Whose Name We Share

VIII Foreword I applaud Gunner Hemi Croft for authoring Whose Name We Share, the story of the batteries that have carried the “103” title since the first battery – 103 Field (Howitzer) Battery – was raised on 6 March 1916 at Tel e Kebir in the shadow of the Sphinx, with the Sphinx remaining a proud feature of the Battery’s plaque to this day. This is a history worth telling with the Battery being involved in some of the most important artillery battles and developments over the last 107 years. These batteries have served with distinction from the Western Front in France where the battery participated all the major Australian actions, time as an anti-aircraft battery in the 1950s, to the Malayan Emergency and Vietnam where amongst many great deeds they were one of the batteries that provided lifesaving fire support at the Battel of Long Tan, to the 1980s and 1990s when it was Army’s only 155mm ‘Medium’ battery (1987 -1999). The battery was dual equipped for decades until 1998 with combinations of the 5.5 inch then M198 Howitzer, and the M2A2 then Hamel Field Guns to fulfil both its operational role supporting the units of 1 Brigade, as well as provide support to the School of Artillery. At one stage the Battery was ‘triple equipped’ with the 4.2 inch mortar. In East Timor the Battery Commander, all Forward Observer parties, and many gunline and logistics personnel deployed with the 5/7 RAR Battalion Group becoming the first RAA force element to be assigned to the UN and wear the UN Blue Beret when the mission transferred from INTERFET to UNTAET. Since then, the Battery has deployed to the Solomon Islands and provided formed sub- elements and individuals to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere across the globe and within Australia. “Whose Name We Share” describes all this and more. Most importantly throughout its various incarnations the Battery has been served by dedicated, resourceful and professional men and women, who have achieved amazing things on operations and in peace, built a proud Battery identity and forged friendships that have endured well after ‘end of mission’. These Gunners to this day continue to build on the legacy of those that went before them and enhance the “103” reputation. On a personal level I have a deep affection for 103 Battery, having joined the battery as a newly commissioned Lieutenant Section Commander and then Gun Position Officer in my first artillery appointment. The two highlights of this time were months and months in the field, the Battery’s first deployment to Cultana (a great artillery range) and the Battery’s trip to New Zealand on Exercise Tasman Exchange. A terrific trip filled with gunnery in mountainous terrain, adventure training, recreation and team building. This foundational posting exposed me to some amazing experiences, leaders and mentors that were pivotal in my development as an officer and Gunner, and laid the foundation for my Army and Gunner journey, and was the birth of many enduring friendships. For all of this I am eternally grateful. Subsequent postings as Battery Commander and Commanding Officer of the then 8/12 Medium Regiment kept me connected to my roots. I was privileged to lead the Battery in East Timor and as the Commanding Officer to select members of 103 Battery to deploy to Helmand