Our People in NSW
Leon Brown - Cooking up a Storm in Afghanistan
Former Broken Hill boy Leon Brown, is now earning his living in the dangerous valleys of Afghanistan. Leon is part of Australia’s Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force.
“The extreme weather changes are similar to Broken Hill, just a little more extreme,” he said.
Leon, 34, went to school at Sacred Heart College and then attended the East Sydney School of Catering. He was a member of the Central Football Club.
Leon joined the Army in 2001, initially as a Signaller but then decided to switch to cooking. He trained at the Army School of Catering and received a Certificate 4 in Hospitality Management and Commercial Cookery.
Now he’s promoted to corporal and these days he’s normally based with 1st Battalion, The The Royal Australian Regiment in Townsville.
Leon has been working at a Forward Operating Base in the Chora valley. He and the other Army cooks rotate between bases in Oruzgan Province.
“My job as a cook incorporates daily planning of both food and nutritional needs of the troops on the ground at various patrol bases. I also conduct security patrols around the bases,” said Leon.
“During this deployment I have felt the utmost respect from the soldiers I have cooked for. On this trip I have felt like a real soldier, not only doing my core job but also getting out on patrols and encountering the enemy,” he said.
This is Leon’s second overseas deployment. He also served for four months in Timor Leste in 2006.
“The local food is very basic, mainly rice and a small portion of meat. And some of the local customs take a bit of getting used to as well,” Leon said.
Whilst deployed Leon has missed his fiancé Amanda’s birthday, but when he gets home plans to spend as much time as possible with her and their four year old son Cody.
“Amanda, Cody and I are planning a trip to the Atherton Tablelands to stay in a tree house retreat,” he said. “Can’t wait!”
MRTF-2 is part of Operation SLIPPER is Australia's military contribution to international campaigns against terrorism, countering piracy in the Gulf of Aden, and maritime security. Under this operation our forces contribute to the efforts of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) - led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, which seeks to bring security,stability and prosperity to the country and aims at preventing Afghanistan again becoming a safe haven for international terrorists, and the United States-led International Coalition Against Terrorism (ICAT) efforts in the broader Middle East.