Our People in QLD
Ben Harington - Gympie man plays key role in completion of Australia's Iraq mission
For Gympie soldier Ben Harington, the completion of Australia’s mission in Iraq was a significant personal event.
Serving with the Australian National Military Headquarters in the Middle East, one of Major Harington’s tasks has been to oversee the finalisation and handover of Australian military facilities in Baghdad to United States forces.
The last of Australia’s military forces left Iraq on the 28th of July 2009, concluding Australia’s six year commitment to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Iraq, know as Operation Catalyst.
“It was a daunting job to undertake but when everything was done and I was on the plane out of Baghdad with the last of the Operation Catalyst guys, I felt a bit of a buzz,” Ben said.
Far from his home town of Gympie, Major Harington is deployed in the Middle East in one of the most interesting jobs of his life.
“I grew up on the south side of Gympie and joined the Australian Army at age 19 to see what it was all about,” Major Harrington said.
Fifteen years later, he finds himself in the Middle East as the officer responsible for the management and distribution of all the ammunition to the Australian troops currently operating.
He says it has been an interesting path getting to this point and the Army has provided some excellent opportunities.
Since joining the Army, Major Harington has graduated from the Royal Military College as well as obtaining a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the Australian Defence Force Academy.
“I was working as an engineer for the Defence Materiel Organisation in Melbourne when I was offered the chance to serve in the Middle East as a logistics officer,” he said.
“It did not take much time for me to make my mind up. The only people I had to convince were my parents, Neville and Adele Harington, that this was a good thing to do,” Ben said.
“It only seems like yesterday that I was kicking around the school yard at Saint Patrick’s College. I like to think that it gave me the grounding to take on the challenges that I am facing today,” he said
Major Harington is on a six month deployment and is looking forward to spending Christmas with his family.
“I am looking forward to driving home to Gympie and seeing my parents, brother and sisters, niece and nephews. Gympie is a great place to unwind at the end of the year,” he said
He spent his 35th birthday in the Middle East with his workmates on the Australian Joint Task Force Headquarters. Major Harington says that he enjoys the camaraderie of the Australian Defence Force.
“It is the people that you remember most and it’s your mates that help you get through when the pressure is on.”