APRIL 25, 2013 will be the first time Darren Murch and his son, Jack, will both wear the uniform of a soldier on Anzac Day.
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Warrant Officer Class 1 Murch is the Regimental Sergeant Major of the School of Infantry at Lone Pine Barracks.
His son, Private Jack Murch, has just arrived on base at Singleton to complete his 14 weeks of initial employment training as an Infantryman on the back of three months Recruit Training at Kapooka.
Pte Murch was one of only 17 from an original intake of 53 to come to Infantry, a success his father is extremely proud of.
With 27 years of Army (Infantry) experience including deployments to East Timor and Afghanistan, this father certainly knows what his son is in for when choosing the military as a career.
Ask if he is concerned for his son, and WO1 replies with an emphatic: “No, not at all.”
WO1 Murch has complete faith in the training new recruits receive, the follow on training at Singleton then life in a Battalion.
“The training is first class, the experience of the instructors is deep and the training is far more physical than in the past. All of this prepares the trainees for what Army asks of them. We have all the support mechanisms in place that includes exceptional leaders within the chain of command, physios, psychologists, padres and the Defence Community Organistion to help the young soldiers through,” WO1 Murch said.
“It is a top career; it motivates you, it pays you well, it equips you well and provides many opportunities that aren't available in other jobs.” He added that he is worried more about his daughter who is studying at a Townsville University with the uncertainties of tertiary education than Jack.
Pte Murch has a strong connection to Singleton. In fact he was the first baby born in the town in 1994, arriving on January 2.
He is no stranger to the needs for the Defence to move its people around and has accompanied his family as they have moved around various states of Australia. Prior to enlisting into the Army he was back in Singleton working part time at the IGA Bottle Shop and the Heights Diggers Club before embarking on his career in the Army.
Pte Murch says this Anzac Day will be a special one, a day of national pride and a day he will become even more closer to his father as he gains first hand experience of an Anzac Day in uniform.
-Di Sneddon
