During the past fortnight the Australian Army 3rd and 7th Brigades have been utilising the Parkes Showground as a staging location on their way to South Australia.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After three days of driving from JMCO (Joint Movement Control Office) in Sydney, Private Chris Busic and Able Seaman Ben Hocking worked alongside local showground personnel and catering staff to make their colleagues stop over as carefree as possible.
It’s a process the Australian Defence Force has continued with during the past decade - utilising the Parkes Showground as a stopover point en-route to various exercises in Victoria and South Australia.
In fact, during the past month, more than 1500 personnel aboard some 600 vehicles have used the showground facilities on their way to the Cultana training base in South Australia.
There the soldiers will take part in a bilateral exercise with United States Marines.
The 3rd and 7th Brigades are based out of Townsville and Brisbane and according to Major Jason Edmunds, the soldiers will be looking forward to their stopover in Parkes on their return home next month.
“We’ve had a long standing agreement with the Parkes PA and H Association for more than 10 years and always look forward to the local hospitality; Parkes is always great to our soldiers,” Major Edmunds said.
“Whilst we utilise the buildings for sleeping purposes, local caterers are used and many of our personnel also enjoy eating out at the Parkes Services Club.”
The first of the brigades arrived at the Showground on May 24, with the amenities used continually until the last vehicle departure for South Australia on Wednesday morning (June 22).
