Posted on 08/20/2007 5:28:08 PM PDT by SandRat
FORT HUACHUCA — If England and America are two countries separated by a common language as George Bernard Shaw once said, the same is true of Australia and America.
Just ask Australian Army Capt. Tony Sewell.
One day while relaxing with some American friends, the 28-year-old officer mentioned he was going to put on his thongs.
The comment elicited some raised eyebrows and pointed comments about why Sewell would want to put on the skimpy item meant for the most private of parts.
Of course, what the captain meant to impart “to the mates,” he was going to wear flip-flops, shower shoes, things on his feet.
Sewell’s arrival at the fort less than a month ago, continues the 11th Signal Brigade’s Australian connection.
For nearly two decades a soldier of the Australian Army has been assigned to the brigade for a year-long stint.
But first, the officers go to Fort Gordon, Ga., where they train at the Signal Corps Center for about six months before arriving at the Southern Arizona Army post.
This is the first time the captain has been to the United States and “it’s been a bit of a cultural shock,” he said.
The shock began almost immediately after he stepped off the commercial flight and he had to rent a car to get to his apartment in Savannah.
“We drive on the correct side of the road (the left) and from the right side of a vehicle,” he said.
Left side of the road driving is done in 74 nations or areas, mostly by members of the Commonwealth of Nations, previously called the British Commonwealth or former British colonies, while 166 nations or areas drive on the right side of a highway, with the steering wheel being on the left in a vehicle.
But, he has learned to stay right while driving in the states which is good because during his trip from Fort Gordon to Fort Huachuca he took the long way going though Nashville, Memphis, Chicago and across the northern portion of America, before heading south to Arizona.
The difference of food
But it wasn’t only the culture of driving differently that Sewell experienced.
“Your food is really different,” the captain noted.
Saying he isn’t a barbecue type of person, he admitted that type of food “kind of grew on me.”
And, when it comes to hamburgers, which are consumed in his homeland, Sewell said he is amazed on the variety of types of the edible there are in the United States.
In Australia a hamburger is basically a patty on a roll with condiments.
But, in the United States “you can go in and can have 15 different variations,” the captain said.
He has visited the local Australia-themed Outback Steakhouse, an American restaurant chain he calls “pretend Australia.” First and foremost, he says, Australians do not drink Foster’s beer.
However, he has visited the local Outback a couple of times.
And, when it comes to food, Sewell is a little picky about consuming seafood.
“I have a rule. If I can’t see the sea, I won’t eat seafood,” the captain said.
A native of Melbourne, Sewell is a graduate of the Australian Royal Military College, which he attended for 18 months and was commissioned a first lieutenant, pronounced left-tenant. He also has a business degree from Monash University in his hometown.
Now that he has completed the Satellite Network Controller Course at Fort Gordon, his job with the 11th is as the brigade’s satellite officer.
In his brigade office, Sewell’s slouch hat, officially the khaki fur felt hat, most famous for having one of the brims up with a unit badge, hung from a cabinet. On one wall as a map of Australia.
“I’ve meant to bring in an Australian flag,” he said.
Aussie Army not large
Australia’s Army is small, only 27,000 active duty soldiers and another 23,000 in the Reserves, Sewell said.
That means the Australian equivalent to the American Army’s Signal Corps is also diminutive, he said.
The Royal Australian Signals doesn’t have the capability of the American Signal Corps, the captain said, noting when it comes to land mass size of the two nations both Australia and the United States are nearly similar in size, “if you cut off Washington (state) and some of the Northeast.”
Australia’s land mass is about 3 million square miles while the United States is slightly more than 3.7 million.
And, Australia’s population is much less, 21 million compared to America’s 300 million.
Currently, the Australian Army has two satellite systems, which is far less than the 11th Signal Brigade has, Sewell said.
However, the experience he and other Australian exchange officers have received during the past 20 years of going to Fort Gordon and then a spending year with the 11th Signal Brigade helps his nation stay on top of developing technology and that provides a heads up when newer equipment is fielded by the Australian Army, Sewell said.
Preparing for Iraq duty
As the 11th is preparing to deploy to Iraq, so is Sewell.
As a member of the brigade’s command staff, he will be part of the first contingent that will leave the fort sometime in early October.
As the unit’s satellite officer, he will help establish a network for when other members of the brigade, primarily the 40th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, deploy in late October or early November. It is expected the brigade’s next presence in Iraq will total about 800 soldiers.
Currently, the brigade’s 86th Signal Battalion is in Iraq serving a 15-month tour, which was extended from 12 months. They are expected to return to Arizona in November.
The upcoming deployment of the brigade headquarters and the 40th is expected to last 15 months.
Once Sewell deploys to Iraq, he will be under the direct control of the Australian contingent, which has its headquarters in the same area where the 11th’s headquarters will be located.
He will have to comply with his nation’s rules of engagement, even though he is an exchange officer with an American unit, the captain said.
When it comes to going out on convoys with the 11th, the Australian commander in Iraq will have to approve it, Sewell said.
Australia is one of the United States’ strongest allies, having provided combat forces in Vietnam and during the first Gulf War. The country also was part of the fighting coalition in Afghanistan and during the second conflict in Iraq.
And, since he will be in Iraq when his year’s tour with the brigade is over, his replacement will take over his position with the 11th in Iraq and return with the brigade to Arizona when the deployment ends, to complete the yearlong tour on Fort Huachuca, he said.
The Americanization
of Sewell
However, before he deploys, Sewell wants to become a little more Americanized.
He claims to have more of an American accent in his speech, something Sewell said will bring him teasing when he returns home to Australia.
The captain also said he is starting to understand some American sports.
To him, though, baseball is slow.
As far as American football Sewell said he doesn’t understand the object of moving the ball forward, which is not how rugby is played.
Before he deploys, he is hoping to go to a couple of professional or college football games to understand, what he considers strange rules of play.
He has learned to “love” ice hockey, having seen it played before arriving in Arizona.
Sewell plays soccer, enjoys golfing “and misses cricket.”
The latter takes much longer than baseball with matches lasting days.
As baseball is confusing to non-Americans, so is cricket to Americans.
“It’s difficult to explain the game,” Sewell said.
He also enjoys skiing and has had a chance to experience snowboarding since he arrived in the United States.
As for other forms of relaxing, the captain said, “I’m into music.”
An accomplished banjo player, which he started learning when he was 5 or 6, and playing the trumpet, which he began four years ago, Sewell said he has learned to appreciate modern country and western music.
“Until I got here (to America) I hated country music. But I now like the new stuff,” he said.
Before he departs for Iraq, the bachelor will be visited by his parents.
Dad, Mark, is a gunsmith, and mom, Gayle, is a lab technician.
They have an experience waiting for them once he picks them up in Los Angles.
The holiday trip includes a trip to San Francisco, then through the California wine country, on to Yosemite, down to Las Vegas then to the Grand Canyon before coming to Sierra Vista.
Of course, Sewell will be behind the wheel of the car, driving on the right side of the road from the left side of the vehicle.
One wonders if at the beginning mom and dad will have their eyes wide open, or closed, as they ask their son if he has gone “bonkers” by driving on the wrong side of the road.
Welcome to America, Mr. and Mrs. Sewell.
Herald/Review senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.
I remember at least 2 things about Vietnam:
The Aussies were staunch allies in our effort over there. They lost 520 of their own troops.
We called flip-flops “Ho Chi Minh sandals.” In more lucid moments, we called ‘em “Gook Scooters.”
Good on ya.
Hell, sell them off, the national IQ rate will soar!
“No arguments from me on that one. Three hours of running around and a scoreless tie. Yeah, sign me up. NOT!
Besides, Euro-weenies like it so it naturally sucks.”
An European on here said that once Europeans came to realize that American Football was a big human chess game they started to like it, even more so than Soccer.
Yes, but that’s FOSTER’S. It’s not as if it actually counts as DRINKING. Seriously. I’m sure some Australians drink Fosters, but it’s really not a major beer over here at all. Admittedly, it’s not nearly so bad as many people make it out to be, but compared to something decent, like VB, it’s not worth it.
Mr. Thong, from Hong Kong, gave his name to his invention Go Aheads, that’s what we used to call them, because you can’t walk backwards in them. Often you’d see girls walking to the beach wearing a Mu Mu and Go Aheads, if you happened to grow up on the West Coast that is.
We had a ball, and paled around most of the week. "G-Day Mate" was our rallying cry.
A fine bunch of folks, who would cover your back in a pinch. My kinda people.
You beat me.
“I met some Aussies when I was in Hawaii.”
One of the things I love about skiing in Colorado is I always run into some Aussies vacationing and end up running around with them tearing up the town.
For those who can learn to see it that way I would say there is hope.
Your thong story reminds me of a recent one. I work with a Christian Camp in Upper Michigan. They send out a list of what to bring to all the kids. The list is boilerplate and never changes much. Until...someone noticed thongs on the list and wondered why they would specify the type of underwear. It now reads flip-flops
When my mother first came here she went and asked to buy a jumper (sweater) in a department store and they sent her to the baby department for those things babies used to be put in before they could walk.
What makes this aticle so wonderful to read is that there are no politics injected into it, just a nice “Stranger in a Strange Land” approach.
Good people!
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