Navy People: For country not self
22 August 2011
Alstonville resident Ian Traise, 49, is a man leading a double life. A General Practitioner who, every so often, swaps his civilian clothes for Navy whites and takes his medical skills to the high seas.
Born in Newcastle, Ian has always found the intersection of the science of medicine and people to be extremely interesting and has always relished the opportunity to help people.
It was this altruistic bent that brought him to the Royal Australian Naval Reserves – his son had just joined the Australian Regular Army and Ian wanted to do something that would give back to the community.
He was impressed by the capacity of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in Banda Aceh in its response to the tsunami in 2004. After investigating the three services, he realised that there was a need in the Navy for his broad based GP skills, as a ship’s doctor. He was also keen to travel and this goal has certainly been fulfilled.
Since joining in 2006, Ian has been on five deployments including two Humanitarian Aid Missions – Padang Assist in 2009 and Pacific Partnership in 2009.
“I am very fortunate to be able to take these blocks of time off to do Reserve time – I have very supportive partners in my private practice in Alstonville who allow me the opportunity to do these sort of missions.”
Since April 2011, Ian has been one of 38 ADF members onboard the USS Cleveland, an amphibious transport ship, as part of Pacific Partnership 2011.
The mission aims to strengthen alliances and promote multilateral security cooperation. The ADF is participating with a mix of engineering and medical personnel including doctors, nurses, dentists and veterinarians.
During his 10 weeks on the mission, Ian has been working with local health providers and other members of the multi-national, multi-organisational Pacific Partnership team in Tonga, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea to provide sustainable family health care to local communities.
“It is very interesting to see different diseases and work with a different community of people. It is extremely satisfying to be able to develop relationships with the local providers and be part of something bigger than yourself.”
PP11 is now in its seventh year, and partner nations continue their mission to improve the lives of people in the Pacific region, as well as improve the capacities of nations and organisations to respond to disasters through recurring opportunities for cooperation and training
“We’re working with very capable and competent people here,” Ian said. “I was privileged to lead a team of 35 people from different health and military backgrounds to a remote village in Vanuatu and was extremely proud of the way they operated as a team from the very start.”
Ian will leave the ship in Darwin and is looking forward to catching up with family and friends before getting right back into his regular civilian life.
