Plenty of action in short time in army

When Daniel Rogers decided to join the army at the age of 18 he did not expect to be deployed four times by the time he turned 32.

“I grew up in Yarloop and played in the local basketball competition and football for the Waroona Demons when I was in primary school,” he said.

“I really enjoyed swimming at the pool and playing basketball in Yarloop when I was younger.”

This Australia Day, Daniel is serving in Iraq with Task Group Taji Rotation Four – a combined force of Australian and New Zealand Defence Force personnel on a training mission to support Iraqi Security forces.

Now aged 32 and a Sgt in the Australian Army, he’s based at the Taji Military Complex, just north of Baghdad, for the next six months, providing training to Iraqi soldiers.

“This is my fourth deployment with the Army and I feel we are making a real difference here,” he said.

“We’re training the Iraqis in a range of war-fighting skills including weapons handling, marksmanship, combat first aid and urban operations.”

“We’ve trained a number of Iraqi soldiers who are now engaged in offensive operations in and around Mosul.”

Before his deployment to Iraq, Sgt Rogers was posted to Darwin with the 1st Armoured Regiment.

“I’ve been deployed three times before – to East Timor and twice to Afghanistan,” he said.

“I enjoy my work, but I’m also looking forward to getting home to spend time with my wife and children and catching up with family and friends.”