Our People in WA
Marc Anderson - Diggers Scramble for The West Australian
The news might well have been a couple of weeks old but regular deliveries of The West Australian provided more than your average link to home for Captain Marc Anderson, recently returned from service with the Australian Defence Force’s Rotary Wing Group in Afghanistan. Marc’s father-in-law Peter Stewart, a West Australia staffer all his working life until retirement, sent him regular copies for the duration of Marc’s most recent five-month tour of duty, his fourth to the country.
“Dad was fanatical about getting me the paper on a regular basis, and it was always a bit of a scramble among the guys to see who got their hands on it first,” said Marc.
In Afghanistan Marc’s job as an Army flying instructor was to bring new helicopter crews rapidly up to speed in the harsh and unforgiving conditions of southern Afghanistan.
The Rotary Wing Group has operated Australia’s CH-47D Chinook helicopters in the country since March 2006. They provide essential combat and logistical support to Australian and coalition forces operating against insurgents.
“This helicopter really is the workhorse of the desert,” Marc said.
“We worked in extreme conditions of heat and dust, and of course the threat from insurgents was there every time we went out, but I couldn’t have wished for a better aircraft to do my job in,” he said.
That risk, and the resilience of the aircraft, was reinforced as recently as several weeks ago when an Australian Chinook was engaged by enemy fire in the skies over the southern provinces but managed a controlled landing at a coalition airfield.
“So I was lucky enough to have not only the best helicopters to work with but also around 65 of the best people in the ADF flying and supporting them,” Marc said.
And after 23 years in the army, including eight in army aviation, he’s undoubtedly qualified to judge that.
These days Marc is normally based in Townsville where he is now reunited in Townsville with his Army Nursing Officer wife Linda, his son Garrett, currently undergoing officer training at the Australian Defence Force Academy, and his youngest son Alec who’s about to begin secondary school.