Here he will visit the name of a soldier he fought alongside who lost his life in one of the many battles in Afghanistan.

It will be a solemn moment and yet a reminder that the job being done by Australia’s infantry is so important.

WO1 Murch attended yesterday’s Australia Day ceremony in Singleton and was showered with praise by many for the honour he had received.

The award is in recognition of his service as a Regimental Sergeant Major between 2007 and 2010 with 87RVR Batallion, 1RAR at Townsville and the MRTF2 which is the mentoring and reconstructing taskforce in Afghanistan.

It is with enormous pride that WO1 Murch speaks of his troops and when you ask him to comment on a moment of note he is quick to respond.

“I was deployed to Afghanistan with a battalion group of 900 soldiers whose role was to protect the security of the local Afghanistan people to allow them to live their own lives.

“I watched as every Australian soldier put their lives on the line every day and every day I took pride in how they performed their duties, how they looked after the locals and how they looked after each other,” he said.

Now in his second year at Singleton, he and wife Theresa, were here in 1993/94 and their eldest son was born here so they have a strong connection to the town.

The family has travelled extensively with the military and WO1 Murch praised his wife who he said extends herself to be part of every community they have lived.

“Theresa gets involved with the RSL and veterans groups, we have friends everywhere,” he said.

Wo1 Brian Buskett was also awarded a Conspicuous Service Medal for his service as Regimental Sergeant Major in the Solomon Islands and Captain James Fanning received a Distinguished Service Medal for his conduct in combat with his platoon in Afghanistan.