Our People in VIC
Stacy Russell - Geelong Man takes on the Taliban
Geelong’s Stacy Russell, 35, is now earning his living in the high mountains and dangerous valleys of Afghanistan. He’s part of the Army’s Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force.
Stacy grew up in Geelong and went to school at Western Heights Secondary College then joined the Army in September 1994 at the age of 21, deciding to specialise in the Artillery.
Since then Stacy has been promoted and posted around Australia to numerous Artillery Regiments and he was also an Instructor at the School of Artillery.
Now a Sergeant, these days Stacy is located at the Australian Forward Operating Base in the Chora valley. His job is to call down artillery fire when joint Australian and Afghan National Army patrols come under attack from the Taliban.
“I originate and check target data in order to provide surveillance to, strike, neutralise or destroy the target,” Stacy said. “I also provide an independent check of information to the Forward Observer.”
“The work is very high tempo but very rewarding. It’s great to see a result after all of my training over the past 15 years and to be able to put my skills and knowledge into use in real life situations.”
This is Stacy’s second overseas deployment. He was in Timor Leste in 2000 as part of the United Nations and has now been in Afghanistan for several months.
Stacy said the two stand-outs so far are the variety that his job provides, and being able to steadily improve the gym for future rotations.
Although he is making the most of his deployment, Stacy misses his three kids, Emily, Jacob, and Sarah. “We’ll be going to Queensland and visit Dream World on the Gold Coast,” he said.
And there will also be some serious relaxing with his family in Victoria.
Stacy is part of Australia's military contribution Afghanistan, which in turn is part of Australia’s broader commitment to Coalition efforts against international terrorism, countering piracy in the Gulf of Aden, and maritime security. The Australian deployment, comprising around 1550 personnel in Afghanistan and a further 850 across the Middle East, is know as Operations SLIPPER.
Under Operation SLIPPER, Australian forces contribute to both the efforts of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) - led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan which is aimed at preventing Afghanistan again becoming a safe haven for international terrorists, and the United States-led International Coalition Against Terrorism.