Operation Warden T-shirt : Captain K M Sturtevant, 1 Health Support Battalion, INTERFET

Bone short sleeve circle necked T-shirt. Over the left breast is a colour printed Australian and Singaporean flag crossed over. Above and below this is printed 'OP WARDEN / INTERFET FST / EAST TIMOR / 1999-2000'. On the right sleeve is printed black bat. On the back of the T-shirt is a hand drawn picture of four soldiers carrying a patient on a stretcher. Above and below this drawing is printed 'PEACE KEEPERS / INTO THE NEW MILLENIUM [sic]' in black.

Worn by Captain Kristy Michelle Sturtevant while deployed in East Timor as part of the International Force East Timor in 1999-2000. On 15 September 1999 the UN Security Council authorised a multi-national peace enforcement mission in East Timor (INTERFET), to restore peace and security and to facilitate humanitarian relief efforts. 7000 troops led by Australia secured East Timor, with the exception of the Oecusse enclave – which was secured in mid-October 1999. International relief efforts were put in place and displaced people were permitted to return to their communities. Indonesian forces were withdrawn from East Timor. On 20 October 1999 the Indonesian Parliament resolved to formally ratify East Timor’s separation from Indonesia allowing the UN Security Council to approve the establishment of a UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). According to the nationality of the service member in INTERFET, the corresponding national flag was fitted to the top of the brassard. Captain Sturtevant was a Registered Nurse serving with the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps. She had served in Bougainville, as part of the Peace Monitoring Group (PMG) from April to August 1998 with the Bougainville Combined Health Element based at Loloho. She served in East TImor from September 1999 to February 2000 with the Field Surgery Team (FST) Heavy, which was part of the 1st Field Hospital based at Holsworthy Barracks in Sydney. During her time in East Timor, she was promoted from lieutenant to captain, and her unit, the 1st Field Hospital changed its title to the 1st Health Support Battalion. Un-official T-shirts such as this are common amongst Australian troops on overseas deployments. Often featuring the artwork of people involved in the particular operation, these T-shirts give an interesting look into the self-perception of the groups at the time of the deployment and on their collective sense of humour, duty and service. This particular T-shirt is unique, in that it covers both Australian and Singaporean service during the initial deployment of the INTERFET force in 1999. The black bat emblem on this T-shirt is from when the unit was known as 1 Field Hospital. During the Vietnam War the helicopter landing pad used by the unit was callsign 'vampire', and the use of the bat emblem was adopted during this time.