from ARMY the Soldiers Newspaper, By Pte John Wellfare
NORFORCE fills its role as the Army's and
essentially the country's eye's and ears in the Northern Territory and
Kimberley regions in a unique and highly-effective way. Covering a wider
area than any other military unit in the world, Norforce has come to
regard innovation and imaginative forward thinking as the key to
success, which is why it's the Northern Territory's largest employer of
Aborigines.
CO Norforce Lt-Col Clay Sutton said
actively recruiting within indigenous communities was the only practical
way to cover the unit's 1.8 million square-kilometre AO. "I can be
around, for example Derby, for maybe 10 days a year, we might have a
patrol there. We might have two patrols, but that's only a short
period," he said. "The beauty with our concept of community
engagement is that we have our soldiers living in those areas."
Norforce patrol 2IC Cpl Darren
Rashleigh moved to the small indigenous community of Daly River six
years ago and said the Army's positive influence had repercussions
throughout the town. "There's a lot of stale atmosphere in the
communities, all communities not just Daly River, [so] when people here
see myself and other people who are from Daly River and Norforce, they
see it as a way of different employment, a way of different life skills
and a way to have a bit of pride in themselves," he said.
"They also see it as a culture.
Norforce re-enforces that we are a culture, we are an Army culture and
an especially community orientated Army culture and they see that.
"They look at us as friends, they enjoy our company, they enjoy us
being a part of it and they enjoy being a part of Norforce." |
