Steve Oddy

Guthrie, B. (1999). INTERFET East Timor 1999, 1JPAU Members. Defence Imagery.

The experiences of Australians during peacekeeping missions have been many and varied. Australians have delivered humanitarian aid, rebuilt infrastructure and overseen elections. But during these times, our service personnel and civilians have often put themselves in harm’s way, standing up to violent adversaries willing to use lethal force to achieve their goals. This was Sergeant Steve Oddy’s experience in Timor-Leste.

Growing up, Steve never knew he wanted to serve in Australia’s Defence Force. His father had been a cray fisherman sailing out of Geraldton in Western Australia, and Steve thought he would follow in his dad’s footsteps. “I loved fishing and I thought crayfishing would be about the best job I could get.” But the sea life wasn’t for Steve, so almost on a whim, he decided to give the Army a try, and he soon found his calling. 

By the time conflict broke out in Timor-Leste, Steve had been serving for 14 years. He was part of the initial Operation SPITFIRE, tasked with evacuating Australian and United Nations personnel from the country after violence erupted following the independence referendum.

Steve’s unit stayed on once International Force East Timor (INTERFET) was established. He was part of the Special Air Service Regiment tasked with performing covert reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. Steve remembered, “At the time there were a lot of militia pockets around the west, near the border, and there were rumours circulating about large groups of militia throughout the area.” In mid-October 1999, Steve’s six-man patrol was tasked to go into the border region and gather intelligence on the enemy’s numbers and movements ahead of a more consolidated force moving in. 

Over a three-day period, Steve led his patrol across dried creek beds and through fog shrouded jungles. They operated under the cover of night and took defensive positions through the day. One evening they had a close call with a militia patrol coming in the opposite direction along the same trail. Thankfully, their night vision goggles allowed them to see the enemy before they were spotted, and Steve’s patrol stepped off the path, melting into the thick forest foliage and remained undetected. 

“As they moved past us, they were no more than centimetres from our chests. It was really frightening to be that close to the enemy and not know if we were about to be detected.” 

The next day the patrol was not so lucky. At about 7:00 am on 16 October, the patrol had just crossed a dry creek and was establishing an observation post in the area which they believed formed part of the major militia infiltration route from West Timor. Steve was just preparing to send a situation report back to headquarters when the pro-Indonesian militia stumbled onto their position.

Within seconds a firefight broke out. But Steve kept a level head – he positioned his men defensively and they forced the militia to draw back. They did not know at the time, but there was a heavy militia presence in the area, and their six-man patrol was soon surrounded by some 60 hostile pro-Indonesian militia forces. Three more times the militia probed their position. But Steve and his men held firm. He could sense their movements were chaotic.

“I could hear a lot of movement all around us. It sounded extremely disorganised… They were firing at us, but it wasn’t effective, it was going well above our head.” 

Steve waited until an opening presented itself, and then he ordered his men out, keeping low in the thick vegetation. They could sense the militia were trying to locate their position.

Steve got his patrol extracted without a casualty and was subsequently awarded the Medal for Gallantry in recognition of his leadership under heavy fire. But Steve has always been modest about his acts.

“I don’t think what I did was as brave as some. If you receive any medal, you know you didn’t receive it because of your individual actions. If it hadn’t been for the five other blokes on the patrol, there is no way I would have received any award.”  

This is just one story of Australian service in Timor-Leste. In the lead up to the 25th Anniversary of Australian service in Timor-Leste on 20 September, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs will be sharing experiences and stories to acknowledge and commemorate the anniversary. 

Source: Modern Military Heroes: Untold Stories of Courage and Gallantry, Narelle Biedermann, 2006, Random House.