Australian Defence Force trying to sign up US Soldiers

A big news item here is that Australian Defence Force is trying to sign up US Soldiers for our services. They are also trying to sign up Brits which isn't news since there is a cross over between British and Australian Forces on a fairly regular basis.

The US recruitment is a little unusual, but I have found Australians who have enlisted and served in US forces, completed their . What would be the effect on the benefits that normally accrue to former US service personnel if they enlist in Australian Forces?

 

When I was in Australia in 1992, I was surprised at how small their military was for such a large country. Are they having problems recruiting from their own citizens, or are they looking for US soldiers with combat experience in Iraq/Afghanistan?

 

I think that the military are a little stretched (understatement). They are in East Timor, Afghanistan, and a few other Pacific Islands. We are no longer in Iraq. Papua New Guinea is not looking terribly stable and I think we may be going back there if it disintegrates. Indonesia has viewed this area in the past as theirs as well. Not sure what the outcome will be there.

We are sitting on a pile of minerals, natural gas and uranium. We are also a massive food bowl and we don't really trust China or India for that matter. Our government has just moved to sell uranium to India and this has created an uproar. I think since we operate so closely with the US and the Brits, it is cheaper and quicker to buy in experience and expertise from those nations that have similar values to ourselves. We seems that we want to grow quickly.

Your President was recently here and has advised us that the US is beefing up their Marine involvement in Darwin by only two thousand . This brought immediate protests from Indonesia and China. I am not sure what is going on, but this is not indicative of peace in the region.

 

Marines are coming to Australia anyway. Obama and your Prime Minister agreed to a full Marine Task Force beginning in 2012. Starting with about 250 Marines next year and upping to about 2,500 in the next few years.

With the Marines, believe me when I tell you this, Australia will have more than it's fill of US troops. We'll bring some money to the economy, help out with a ton of public works and volunteer projects, sleep with as many Aussie women as we can, drink a lot of beer and have a good time. Unfortunately one or two Marines will do something bad and mess it up for the rest.

Never been to Australia but would love to visit.

 

If you arrive in the Northern Territory you will experience plenty of crocodiles, sharks, snakes, and water buffalo plus some very tough individuals. The terrain is unforgiving. Darwin is not known for its quiet living so there will be plenty of beer. I'm not sure about the ratio of men to women, but I suspect that the women prefer the gentler climes of Sydney and the south. You could experience plenty of hand to hand combat to support your battle fitness. Getting speared can still be a reality in the Northern Territory, if you grossly transgress indigenous laws and customs.

The north has a history with the US going back to the WW2. Darwin was our Pearl Harbor. It was attacked heavily during WW2 because they thought a fleet taskforce may be there. I'm not sure but I think it experienced several hundred air attacks. There are plenty of Australian troops there still as a forward base.
After all that, you can also be sure that you would be very welcome and your families will be safer than in most parts of the world. You will also have an experience you would never forget.

 

What is the pension system like for the Australian military? In the U.S. military, a service member can serve for 20 years and can then collect 50% of his pay for the rest of his life.

 

To be honest, I don't know. My knowledge of the services is now dated. It used to be something similar to the US. They also used to pay for the soldier to retrain for civilian life and organise work in the chosen field for one year. They would pick up the wages that year so the soldier would exit with experience in the civil field.

From discussions I have had with serving members, the paying loading for combat deployments is awesome and most could never achieve the same rates in civil life, but then they are risking their life. They are losing a lot of techos to mining companies because of the huge pay increases in mining.

If a reservist does a deployment, the govt used to pick up some of the wages of the civilian job to offset the costs to the civilian employer. As I said, my knowledge is dated, but I think it still pretty generous by civil standards. There are all sorts of veteran benefits as well for people who experienced injuries or illness in service. I suspect it is probably pretty similar to the US. Ex military seem to do pretty well in civil employment stakes as well.

 

If the Japanese could have taken Australia in WW2, there is some opinion is that they could have kept the US out. The natural resources and strategic placement would have placed Japan in a very good position. They tried to capture Fiji to cut the US from Australia, but were defeated at the Battle of the Coral Sea. Land battles in New Guinea (Kokoda Track and Milne Bay) stopped the southern expansion.

If you are interested in Generals and war gaming, try a couple of less known Generals such as Monash and Morshead. Monash University is named after Monash for his First World War exploits and Morshead was the first General to stop Rommel and the German Forces anywhere. Both were non regulars and, as a result, did not receive the recognition they should have at the time.

 

BTW, this concept is nothing new. One of my drill sergeants in basic training was a LRRP in Vietnam, and when he returned stateside, he was recruited to join the armed forces of Rhodesia, who were in an ongoing war with SWAPO terrorists, and wanted people with combat experience.

He obviously didn't go, and made the US Army his career, but he said the pay & benefits offered were pretty impressive.