Boots : Private C J Donovan, 5/7 Battalion (Mechanised) The Royal Australian Regiment

Pair of tan leather and nylon boots with a padded collar. Each boot has four pairs of brass eyelets and five pairs of riveted loops to retain the nylon laces. There is a pair of mesh covered ventilation holes located at each instep. The boot uppers around the ankle are nylon with a webbing strip stitched across it. The suede tongues are lined with green fabric and have a small pocket secured with Velcro. The rubber soles are worn, and the rubber strip just above the soles is also worn and broken in places, particularly at the toe and heel. An octagonal identity disc is threaded through the laces of the left boot. The boots are covered in a fine layer of dust. Mud has dried in a number of places including around the eyelets, ventilation holes, identifcation disc and the toe and heel of the boots.

Private Christopher John Donovan enlisted in the Australian Army in 2003 and after completing basic recruit training was posted as a trainee to the School of Infantry in Singleton, NSW where he learnt his trade as an infantry soldier. Upon graduation Donovan was allocated to 5/7 Battalion (Mechanised), The Royal Australian Regiment in Darwin.

In 2004 he marched into 9 Platoon, C Company, and early in 2005 was posted to 4 Platoon, B Company. Donovan was deployed to Iraq on 5 May 2005 as part of Combat Team Tiger, one of two Australian combat teams assigned to the Al Muthanna Task Group (AMTG). The AMTG formed part of Operation Catalyst, the Australian Defence Force’s contribution to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Iraq, and was tasked with providing a secure environment for the Japanese Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group (JIRSG) and assisting in the training of local Iraqi Army units to enable them to take over the internal and external defence of their country. Donovan served as the assault gunner for his section, 21B, carrying one of the section’s two light support weapons, the F89 Minimi.

These boots were collected from Donovan, along with other uniform and personal items, after his participation in an operation conducted on 5 October 2005 in B sector of Combat Team Tiger’s area of operations in southern Iraq. Tasked with operating an observation post, Donovan’s section was inserted by a British Sea King helicopter approximately six kilometres from their observation post location. They conducted dismounted patrols through some of the smaller villages before setting up to observe their designated area. Once the task had been completed, Donovan and his section were extracted by a patrol of Australian Light Armoured Vehicles (ASLAV) and returned to the Australian base of operations, Camp Smitty. Donovan returned to Australia in November 2005.