Having done Guard Duty umpteen times in my Army Service, I have a some news for you all. The guards are not issued with live ammunition for their weapon, in Australia.

I always felt rather stupid carrying around a 25 kilo dead weight. The best deterrent was when the Army switched to the "sawn-off pick handle." to be used in reverse.

Now days Service personal don't do Guard Duty anyway. That's done by civilian Security Services. At least they are more diligent than we were, hiding in the drying room, on a cold Winters night.

Those that know, know.

It must be so miserable to be defensive all the time. Is Labor that bad, that you expect it to do every thing wrong?

This has been going on from well before the last couple of parliaments, so it might be Labor, or the other lot. Which ever it is, some parliament has caved into the paranoid bleeding heart brigade, who think it's OK for these people to defend them, but must not be allowed to show a gun in Oz.

Just a while back we had some terrorists planning a killing spree at Holsworthy army base. This could only be imagined in a small number of western democracies. In most of the world, soldiers carry their rifles when patrolling cities.

Effectively we put a large target on defense bases, then leave the men unarmed.

From the response here, Laborites only care if their party is blamed, & few others give a damn.

I can assure you there are more than a few disgruntled defense force people, who might be harboring ideas of revenge. Lets just hope the next inside job is not more deadly. The only thing guaranteed is that while while defense bases are effectively undefended, there will be a next time.

Hasbeen: Effectively we put a large target on defense bases, then leave the men unarmed.

If you went to an Military Base in Australia at night You would be hard pressed to find anyone. The Duty Corporal & his Driver in the Guard Hut. That's all. No one lives on Base. In fact there is no where to live. All the Barracks have gone, & everyone lives off Base. You actually have to get special permission to live in your Unit Area now days. There are no Kitchens or Mess Halls. There is usually a Maccas, KFC & a Fish & Chip Shop & a General Store (Toothpaste & Razorblades, etc.) somewhere on the Base, but not in the Unit Area. The Security is left completely up to the Civilian Security Patrols. Oh, they are armed & carry live ammunition & are nasty B's

Most personal ride their bikes to work & come in along the Bike path. No Security Check that only happens at the Main Gate.

I go back to Townsville for the odd Reunion every now & again. They put me up in a huge dormitory with a few other guests. No Radio, no TV, no Boozer, no library, & not a soul around after 4.30pm.

Hi there JAYB...

I joined in the sixties, and after my mandatory 3 months in RTB, the first guard I stood was with a bayonet. We're had the old SMLE .303 and the bayonet for that, was what we stood guard with ?

Sounds like things have worsened, but you're right we (Australia) is a joke. And though I'm very much a conservative, things weren't that much better under a Liberal Govt. either ?

Hi o sung wu, we must be of an age. I was navy, joined in 58, but the first guard duty I served was at Uranquinty, the RAAF flying training base. The RAAF taught us to fly, then the navy sent us off to the Royal Navy to learn all over again, off carriers.

As I recall a bayonet would have been an improvement. I was armed with an allen key type thing, to turn a gadget which showed up in the guard house. I guess they didn't trust blokes to walk around the Wagga country side, if they couldn't check on them. It was more about fire safety in those more pleasant days.

Still once I got on board a ship it was different. There was no way anyone, other than those permitted, was going to get onto a ship, at least not with out a squadron of tanks.

Yes indeed, that device to which you refer HASBEEN records the time when you insert the key into the contraption located at the guard house ?

As you say, thay don't seem to trust a young bloke wandering around Wagga in the middle of the night, in vain attempts to guard the place, with an 'allan key' locked and loaded ?

Still they were great days I reckon. As you quite correctly remark, one wouldn't want to try boarding an Aussie Warship without very clear authority. You'd get more than a beyonet up one's 'thingo' I'd imagine.

And when on guard, you'd be lucky if you saw the Orderly Sgt. or Duty Officer, during your entire guarding tour.

Speaking of Wagga (Kapooka) gee, it was cold place when I went through, very cold indeed. I'm sure you'd remember how jolly freezing it really got there ?

Great days I reckon - sorry for straying from the topic, just the quiet musings of an old man I'm afraid.