Our People in NSW
Grant Cresswell - Baulkham Hills soldier protects Baghdad Diplomats
There are still 100 Australian soldiers in Iraq and local man Grant Cresswell in one of them.
Former Crestwood High School graduate Grant Cresswell is now part of the Australian Army’s Security Detachment protecting Australian diplomats in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
Having previously served in East Timor, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, Corporal Cresswell, 27, is now deployed to Baghdad as a member of the Detachment’s “close protection team” which provides personal protection to the Australian Ambassador in Iraq.
These days Corporal Cresswell, son of Robert and Ann Cresswell of Kings Langley, is normally based in Brisbane with his wife Tara Sade and daughter Georgia, while he serves with the Army’s 1st Military Police Battalion.
But for the next eight months he will be based in Baghdad.
The Security Detachment is deployed as part of Operation KRUGER - the Australian Defence Force’s ongoing contribution to the provision of security and support for the Australian embassy and its staff in Iraq.
Working in support of the Australian Embassy and its staff in Iraq, the ADF provides a tailored security detail in order to facilitate protected mobility to the Head of the diplomatic mission and his staff.
The Australian Security Detachment, known as SECDET, is comprised of about 100 personnel drawn from infantry, cavalry, military police and combat service support units. SECDET currently consists mainly of personnel from the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (Townsville) and the 2nd Cavalry Regiment (Darwin).