Publication:The Fearless Times Issue 2 2009/Meet Ted E Bear
An unlikely sailor due to his size, Teddy has been in the Navy for 21 years and holds the rank of Chief Petty Officer. Teddy is the constant companion of Toowoomba's Chief Steward, CPO Sally-Anne Plewis.
If you were to give Teddy Bear a 'kit muster', you would find:
- a Set of DPNUs;
- a Set of W2s complete with medals;
- a pair of combat coveralls and anti flash;
- a set of dog tags (of course);
- a SMET Jacket with battle dressing and bandages;
- an S10 respirator for CBRND exercises;
- a Passport that is almost out of pages;
- a hammock to sleep in every night; and
- he also carries 20 cents with him so he can get red frogs from the Canteen.
Karachi was Teddy's 65th port. Being so well travelled he has some career highlights such as going ashore in Gallipoli in 2005, the 90th Anniversary of the Anzac landing, where he met the then Prime Minister John Howard and has the pictures to prove it. His other highlights were when he visited the Great Wall of China and the Great Pyramid of Giza. Teddy enjoys seeing the world and getting paid to do it.
Teddy is due to get his Tier Four seagoing badge in July next year. He feels that he still has a few more years in the Navy and looks forward to his next posting and in the future, maybe a promotion to Warrant Officer.
The story behind Teddy:
“Teddy has been everywhere with me over the last 21 years. When I first went to sea in 1996 my son Tiernan was one year old and Teddy was a great comfort to me. He sleeps in a hammock that hangs in my rack. On my first long deployment to RIMPAC and South East Asia, I decided Teddy needed a uniform. So I made him a pair of Combat Coveralls and Anti Flash and then thought as I was a SMET he too needed a SMET jacket. So Teddy, now armed with the correct uniform and bandages to help out, we set out to pass my first Work Up. Teddy would only come out and play on game day and has been my good luck charm ever since. I would hang Teddy off my anti flash belt, and any one who saw him just had to smile.”
