Photo By Spc. Richard Carlisi | Sgt. Craig Boyce, a Black Hawk helicopter mechanic with 25th Infantry Division, right,...... read more read more
“The only person who can control your life is you. If you go about life in a positive demeanor, positive things will happen.”
These are the words of Sgt. Craig Boyce, a Black Hawk helicopter mechanic with 25th Infantry Division currently participating in Talisman Sabre 23 who is attached to Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC).
Serving as part of a support platoon for JPMRC, Sgt. Boyce shared his experience about being part of the tenth and largest iteration of Talisman Sabre.
“I consider myself a jack of all trades on this exercise,” said Boyce. “While I’m a helicopter mechanic by profession, my role here is in operations. My team and I are behind the scenes taking care of various tasks such as filling generators with diesel to maintain constant communications while assisting civilian contractors as needed. We’ll also issue radios, MREs and anything Soldiers need to be successful on this exercise.”
Sgt. Boyce went on to describe his experience of being in Australia for the first time.
“I’m absolutely loving my time here,” said Boyce. “I arrived early with an advance team in the beginning of July. We spent a night exploring Sydney before heading to Townsville. The Sydney Opera House was neat to see close up, as well as various other sites throughout the city. I’ll definitely be back to explore further.”
When asked about his time working with the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Sgt. Boyce offered his perspective.
“I think it’s interesting to see how the ADF functions,” said Boyce. “I like learning about those little similarities and differences when compared with the U.S. Army. I’ve also learned way more about the Pacific region from being at Talisman Sabre, especially all the different nations represented as part of this exercise.”
Lance Cpl. Iliesa Sevudredre, a truck driver and fueler with the ADF, shared his experience of working alongside Sgt. Boyce.
“We’ve been out here together since before the exercise started,” said Sevudredre. “My experience working with Sgt. Boyce has been rewarding. We’re constantly sharing best practices and learning from each other. My favorite memory is sharing our respective MREs with each other.”
Having joined the Army in 2018, Sgt. Boyce shared his reasons for serving.
“I wanted the leadership skills, but above all else, I wanted to serve,” said Boyce. “I’ve learned how to be flexible and grow from uncomfortable situations. I’ve been put in leadership positions I thought I wasn’t ready for, but I made it work. This career is all about being positive and striving to be better than you were the day before.”
Conducted biennially since 2005, Talisman Sabre is Australia’s largest military exercise with the United States and is a demonstration of a strong alliance that is underpinned by deep levels of cooperation and trust built over decades of operating, training and exercising together. In addition to the United States and Australia, participating nations include Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, and United Kingdom.
| Date Taken: | 07.31.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 08.02.2023 18:41 |
| Story ID: | 450382 |
| Location: | QUEENSLAND, AU |
| Web Views: | 70 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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