Memorial T Wall : OBG(W) Camp Terendak, Tallil, Iraq

39176)Reinforced concrete T wall manufactured to withstand blast and fragmentation effects. The wall is T shaped, pre-cast concrete and pre-engineered for use in military force protection building projects. The T wall is painted white. There are two steel lifting eyes on the top of the wall. Painted in black on the upper section of the wall is the Rising Sun Badge. Below this is painted the following, 'THE OATH TO SERVE YOUR COUNTRY DID NOT INCLUDE A CONTRACT FOR THE NORMAL LUXURIES ENJOYED WITHIN OUR SOCIETY. ON THE CONTRARY, IT IMPLIES HARDSHIP, SACRAFICE, LOYALTY AND DEVOTION TO DUTY REGARDLESS OF CORPS AND RANK'. On the lower section of the wall are representations of the rectangular insignia of the four Overwatch Battle Group (West) rotations. From left to right, a red kangaroo on a black background, below which is, 'OBG(W)1 SAMICHON'; a red kangaroo over a blue '2' on a white background, below which is, 'OBG(W)2'; a red kangaroo on a yellow background, below which is, 'OBG(W)-3 BG TIGER'; a red kangaroo on a maroon background, below which is, 'OBG(W)-4 BG CHAUVEL'.

The first rotation of Overwatch Battle Group (West) included elements of the 2nd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (2RAR) and 2/14 Light Horse Regiment (Queensland Mounted Infantry) (2/14 LHR (QMI)) and arrived at Camp Terendak at the Tallil airbase in Dhi Qar province, Iraq in mid-2006.

This painted memorial T Wall served as a focus for ceremonial and memorial events for the Australian troops at Tallil. Based on a US memorial located at the base, the design was developed by Company Sergeant Major Warrant Officer 2 Darren Carter, although many members of the group contributed to the actual painting of the wall. The Rising Sun was painted by Corporal Joanne Morgan-French, who was the Task Group postal clerk. Known as Kiwi due to her Maori heritage, Morgan-French completed the task using black paint secured from the US Air Force (the Tuskegee Airman Group). Additional paint was supplied by the US Air Force 407th Air Expeditionary Group.

The main text was written by WO2 Greg Ralph and is taken from a quote attributed to Brigadier George Mansford AO. Later OBG(W) rotations added their insignia to the wall.

This memorial T Wall was identified as significant by a curator from the Australian War Memorial's Military Heraldry and Technology section during his deployment to Iraq in April / May 2008. The Memorial's official commission in Iraq was timed to coincide with the early stages of the withdrawal of Overwatch Battle Group (West) (OBG(W), after the government announcement of the event, but before the completion of combat operations. The Memorial has for some time, commissioned painters, photographers and cinematographers to travel to operational areas to record their view of current Australian Defence Force operations, however this commission was the first time an official curator from the Memorial had deployed to an operational area with the specific purpose of identifying and collecting items for the National Collection. During his deployment, centred primarily at Ali Air Base, Tallil, Iraq between 29 April and 15 May 2008, the curator identified and arranged for the return to Australia of over 100 items, as well as photographing approximately 1400 images and conducting several interviews with Australian service personnel from Force Level Logistic Asset - Kuwait (FLAA-K).

Concrete force protection T Walls are used as a security barrier and for general blast and fragmentation protection. The wall modules are usually tightly linked together with other modules to form the protective barrier. They continue to be used for force protection by Australian, United States and allied military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.