Defence School Mentor

Townsville is home to two major defence bases. 

The Royal Australian Air Force Base (Townsville) caters for:

• No 323 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron;
• No 44 Wing Detachment Townsville - air traffic control;
• No 27 (City of Townsville) Squadron - Air Force Reserve;
• No 38 Squadron - Caribou light transport aircraft;
• No 1 Airfield Operations Support Squadron - airfield engineering;
• Combat Survival Training School - evasion and escape training; and
• Army's No 5 Aviation Regiment - with A and B Squadron being MRH-90's and C Squadron being MRH-90's and C Squadron being Chinooks.

The Australian Army’s Lavarack Barracks at Annandale is home to the Army's 3rd Brigade and 11th Brigade. Elements of the 3rd Brigade based at the Barracks include:

• the Combat Signals Regiment;
• 3rd Combat Services Support Battalion; and
• the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment.

Therefore, Annandale Christian College strives to understand and cater for the specific needs of defence personnel and their families and students from defence families account for 15% of our student population.

Our Defence School Mentors,  Danielle Bassett and Brendon Staszinszky, do a wonderful job of contacting new Defence families enrolled in the College; introducing them to the Leadership Team and relevant classroom teachers; assisting families to transition into the College (and Townsville generally); liaising between parents and the College; helping families access services within the Defence and wider Townsville community; keeping the specific needs of Defence families before the College community; and easing the strain that accompanies transfers and deployments.