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FLT-LT LAURETTA WEBSTER, RAAF

Lauretta gives the appearance of the ‘girl-next-door’ type of person.  A tad above average height, long auburn hair and clear blue eyes with a spontaneous laugh and warm personality, she reflects the image of carefree confidence with the world at her feet. But don’t let that deceive you; this young woman has lived for six months in the theatre of war, she is intelligent, precise and careful in speech and observant.  So how did this young woman cope as a member of the Royal Australian Air Force in Iraq?  How did she cope with foreign smells, scenes of war and living under the constant stress that a war zone carries? 

“On the whole, very well,” she stated.

Sitting at my kitchen table and sipping at a cup of coffee, I listened as she shared events that were still very fresh and vivid to her.

The occasional mental flashback of cruelly inflicted injuries, the casualties that every war has and cannot be escape from stand uppermost.  One especially is remembered of a head decapitated from its body because of a bomb blast.  There is the remembering of what it is like living for six months with the knowledge that an in-coming mortar or rocket fired from outside the base could cause instant death or catastrophe.  It is also understood that one’s specific work is important because other peoples lives, as in any team work, depends on efficiency and that in itself is a continual driving force to keep a high standard in the daily living in war conditions.

It serves as a safeguard against the possibility of a slow lethargy, a kind of acceptance of what war is and does, creeping in and hindering the sharpness of minds and desensitising the needed intuitiveness to work and survive on the ‘cutting edge.’

Initially, Lauretta’s call to serve in Iraq came at a very appropriate time of her career.  Signing on the dotted line at 19 years of age at a Recruiting Office in Geelong, graduating from the Australian Defence Force Academy and making steady progress in her area of expertise, things were becoming a little mundane and she was wondering which direction to take within the Royal Australian Air Force system. When asked if a tour of duty in Baghdad would appeal to her, she jumped at the chance and, now able to look back, was so very glad that she did.

There were days in Baghdad when Lauretta was homesick. The working days could be up to 16 hours long.  However, there were compensations, such as receiving emails and parcels from her family and support from her local RSL in Drysdale, Victoria.

Sometimes, when tiredness and homesickness threatened to overwhelm her she would walk out onto the compound and finding a quiet place, gaze up at the still, clear night. Plainly visible were stars not seen in the Southern Hemisphere and the moon, shining its golden light, would look so big and close. Drinking in this atmosphere, Lauretta would find it easier to sleep and to be more at peace within.

What is Baghdad like today? Well, it is like any country or nation that has existed under one regime for many years and now finds itself on the brink of something new.   There are factions within the country that are finding it hard to come to terms with the changes of ‘new birth’. There is a struggle for honour, integrity and trust to be heard in the clamour for ‘old things’ that once was a way of life for many Iraqi people.

In all of this upheaval though, many Defence Force Personnel from the Coalition Countries unite their talents and expertise to try and establish a form of democracy to aid those people who have never been free to live their lives in a way, we as Westerners, define the word ‘free.’

The Aussies, moving around their base and working in close proximity to selected Iraqi people show warmth and friendliness and even have learned to give the customary greeting of “Salaam”.  It is while working close to the nationals that Lauretta found herself thinking, “What would I do if I was captured?”  “What would my pain threshold be?” “What would I do if I was shot?” These thoughts were highlighted when a suicide bomber pulled his ‘pin’ to life just outside her compound one day and she heard first hand the tumultuous commotion that resulted.

Word had been passed down to her that her sister, Samantha, a Flying Officer with the RAAF, was piloting a Hercules Aircraft into Baghdad and would have a few hours stop over.  The two sisters, having not seen each other for six months were re-united and able to have ‘catch-up’ time to share the latest family news. 

Lauretta is back in Australia now, her tour of duty completed. The challenge of her work, the closeness of parents and friends are satisfying and stimulating.

She is glad that she was able to experience life at war in Baghdad as it has given her a fresh understanding of the importance of her work, the value of life and perhaps the most important, the freedom of living in a democratic country.

~~  Carla Evans

Veterans of the Vietnam War, Inc. & The Veterans Coalition - Australia

P O Box 183 Nairne, SA 5252

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