Wide brimmed patrol hat : Private B K Carroll, 1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment

A heavily worn and slightly soiled wide-brimmed Disruptive Pattern Camouflage Uniform (DPCU) cotton bush hat. the side of the crown has six 10mm diameter metal cooling eyelets. The inside of the crown is white cotton and is heavily worn and scuffed. On this is hand written in faded ink 'JEN??NO'S'. A khaki coloured adjustable chin strap is sewn into the sweat band. Attached to the chin strap is a faded olive green coloured sliding tab.

This wide brimmed patrol hat is associated with the service in Somalia by Private Bryan Carroll of the 1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) in 1993. The donor was given this hat by Lance Corporal Jenson from the Pioneer Platoon of 1RAR as a spare after he had lost his original issued hat.

Carroll enlisted into the Australian Regular Army on 21 September 1988, and was posted to the 1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) in Townsville as a Rifleman.

His first operational deployment saw him serve on Operation Solace in Somalia with 1RAR between 17 January 1993 and 23 May 1993. In 1999 he left 1RAR and was posted to the School of Infantry as an instructor with the rank of Corporal. Following this in 2002 he became a member of 2RAR and with this Battalion he served in East Timor as part of Operation Tanager between January and May of that year. In 2004 Carroll served onboard several RAN ships on Operation Relex in border protection operations to Australia's north and north west. After this operation he then served as a training Sergeant in several full and part-time Army units including the Training Support Plataoon at Royal Military College Duntroon and with C Company 'The Werriwa Regiment' 4th/3rd Battalion Royal New South Wales Regiment in Canberra.

This relic is an uncommon reminder of the service of 1RAR on Operation Solace in Somalia in 1993. The unit was given a very short notice of their deployment and they rushed to design and produce a 'distinctly Australian' wide brimmed bush hat for the operation instead of their issued short brimmed 'giggle' hat. Upon their return to Australia the unit resumed wearing the distinctive traditional short brimmed bush hat.