Operation Bel Isi Baseball Cap : Lieutenant K M Sturtevant, Bougainville Combined Health Element, PMG

Yellow corduroy baseball style cap with embroidered Operation Bel Isi logo on the front and plastic size adjusting tab on the rear. The embroidered logo is a sky blue disc with a white peace dove carrying a black olive branch flying over the green island of Bougainville. Above and beneath this logo is embroidered in black 'PEACE / OPERATION BEL ISI'. Around the top and side of the crown are several small stains, including two dark stains on the right side. The visor has a slightly bent plastic core and is covered with corduroy on the upper surface and nylon underneath. The sweatband is made from terry toweling has several stains throughout. The right hand side of the crown has become partially detached from the sweatband.

Baseball cap worn by Lieutenant Kristy Michelle Sturtevant, who was a Registered Nurse serving with the Nursing Corps of the Australian Army in Bougainville, as part of the Peace Monitoring Group (PMG) from April to August 1998. She served with the Bougainville Combined Health Element based at Loloho and was the Nursing Officer in charge of medium and low dependency unit. The PMG was deployed in on 1 May 1998, taking over from the New Zealand-led Truce Monitoring Group (TMG). The PMG comprised a mix of military and civilian personnel from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Vanuatu. Its headquarters were variously located at Arawa and Loloho in central Bougainville. Sturtevant later served in East Timor from September 1999 to February 2000 with the Field Surgery Team (FST) Heavy, which was part of the 1st Field Hospital based at Holsworthy Barracks in Sydney. During her time in East Timor, she was field promoted from lieutenant to captain, and her unit, the 1st Field Hospital changed its title to the 1st Health Support Battalion. Operation Bel Isi was an operational deployment of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) that provided ADF support to the United Nations Peace Monitoring Group to monitor and report on the maintenance of the cease-fire in Bougainville.