Sergeant Daniel ten Berk de Boer
Daniel has served in the Royal Australian Airforce (RAAF) from 31 October 2000 until his discharge in 2013. Daniel served as an Airfield Defence Guard upon entry into service, where he would be posted to No. 2 Security Forces Squadron RAAF, formerly known as No. 2 Airfield Defence Squadron.
As an Airfield Defence Guard, Daniel’s primary role was protecting RAAF equipment, personnel, assets, and facilities whilst handling advanced weaponry and vehicles in a physically and mentally demanding role.
Daniel would later re-muster in 2005 to a Geospatial Imagery Intelligence Analyst (GEOINT), where his role and life within the RAAF would take a hard right turn. Daniels role as a GEOINT would be to support Air Force aerial reconnaissance and strike capability and produce intelligence products from imagery and geospatial information to support a wide range of ADF operations.
Daniel was deployed on Operation Slipper to Afghanistan four times. His first deployment would be to the Kandahar Intelligence Fusion Centre (KFIC) in 2007; Daniel was one of only two Australians working in the centre, and in his words, “I FUCKING LOVED IT”.
In 2008, Daniel would return to Afghanistan with the unit ScanEagle DET.
In 2009 Daniel would deploy with the Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) X, Force Support Element – Alpha (FSE – A) with the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) and then again in 2011.
Daniel has received the following honours and awards for his service:
Meritorious Unit Citation – Special Operations Task Group (Task Force 66)
Australian Active Service Medal (AASM) with Clasp ICAT,
The Afghanistan Campaign Medal,
The Australian Defence Medal,
The NATO Non-Article 5 Medal with Clasp – ISAF with multiple tour indicators “2”, and
The Army Combat Badge.
Daniel has had a distinguished career in the Air Force, and since I have had the pleasure of meeting Daniel in person, I have come to know that he is an upstanding gentleman. I am honoured that Daniel has taken part in this project and shown a vulnerable side of himself so that others can see they are not alone and start to move forward and heal with healthy coping strategies.
