Our People in QLD
Michael Babic - Ipswich Medic in Sumatra Rescue Op
Australian Defence Force personnel operating in Sumatra as part of the earthquake relief effort are busy helping the locals, but who looks after them if anything goes wrong.
That’s the job of Ipswich man Flight Lieutenant Michael Babic.
The Aussies are working in a constant thirty plus degree tropical heat, and in partially collapsed buildings at times. Even when they are just on the street , driving conditions are less than ideal.
Fortunately it’s a job he’s used to, having last year travelled to sixteen different countries as a RAAF nursing officer.
“I love the new challenges the job presents to me everyday,” he said. “I can come to work on a Friday and before I know it I’m in a different country for the weekend.”
Growing up in Ipswich, Queensland, FLTLT Babic attended St Peter Claver College where he was a keen soccer player with no aspirations at the time to go into the medical field.
After school he worked as a carpenter for many years until at age 27 he decided to study nursing at university.
Then his step-mother introduced him to the Air Force’s Undergraduate Sponsorship Scheme which offered him a wage and full scholarship in return for his service as a RAAF Nursing Officer. FLTLT Babic applied for the scheme, was accepted, and became an Air Force Officer.
“I remember after the first terrorist attacks in Bali seeing the RAAF’s response to the event and thinking that’s what I want to do with my nursing,” he said.
“Certainly for me, bringing back a wounded soldier to their family in Australia, and being given that responsibility is the greatest thing I can do,” he said.
“You’re part of a family’s life at an important time when their loved ones are ill or injured, and what it means to the whole family is unmatched.”
Deploying on Operation Padang Assist with only a few days notice, FLTLT Babic wants to make the most of the experience.
“I’m excited to be here, it’s what we train to do and it gives you an experience that you don’t get anywhere else,” he said.
On his return, FLTLT Babic is mostly looking forward to seeing his wife Nerida and giving her a break from looking after their 20 months old twins Jasper and Anderson.
“We always get praised for our work, but I couldn’t do it without the support of my wife,” he said.
FLTLT Michael Babic is currently serving on Operation Padang Assist with the Australian Defence Force’s Joint Task Force 629.
As part of the operation, Australian soldiers, sailors and airmen are working day and night to provide health care, purified water, and to deliver aid supplies to the people of Padang and the surrounding areas of West Sumatra in the wake of the devastating earthquakes that recently rocked the Indonesian province.