Publication:The Fearless Times Issue 1 2009/Message from the Editor
I would like to welcome you to the first edition of The Fearless Times.
Thanks must go out to a number of people who have done a great job in contributing with ideas, articles and photographs and with a general spirit of "lets have a go". I would like to give special thanks to the Ship's Warrant Officer (SWO) Dave Devlin, who with superior MS Publisher skills has, I think you will agree, put together a very fine publication. Thanks SWO.
The idea for a families and friends newsletter was born of the Commanding Officer's strong desire for Toowoomba to stay connected with the folks back home for the duration of our six month deployment to the Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO). His idea, which was for the newsletter to go out once per patrol, gathered momentum and here we are - The Fearless Times.
Our hope is that this publication will help to make you – the people who matter most to us feel a vital part of our journey. You, our families and friends are making significant sacrifices and it is only right and fair that we involve you and keep you informed of what we have been up to. The Fearless Times is one way that we can do just that.
I think that sometimes there may be a misconception that once people cross the gangway of these grey liners and sail away they simply shut down emotionally.
Getting around the ship the last few weeks and talking to ship's company it's clear to me that this is simply not the case. So staying connected with the people and support networks that mean the most to us through email, care packages (both ways), photos, phone calls when possible and other methods such as Skype for those who have access to it, is vital in periods of long separation such as this six month deployment.
It can also help to share the way we feel (on both sides) and let those we love know what they really mean to us. In doing so, despite the distance, we are in fact brought closer together. We stay connected. And life on board, or at home, even at its most intolerable can be made more tolerable.
I commend you to the "message page" where some members of ship's company have left special and coded messages for the ones they love. If you would like to send one you can do so by forwarding it to me at steve.gunther@fleet.defence.gov.au and I'll make sure that it gets into the next edition.
Finally let us remember and keep in our thoughts and prayers the young Australian soldier who was killed, just this last week serving with the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force in Afghanistan (Op Slipper), Private Benjamin Ranaudo, his family and his friends. Lest we Forget.
Publication Details
The Fearless Times - The Family Newsletter of HMAS Toowoomba.
Editor: Chaplain Steve Gunther Publisher: Warrant Officer Dave Devlin
Stories and Photos provided by the Ships Company of HMAS Toowoomba
Mail-out Address: fearless_156@iinet.net.au
Letters to the editor or contact may be made by email to: steve.gunther@fleet.defence.gov.au
