Items worn on body armour : Lieutenant Colonel R J H Noble, Al Muthanna Task Group

Three items worn on Lieutenant Colonel Noble's body armour. These include a Velcro backed woven uniform patch showing the Australian flag and 'AUSTRALIA' in brown machine embroidery, a Velcro backed name tape embroidered with 'NOBLE' in brown machine embroidered English and Arabic, and a lieutenant colonel rank slide in Disruptive Pattern Desert Uniform (DPDU) fabric with black embroidered rank insignia.

Associated with the service of Lieutenant Colonel Roger John Henderson Noble of 2 Cavalry Regiment. In 2005 Noble was appointed Commanding Officer of the Al Muthanna Task Group (AMTG) which was to be deployed to southern Iraq in April.

The AMTG, consisting of approximately 450 personnel, 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. On 15 October a referendum was held for the people of Iraq to decide whether or not to ratify the proposed constitution of Iraq.

This item was collected from Noble after a visit to the As Samawah polling booths to show Multinational Force support for the referendum and to assess the public’s participation. The Iraqi people voted to accept the new constitution and it was officially ratified on 25 October. Noble was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for 'distinguished command and leadership while employed as Commanding Officer for the Al Muthanna task Group in Southern Iraq during the period 24 April 2005 to 25 October 2005.'.