Hi all,

Just want to express my great thanks to all those involved in the GR assessment on Saturday, it was a big success.

For the participants (Joe, Mex, Sue, Ben, Ben, Brett, Peter, Laura, Cathy, Dennis, James, Steph) who put in a lot of hard work in training over the last few months - well done. I'm sure you will go on to bigger and better things.

For the helpers (Jabba, Mel, Stefan, Dion, Norm) on the day who worked behind the scenes getting the stands set up and packed up - thanks, this cut down on the work that others would of had to do and sped up the day.

To the assessors (John Dowling, Alex, Gordon and myself) who took the time to assess and fill out all the paperwork - thank you.

And lastly to all those who helped with the training throughout the last few months (Jan, Stefan, Cameron, Alex, Gordon, just to name a few), thanks.

I have some photos from Saturday that I'll try to get onto CD if anyone is interested.

Adrian Manning

On the 25 August 2009 a couple of strong cold fronts passed the region. Early on the 25th Gordon was called into the IMT and stayed in there until about 11am.

Woden 60 was stood up around 0800 and Woden 61 then stood up around 0930. At that stage there had been around 111 RFA with 60 outstanding and further jobs flowing in.

Woden 60 stood up until about 1630 and was re-crewed, deployed by a fresh crew around 1730 - until 2200. Woden 61 stood up until approx 1800. With a further strong front expected at 0100 on the 26th of August a team was set up on stand by. However, no call out resulted.

The jobs were mixed, with a little bit of chainsawing, searching for fallen trees over roads and roof damage.

The availability roster worked very well and made getting crews a lot easier. Over 200 RFS were received in total. A big thanks for everyone involved.

Adrian Manning

On the 30th May Woden participated in NavCan 2009. Held annually, this year it was held out around Corin slides. Woden had three teams involved plus had others helping out at the staging area.

'Woden One' came third, 'Woden Two' came in fourth and 'Woden Three' came in down the order. A very good result considering there was 14 teams in total.

The terrian and vegetation made the going tough, but a good day was had and plenty of exercise to keep us all fit.

On the 30, 31 October and 1 November Woden members were involved in a Search and Rescue exercise - called SAREX.

The exercise was based near Orral Valley Camping ground and involved about 42 SES people, of which 7 were from Woden.

The exercise started early on Saturday morning with a briefing out on site at 0800 (after breakfast was served). There was four teams created, two moderate and two arduous. Cameron was in charge of one arduous team and myself the other.

We were given the task of looking for missing people (up to four) and also evidence along the way. Much of the day for the arduous teams was involved climbing up a very steep hill, covered in dense vegetation and large boulders. This was very hard given that we were also carrying our packs (weighting about 20kg each).

By 1400 Arduous team two had found two missing people and were taking them back down the hill for vehicle transport. Just before making the vehicle track the rain came, as did the lightning and thunder!

Eventually all teams made the designated night camp site and after dinner we all had a early night.

The Sunday saw the two arduous teams working closely side by side and eventually link up together. A grid point was given to us and when we made ourselves there another point was given - this point was where the missing people was expected to be. Just before arriving however another grid figure reference was given, meaning that we had to change track again. About 1230 contact was made with the two missing people and we then linked up with the two moderate teams to head back to a pick up point.

Some lessons were learnt in search and rescue, being prepared and pack issues. Overall it was a great, fun and good exercise... it was good to get home and change / have a shower.

Well done to all involved.

Adrian Manning

Still buzzing from tonight’s CBR exercise. It was just as much fun this time around as it was the last time we did this at Woden. Well done to all and a big thank you must go out to Alex and company in organising this event. There has been a lot of preparation work in leading up to this and a lot of effort “behind the scenes”. It was great to see everyone being involved in some way and just goes to show the great unit we have at Woden. But for those members who are still unsure, don’t forget about the opportunities at Rivers mentioned in tonights admin …. Gary! Hehehehe

I cannot speak for everyone, but as far as Team 1 (the bestest team on the night) goes, I reckon that we all worked extremely well together. Especially having only 2 “senior” members on the team and having Joe at the helm. I personally felt safe, assured and confident in my team at all times. More than happy to work with any of you guys/gals again in the future.

Have a good night as I am sooooo wide awake right now (2344 Thursday night). Thanks for helping make tonights training so much fun as per usual.


Jabba