Skip to main content

Saving Private Sarbi by Sandra Lee: book review





First published in 2011 (my edition is 2013), Saving Private Sarbi is the life story of Sarbi, Australia’s famous explosive detection dog. But this is more than a feel-good animal story. And it is more than an historical account of the Australian Defence Force’s Explosive Detection Dog (EDD) Section of the Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) Corps.

Born on 11 September 2002, a year after the 9/11 attacks, specifically as a show dog, Sarbi didn’t pass the strict show dog standards. Sarbi’s Labrador mother had a doggy dalliance with a Newfoundland wanderer – which meant that the whole litter of six pups couldn’t make professional status.

Initially a citizen, Sarbi was accepted into RAE’s School of Military Engineering (SME) in the elite EDD Section with a handler, and 19 weeks later graduated in 2005 as a soldier. Training continued throughout her work life; it was constant, meticulous, intense, physical, and demanding – gold standard. But to the black Labrador-Newfoundland-cross, with a distinct white zigzag patch on her chest, all work was a form of playtime. She could detect explosives from 100 metres, withstand the noise of military equipment and aviation, and endure all phases of operational deployment.

Her overseas duty post in 2007 was Tarin Kot in Uruzgan, the southern province of Afghanistan, and the edge of the Hindu Kush mountains, where the Australians were deployed to rout out the Taliban. Sarbi was ready for her mission-specific role, primarily to detect roadside and hidden improvised explosive devices (IEDs), landmines, and explosive hazards in searing 50C heat and freezing snowbound nights; ever ready – day and night.

Lee describes the life of SAS and Commando soldiers, dog handler soldiers leading the searches for hazards, and the four-legged companions who soldiered side-by-side with the army’s elite. She details the heart-breaking deaths, of both soldiers and dogs.

During the historic ambush on 2 September 2008, under sustained machine gun fire and rocket propelled grenade attack on a vehicle convey, Sarbi was wounded and separated. Missing in action for 13 months, this is her story of the eventual reunification with her fellow soldiers and her return to Australia.

SAS Corporal (previously Trooper) Mark Donaldson received the prestigious Victoria Cross for Australia for acts of gallantry in action taken on the day of the September ambush during Operation SLIPPER. The 11 other soldiers were also hailed as heroes. Donaldson was the first Australian soldier to receive a VC since the Vietnam War (1962-1975).

Sardi too received the highest awards, one of them the RSPCA Australia Purple Cross for outstanding service to humans. Only eight other animals have been awarded the PC since 1996 (7 to civilian dogs and one to Murphy the donkey who served at Gallipoli in the First World War with soldier John Simpson Kirkpatrick for transporting wounded soldiers to safety). Sardi was the ninth animal to receive the award, and the first canine soldier.

This book depicts the dedication and loyalty not only of one dog, but of all the canines serving in the Australian Defence Force, and of all the personnel who perform daily acts of service under extreme conditions. It goes deeper than actions and duty; it goes deeper than altruism; and it goes deeper than the strong bonds of “mateship” between man and dog, soldier and soldier. It touches on what it means to put your trust in another and to have that trust and respect returned; it goes to the heart of total situational awareness, control under pressure, posture change recognition, and a finely-tuned blend of intuition and logic. More importantly, it reveals the psychology of collective consciousness over individual pursuits. It blows self-absorption and egoism to pieces.

Note: Sarbi is still alive and made a public appearance at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on 23 February 2014.

A new EED canine recruit






 

MARTINA NICOLLS

MartinaNicollsWebsite  I  Rainy Day Healing  I  Martinasblogs  I  Publications  I  Facebook  I  Paris Website  I  Paris blogs  I  Animal Website  I  Flower Website I Global Gentlemanliness

SUBSCRIBE TO MARTINA NICOLLS FOR NEWS AND UPDATES 

 

Martina Nicolls is an Australian author and international human rights-based consultant in education, healing and wellbeing, peace and stabilization, and foreign aid audits and evaluations. She lives in Paris.

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...
1 comment
Read more

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...
1 comment
Read more