Identity discs : Chief Petty Officer Signals Yeoman D J Perryman, HMAS Tobruk (II)

Pair of United States rectangular aluminium identity discs attached to two interlinked lengths of steel beading. Each disc is stamped with the wearer's details.

Australian Defence Force personnel are usually issued with distinctive oxidised octagonal and circular identity discs. However, these identity discs were worn by Chief Petty Officer Signals Yeoman (CPOSY) Duncan John Perryman, on board HMAS Tobruk during his service in Somalia. It was determined that all crew onboard HMAS Tobruk should wear identity discs but as no Australian pattern ones were available, a Marine from USS Tripoli was brought on board to stamp discs for the crew. As a result they were issued with US pattern identity discs.

UNOSOM II (United Nations Operation in Somalia) was the second phase of the United Nations intervention in Somalia. It ran from March 1993 until March 1995. UNOSOM II carried on from the US-controlled (but UN sanctioned) UNITAF, which had in turn taken over from the UNOSOM I mission. All three of these interventions were aimed at creating a secure enough environment for humanitarian operations to be carried out in the increasingly lawless and famine-struck country.

The RAN played an important part in the UNOSOM deployment, transporting the battalion group equipment, vehicles, and some troops, to Somalia on board the training ship HMAS Jervis Bay and the heavy landing ship HMAS Tobruk. Tobruk subsequently remained in the area providing logistic support to the Australians and UNITAF, and conducted surveillance off the Somali coast. Its helicopter was used in ship-to-shore transport of personnel. Tobruk was also used by land forces for rest and recreation.