User talk:Welsh Hamlet/sandbox

Edit block number 6 | Hastie edits to possibly keep.

Item 1 His first posting as a young officer was in 2007 with 2nd Cavalry Regiment, the second most senior regiment in the Royal Australian Armoured Corps, which he describes as "the last of the old army." At this time the regiment was based with 1st Brigade in Palmerston, Northern Territory. Hastie took command of a cavalry troop in 2008, preparing for deployment in Afghanistan the following year.

Item 2 Hastie first deployed to Afghanistan with Mentoring Task Force Two, a 750-strong Australian combined arms battle group, all under the command of Colonel Peter Connolly. The area of operations was across Urozgan Province where "they're tough people and they fight hard." Hastie's role was to command a troop of Australian Light Armoured Vehicles as it helped to provide "cover when the Diggers go out on patrol" by using “close combat to destroy the enemy with precision." The troop's armoured operations began at the very start of the fighting season in May 2009, concluding in February 2010. In an extensive report on the mission, known as Operation Falcon's Talon, Colonel Connolly wrote that the goal of the Australian forces was "...to clear and dominate the valley." Australian forces, including Hastie's, pushed east out of Tarinkot District, up the Mirabad Valley from Charmestan to Khas Urozgan, all in order to extend the influence of the government of Hamid Karzai, who was seeking re-election in November of that year. The patrols were dangerous and at least four Australian soldiers were killed in Afghanistan at this time, mostly from attacks by improvised explosive devices. Hastie reported "we had four strikes in my troop alone” though no deaths or wounding, thanks to effective armour. Despite the attacks, the series of patrol bases were established through the valley system in Urozgan Province by December of that year, and the wider operation was considered, in official reports — at least at this point — to be a success.

Item 3 Hastie successfully applied for entry to the Special Air Service Regiment Selection Course (known simply as "Selection"). The process is designed to identify soldiers with diverse backgrounds and strong character as they are able to “generate unconventional answers to strategic and tactical problems” as needed for a Tier 1 Special forces unit. His cohort featured in the SBS documentary The Search for Warriors where Hastie has been identified as candidate 10. With the other candidates, Hastie was subjected to extreme exercises, a deliberate system in which, according to the Lieutenant Colonel who had oversight of Hastie's Selection, “we will break an individual down.”

Item 4 The three-week selection course began in late July 2010 and concluded with a three-day extreme interrogation session, involving constant sleep deprivation and starvation. Men in the group lost between 10 and 15 kilograms from exertion and malnutrition. From Hastie's initial cohort of 131 only 26 completed the course. From there Hastie commenced the 18-month Reinforcement Cycle before receiving qualification with the Regiment, based at Campbell Barracks. He was one of 15 in his cohort to be issued “the sandy beret” in May 2012 and was assigned to 1 SAS Squadron. His first overseas deployment was in Port Moresby to support the Papua New Guinea Defence Force as they provide security and stability for the General Election.

Item 5 Within days Hastie would give a speech in which he strongly defended the soldiers under his command and his own military service:"I have not lived my life behind a desk pushing paper and talking about the concepts of freedom and democracy. I have acted. I have put my life on the line for this country and for that freedom."On Saturday 19 September 2015, after a four-week campaign that centred on solving the methamphetamine epidemic, Hastie won 55.26% of votes under the two-party-preferred system, making him the 10th Federal Member for Canning, defeating Labor candidate Matt Keogh. He joined the government of Malcolm Turnbull who had himself become Prime Minister of Australia a week before the by-election. Hastie gave his first speech on 13 October 2015, which centred on his priorities for healthy democracy, stronger community institutions and for defending Australia's sovereignty, "To safeguard our freedom I believe that the first duty of the Australian federal government is to secure our nation." In the first months, when headlines were dominated by the Parramatta shooting and the Paris terror attack and the aftermath of the Sydney hostage crisis, it seemed that Hastie's parliamentary career would be marked by his concern about "radical islamist ideology" arguing in interviews and op eds that: "I have read the Koran in its entirety. In my previous job with the Australian Defence Force, I studied Islamic State propaganda including many of its violent videos and images in an effort to understand their objectives, aims and rationale. I was disturbed by what I saw, but not cowed into inaction.... we should be free to question the roots of Islamic terrorism, especially the brand pushed by Islamic State. It is troubling that we have had young Australians sympathising with the theology and ideology of Islamic State."