Enlisting in the Army in 1998, Sergeant Tim O’Brien from Muswellbrook, NSW, joined The Royal Australian Infantry Corps with a motivation that has propelled many others, to serve the nation and see the world.

He is deployed on Operation Mazurka, supporting the Multinational Observer Force that was established by the 1981 Protocol to the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace.

Sergeant O’Brien is the Force Protection Security Sergeant at the South Camp near Egypt’s Sharm el Sheikh on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula.

He said the Sinai was an interesting place that added another dimension to the locations and life experiences he had enjoyed.

“Extending into the Red Sea between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba, the Sinai is historic. In the south is Mount Sinai where the Bible recounts is where Moses received the Ten Commandments,” Sergeant O’Brien said. 

He has previously deployed to East Timor, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Brunei, the United Kingdom, Solomon Islands, Afghanistan, Germany and Austria.

“It has been an amazing 22 years since I stood in the recruiting office being sworn in,” Sergeant O’Brien said. 

“I never could have imagined I would have experienced so much.”

He said his day-to-day functions kept him busy during his deployment. 

“My job has me working closely with a large number of military personnel from all over the globe, in particular, mentoring Fijian security soldiers to achieve force protection of the base and all its comings and goings,” he said. 

“Despite the challenges thrown up by COVID-19, language barriers and cultural differences, I came away with a real sense of accomplishment having learnt something new about parts of the world I may have never visited.”

The Multinational Observer Force’s mission is to supervise the implementation of the security provisions of the Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace and employ best efforts to prevent any violation of its terms.