Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare yesterday joined Australian troops in Afghanistan to commemorate Remembrance Day.
The Minister attended a ceremony at the Multi-National base in Tarin Kot with serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel.
“More than 100,000 Australian Defence Force personnel have died in the last 100 years – including 39 here in Afghanistan,” Mr Clare said.
“It is our solemn duty never to forget this. The best way we can honour them is to live a life worthy of the sacrifices they made for us.”
The Minister was joined by Major General Michael Crane, Commander Joint Taskforce 633 and Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Mandy Newton, National Manager of the International Deployment Group.
The Minister met with ADF and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) commanders and troops at the Multi-National Base Tarin Kot, ISAF Headquarters in Kabul and Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.
In Kabul the Minister met with his counterpart the newly appointed Minister for the Interior General Patang.
The Minister also met with Brigadier Peter Short, Assistant Commander Joint Taskforce 633 (Afghanistan) and Commander Wayne Buchorn, head of ANP development at the International Police Coordination Board.
The Minister also participated in a roundtable discussion with senior Australian officers embedded within ISAF and met with Australian Federal Police based in Kabul.
In Tarin Kot the Minister was briefed by the Commander of Combined Team Uruzgan, Colonel Simon Stuart, the Commanding Officer of the Special Operations Task Group, the Commanding Officer of 3RAR Task Group, Lieutenant Colonel Trent Scott and the head of the Uruzgan Provincial Reconstruction Taskforce, Mr Adrian Lochrin.
The Minister was also briefed by Diggerworks and the CASPEAN (Casualty and Protective Equipment Analysis) team at Tarin Kot on the work they are doing to improve soldier equipment and force protection.