Operation Slipper 3RAR Task Group challenge coin: Corporal Steven John Dias, Mentoring Task Force 5, 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment

Circular shaped enamelled metal 'challenge coin'. On one side is 'OPERATION SLIPPER' and 'AFGHANISTAN' in gold on a blue background around the edge of the coin. These two words are separated by six five pointed gold stars. The middle has a left facing brown coloured standing kangaroo superimposed over a green map representation of Afghanistan and a beaming yellow sun. Below this central design is a full colour Australian national flag and Afghanistan flag. The other side of the coin has '3 RAR TG' and 'AFGHANISTAN' in gold on a red brown coloured background. The centre features a right facing bounding red kangaroo over a black boomerang.

This challenge coin was given to Corporal Steven John Dias while he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 by Mentoring Task Force 5 (MTF-5) Headquarters (HQ). Dias was serving as a Corporal with the 3rd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) as an Intelligence Analyst with MTF-5. All the Army Intelligence personnel on MTF-5 received one.

Dias joined the Australian Army in January 2003 as an infantry reservist with the Sydney University Regiment (SUR). In January 2008 he was selected to attend the Royal Military College - Duntroon (RMC-D) for officer training but was unfortunately badly injured in a training accident. He then joined the Australian Army Intelligence Corps (AUSTINT) and was posted at the rank of corporal to the 7th Signal Regiment as an Electronic Warfare Intelligence Analyst.

In 2012, Dias deployed to Afghanistan in a combat intelligence role with 3RAR who were the main body of MTF-5 as part of Operation SLIPPER. Supporting Charlie Company 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), he was based at Patrol Base (PB) Wali in the Mirabad Valley region where the operational tempo was extremely high, with often little sleep afforded to him and his colleagues. While at PB Wali he was a mentor for Afghan intelligence soldiers from 3 Kandak Afghanistan National Army (ANA) who shared the base.

Dias was moved from Mirabad to Khas Uruzgan at Forward Operating Base (FOB) ANACONDA for six weeks working alongside United States Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) Special Forces. At the conclusion of Operation KALAK HODE V he returned to the Mirabad Valley. His contingent were the first Australians to fully hand over their base to the ANA forces. Dias then returned to Multinational Base Tarin Kot before his return to Brisbane, Australia on 30 November 2012.