friends.

We know some of us enjoy Starbucks, but this is beyond words...................

Recently, British Royal Marines in Iraq wrote to Starbucks because they wanted to let them know how much they liked their coffees, and to request that
they send some of it to the troops there.

Starbucks replied, telling the Royal Marines thank you for their support of their business, but that Starbucks does not support the war, nor anyone in it,
and that they would not send the troops their brand of coffee.

So as not to offend Starbucks, maybe we should support them by NOT buying any of their products!

I feel we should get this out in the open. I know this war might not be very popular with some folks, but that doesn't mean we don't  support the boys on
the ground, fighting street-to-street and, house-to-house.

If you feel the same as I do then please pass this along.

Thanks very much for your support. I know you'll all be there again to support us when we deploy once more. 

Sgt. Howard Wright,
1 Platoon, Recon Company, Royal Marines

PLEASE BE KIND ENOUGH AND DON'T DELETE THIS... BUT PLEASE PASS TO EVERYONE ON YOUR E- MAIL LIST, IN MEMORY OF
ALL THE TROOPS WHO HAVE BEEN WOUNDED, LOST LIMBS AND EVEN DIED, SO THAT WE MAY HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE !

Also, please don't forget that when the Twin Trade Towers were hit, the fire fighters and rescue workers went to Starbucks because it was close by for
water for the survivors and workers, and Starbucks CHARGED THEM!!!

AN ADDED NOTE TO THIS: STARBUCKS HAD STORES ON SEVERAL MILITARY BASES IN THE UNITED STATES. THEY ARE NOW
BEING REMOVED BECAUSE OF THIS.

There are 227 Starbucks stores across the UK, and there's no doubt that our soldiers would get the same response from this company, so let us do our bit
and boycott Starbucks to show them how despicable their actions are .............................

We shall leave it up to you.       


Cool Payback!!!   Provided by  Tony Butts
  
I was having a drink at a local restaurant with my friend Justin when he spotted an attractive woman sitting at the 
bar. After a half hour of gathering his courage, he approached her and asked, "Would you mind if I chatted 
with you for a while?"

She responded by yelling at the top of her voice, "No, I won't go home with you tonight!"

With everyone in the restaurant staring, Justin crept back to our table, puzzled and humiliated. 

A few minutes later, the woman walked over to us and apologized.

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you," she said, "but I'm a graduate student in psychology and I'm studying human reaction to embarrassing situations." 

At the top of his lungs Justin replied, "What do you mean, two hundred dollars?!"


From: Andrew Kilsby [mailto:kilsbya@optusnet.com.au] 
Sent: Saturday, 15 August 2009 12:36 PM
To: cheryles@exemail.com.au
Subject: MHSA Victoria Branch Invitation

Dear Mick,

The Military Historical Society of Australia Victoria Branch has recently moved to the Oakleigh-Carnegie RSL in Drummond Street in Oakleigh.
We would like to cordially invite members of your Association with an interest in Australia's military history and heritage to consider joining us.
In particular we would like to invite your Association members who may have an interest to join our presentation on 27th August at 8 pm to hear
David Howell of Kokoda Historical present on "Kokoda - then and now". 

I have attached our most recent press release and Branch flyer which I hope you may be able to send to your email members or post on your site.

More information on our Branch activities can be found on our website at the link below.

We hope to be able to welcome Association members on the 27th.

Best regards,
Andrew Kilsby
On behalf of the MHSA Victoria Branch Committee
0408 342 795


Committee Nomination

To you all it is that time of the year to start thinking about and nominating your Committee Memnbers for the next twelve month.

The nomination form is attached and needs to be sent to the Secretary by Monday 19 Oct 2009.