Ed,

Re Prompted by a phone call to a radio station…

When are we going to stop with the armchair critics? Following the most horrific disaster in recent memory, our very own ADF have been vilified and criticised for “not doing their job.”

What is their job we may ask? First and foremost, it is to DEFEND our country from foe, terrorism and any form of threat that will be of harm to the Australian people. They are there, to be INVITED into foreign countries to help defend or to help co-ordinate disasters as they do in many different situations, right now we have a presence in Tonga cleaning up after the earthquake which took place recently, how quickly we forget these happenings.

They are there for the relief of internal disasters, to carry out rescues, clean ups and help support in the aftermath, once invited in by the local authorities as well as the SES the State governments and then approved by the Feds.

Common sense tells us, logistics to deploy 500-1000 troops on the ground is not something you can snap your fingers and it magically happens. There is food, equipment, trucks, air support, fuel, accommodation facilities and more to organise, which in itself is quite a feat.

This is always considered first as to not put a strain on the local facilities and food supply. How long do we think this takes?

As a mother of an ADF member, all this criticism is harmful as I know what has been sacrificed over a career of serving the country and the toll it takes on families. I would respectfully request armchair critics to shut up and check their facts before making these awful statements and respect and appreciate what all these hard-working SES, ADF and RFS people do. Think you can do better get out and have a go yourselves before you start criticising.

A big shout out goes to the people who get in and have a go. We thank you.

Anne Mazzitelli, Yamba