ANZAC Student Tour participants at Campbell Barracks
Courtesy of the Premier's ANZAC Student TourPremier's ANZAC Student Tour 2021 Student Diary
Published - 22 April, 2021
Tour Overview
Daily tour diaries were written by selected students. The following was written by Lucy Lonnqvist and Darcy Reid after the visit to Campbell Barracks.
Tour diary, Day 7: Perspective
To be interconnected is to rely upon multiple people or parties to fulfill each other's needs; by sharing knowledge and passing on resources, we thrive as individuals. Today, the Premier's Anzac Student Tour group learnt that interconnection is a value that the Special Air Service Regiment depend on greatly to ensure successful operations and cohesion. By taking a step back from our surreal feelings and overwhelming impressions of being inside the gates of Campbell Barracks, we were able to draw lines of comparison between our interconnectivity as student representatives of Western Australia, to the interdependence of the SAS soldiers in their deployment as representatives of our nation.
Interconnectivity and Service
This sense of interconnectivity becomes apparent when you make links between our service as students on the Premier's Anzac student tour, and that of the SAS soldiers: On this tour, we have travelled from the Kimberley to the inner-city, witnessed how landscapes have shaped cultures, and engaged with a diverse range of people united by our purple uniforms; these same principles apply to the SAS soldiers on a much broader, global scale, as seen during our tour through the Campbell Barracks. We noticed how, over the course of multiple conflicts, the same principles of exploring distinct environments and conversing with locals, travelling all the while with a bonded, tight-knit team shaped by the inclusivity of a uniform, a formerly atomised group of individuals come to depend on each other to survive and thrive.
Tour Experience
Today we were incredibly fortunate to be toured through the historical artefacts of the Special Air Service Regiment, and investigate the role of the SAS, guided by a Vietnam veteran Captain Greg Mawkes. Greg's wealth of SAS knowledge presented us with unique insights into individual experiences during warfare. However, we were also exposed to much larger, more complex ideas such as the ambiguity of warfare through the rise of modern technologies in counterterrorism. To be allowed to walk beyond the steel gates of Campbell barracks, guided by a Vietnam veteran, was a privilege, and words cannot express our gratitude towards Special Air Service Regiment for hosting us today.