Canvas Respirator case : RAN Clearance Diving Team 3

Olive green canvas haversack to hold the Avon FM 12 respirator and accessories. The haversack has an overlapping top flap with a central front press stud fastening and Velcro sealing tabs. There is a Fastex clip attached to the right rear of the bag, to allow fitment of a carrying strap. A similar clip on the left hand side appears to have been cut off. Between the Fastex clip mountings is a press stud and Velcro belt clip for attachment to the waist of the wearer's uniform. Also on the rear is a short loop of green cotton tape stitched into the seam at each lower corner. On the right hand side is a small pouch with a Velcro flap, and inside the bag is a similar pouch located centrally, and a pair of canvas pockets to hold mask accessories, none of which are present. There are a pair of elastic straps inside the top flap. Printed in black on the inside of the top flap between the straps are the words 'MADE IN UK'.

Issued to a member of Royal Australian Navy Clearance Diving Team Three. AUSCDT THREE was deployed in support of Operation Falconer in February 2003. In early March, they took up residence at the Kuwait Naval Base on the coast not far from Kuwait city, where they engaged in equipment preparation and training, and on the morning of 24 March, they crossed the border into Iraq. Headquarters and accommodation were established at the old port of Umm Qasr where AUSCDT THREE divers quickly located a sunken minelayer with four live mines onboard. The team also participated in the clearing of ordinance from within the town itself. Umm Qasr was declared open on 9 April, and AUSCDT THREE immediately moved twenty kilometres further north, to the port of Khawr Az Zubayr. This port was also cleared in conjunction with other coalition dive teams, and explosive ordnance disposal patrols on the Al Faw peninsula were undertaken.