Related Videos

Austrailan fallen solders
AN SAS soldier missing after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed off the desk of a navy ship in the Pacific. The search for 28-year-old Trooper Joshua Porter who enlisted in the Australian Army in 2000. He is missing off Fiji since an army Black Hawk helicopter crashed trying to land on HMAS Kanimbla on the 29/11/2006 It's feared the Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment soldier may have been trapped inside the doomed helicopter as it sank. Five of Trooper Porter's SAS colleagues and four air crew were pulled from the water as the chopper sank, although a pilot, Captain Mark Bingley, died later of his injuries. He was preparing to move to Sydney with his wife and three-month-old son. Captain Bingley, an army pilot based in Townsville, was a Black Hawk flying instructor. He had flown Black Hawks since 1999. Private Jacob (Jake) Kovco, who was serving with the Australian Security Detachment (SECDET), died as a result of a single gunshot wound to the head from a 9mm pistol in Baghdad on 21 Apr 06. There is no evidence to suggest this was anything other than a tragic accident. Jake completed infantry basic training and was selected for service in the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), Australia's only parachute infantry battalion. At 3RAR he served in a range of positions as a rifleman, heavy weapons operator and was a member of the highly trained sniper section. He was a highly qualified soldier who had completed a number of specialist courses in his four years of service. In October 2005 he was selected to deploy to Iraq as a member of the Security Detachment (SECDET) in Baghdad. Only ten per cent of the unit was selected for this mission which was eagerly sought after by all soldiers in the Battalion. During his time in Baghdad he demonstrated a high level of devotion to duty and professionalism. He was a valued member of his team and is sorely missed, not only for his skills and professionalism, but also as a mate and comrade in arms. Private Kovco died in hospital surrounded by his mates, draped in an Australian flag and with a paratrooper's beret on his chest as his mates said the Lord's Prayer. He was married to Shelley and was a proud father of two young children, Tyrie and Alana. When WO2 David Nary returned to Australia.The local evening breeze, the Fremantle Doctor, blew gently as the aircraft carrying his body touched down at Perth International Airport on November 10. Not long ago he had set off for the Middle East, one of Australia's most experienced soldiers. Now he had returned, the victim of a vehicle accident. His family and a dozen SASR comrades had already entered the airport discreetly by a side gate, escorted by police and airport officials. While the family waited inside the terminal, his coffin was unloaded and brought to his black-armbanded comrades. They surrounded it in a protective ring, gently unwrapping the tarpaulin and cover sheets, and laying over it the Australian flag they had brought. When all was ready, his wife and their two children came forward. Accompanying them were his parents, who had flown in from Sydney, and his former wife, their two children and her husband. All were united in sorrow as the Regimental Padre spoke a few words. Finally the coffin was carried to the nearby hearse by a party of eight SASR warrant officers, and gently placed within it. Every soldier then returned to the family to console them in their grief. Dead or alive, the Regiment looks after its own. WO2 Nary, 42, died on November 6 from injuries he received in a training exercise at a Middle East base while preparing for future support operations in Iraq. He was struck by a vehicle and, despite the efforts of his colleagues, he died at the scene. The detachment was undertaking battle preparation for a protective security task in the Operation CATALYST Area of Operations. The battle preparation was conducted as a series of drills on a live firing range in the Middle East. This range covers a substantial area of land with several roads and numerous buildings to simulate fighting in an urban environment. The location and name of this range is classified. In addition to this live firing, the battle preparation required the use of motor vehicles similar to commercial four wheel-drives to practice the carriage of VIPs through areas of high risk. This included rehearsing the extraction of a VIP out of an area of immediate danger after that vehicle had come under attack. Tragically, it was during the conduct of one of these drills that Warrant Officer Nary was struck by a vehicle and killed. R.I.P to all soldiers past, present and future that fight for justice and protect and serve our county with honour. To them we should all be grateful.