Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Commanding Officer of the 5th Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Chris Gilmore on the NT troops being sent to help flood zones

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Commanding Officer of the 5th Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Chris Gilmore on the NT troops being sent to help flood zones · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now we know that the scenes coming out of New
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: South Wales and also out of Queensland have been devastating
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: to see that flooding interstate and the impact that it's
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: having on so many of our fellow Australians. And joining
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: me on the line right now from Northern New South Wales,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: it is the commanding officer of the fifth Battalion, Lieutenant
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Colonel Chris Gilmore. Good morning to you, Chris.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, good morning, good morning. Hell are you?
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, very well, thank you so much for your time
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: this morning. Now, I understand that a number of our
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: territory troops are obviously in New South Wales at the moment.
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: Where are you guys, Yeah, that's right. We've got five
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: hundred troops from Middleland Territory at the moment based in
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: Casino in our northern New South Wales.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: Five hundred goodness may.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: No y. So we've pretty much picked up, got the
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: word to move on Monday Tuesday and we move down
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: and we're all here by our Thursday mid morning. At
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: the moment, we're just on the ground here just trying
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: to help out. Look, you know, we're here to help
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: and we're.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: Going to do any we can to help and so
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: based in Casino at this point, and what kind of
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: work Chris are you are you sort of doing to
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: help the community at this point.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: Katie, We're just here to do whatever it is we can.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: What we have is five hundred people who are really,
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: really keen. They've seen they're here to help. Within a
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: number of soldiers with families from both Lismore and also
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: the surrounding areas. So there's a bit of a personal
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: there's a personal touch and all their friends have got
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: around them as well. It's really important they're here to help.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I know it's not the first time that
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: the Fifth Battalion has been deployed to different locations, not
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: only around Australia but also overseas to help out in
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: these times of need. How important is it for our
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: troops to really get out there, get on the ground
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: and try to help their fellow Aussies.
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: Katie, they're having a they're just they feel a really
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: meaningful thing from to do. But I've got to mention
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: it's not just the fifth Battalion, It's across all the
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: units from the first Brigade basin Darwin, from the eight
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: to twelfth Regiment, the ut To the Regiment, the Combat
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: Service Support Battalion and the Combat Signal Regiment. It's a
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: conglomerate of everyone has come together to help out here.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah goodness, So how many do you know how many
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: Territory soldiers we're talking about at this point that are
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: obviously in New South Wales helping out, not just from
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: the Fifth Battalion, No, no, no.
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: Katie, that's five hundred titles in total. Yes, the fifth
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: bato we're providing the headquarter element for that, right, but
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: again from all the units of the first Brigade here
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: in Northern Territory where we've all come together to come
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: down as a group.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: Mate, talk us through some of what you're seeing there,
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: because I know that for a lot of us, we're
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: seeing this imagery obviously on the news, and we're seeing
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: photos in our newspapers of some really devastated communities, some
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: real devastation for a lot of people. Talk us through
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: what you guys are seeing.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: Katie, are particularly driving through Lismore. It's really it's really
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: heartbreaking the CEA, to be completely honest. You know, we're
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: seeing families who've just lost everything, including their houses. So
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: it's really it really divides meaning as to why we're here. Yeah,
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: it does.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: And I think you know, for us in the territory,
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: we know what it's like to have terrible weather. We
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: live through cyclones, we see flooding in the likes of
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: Catherine and other parts of the Top End at different times,
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: even in Central Australia. But yeah, it is absolutely heartbreaking
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: when you see you know, some of those families just
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: losing everything.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it really is, you know, And that's the thing
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: that really makes again, it gives it really specific meaning
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: for all the territory and soldiers on the ground here. Again,
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: it's there's not much more we can say than other
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: than when we're walking around just trying to make sure
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: people know where we're here to do whatever we can
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: to help them.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: How long are you going to be there for.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: Where? I'm sure Katie, and we don't really get to
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: we don't really decide that, yep. But at the moment
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: we're just here to do as much as we can
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: and until we're told to either stay here or do
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: something else.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: All A big shout out to all the territory troops
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: that are there helping out in northern New South Wales
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: at the moment, I know for a lot of people,
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: and particularly for you guys. I know that you probably
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: feel as though it's the least you can do when
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: you look at the plight that some of those families
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: are going through, But I think it's really it's wonderful
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: to see our troops there on the ground helping out.
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: Yes, thanks Katie, and really we're really appreciable the support
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: we get from the territory community and all our family
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: and friends back home as well. Yeah, we get down
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: where we get to come down here and do this.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: Oh well, we really appreciate your time this morning, Chris,
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: and all the best to all the troops.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: Thank you for your tom.
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: Thank you