Taji Carpenters

Two Australian Army carpenters currently deployed with Task Group Taji 2 in Iraq are providing invaluable support to the Task Group (TG) and its Iraqi Army training audience.

They have been working around the clock ensure the trainers have the right tools to conduct training, this includes bayonet and range targets as well as work benches, storage cupboards, and office fit outs.

TG Taji carpenter Sergeant Richard Saxby said he and his offsider, Sapper Allan Channells, aimed to provide the TG with what they needed as quickly as possible.

"The biggest thing for us is we don't like to let people down, so we work long hours to finish these projects to make sure the training team have what it needs to get the job done," he said.

"The range targets, bayonet targets and urban training houses can all be flat packed for ease of transport to the training areas.

"Without some of these aids the training teams would not of been equipped to conduct the level of training that they have," he said.

SPR Channells said they often design the training tools from scratch.

"The most challenging thing for me is the actual design," he said.

"We have to design a product that people have in their minds and then construct something that actually works and meet their intent."

The largest task they have completed was the constriction of telephone booths, for soldiers when they call home.

"That job was really satisfying as it means the soldiers have some privacy when ringing friends and family," SGT Saxby said.

"They didn't have that before so to be able to build something which improved life for the soldiers was great."