LTCOL Steve Brain

It was a great honour to assume command as the 45th Commanding Officer of the 51st Battalion, the Far North Queensland Regiment on 4 December 2009. The new Battalion Regimental Sergeant Major is WO1 Brian Moore. Both the RSM and I have been granted three year tenures, a first for both the CO and RSM position. Most 51st Battalion Association members will remember fondly that the Battalion is steeped in history and its origins can be traced to 1916 when the Battalion was raised to be part of the First Australian Imperial Force from veterans of the Dardanelles Campaign and reinforcements from Western Australia. In 1985 the Battalion was assigned its current role as a Regional Force Surveillance Unit (RFSU).

All current serving unit members take great pride in the history of the unit and the characters that have formed its ranks in peacetime and in war. Actioning such pride is why on 1 October 2010 we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the re-raising the unit as a Battalion and its new role. For the olds and bolds accessing this website, I will take the opportunity to remind one and all that 51 FNQR is one of the Australian Defence Force's RFSUs tasked with the responsibility to conduct reconnaissance and surveillance across Australia's far north. The Battalion's Area of Responsibility (AR) covers a lot of territory; from Cardwell in north Queensland, north to the Torres Strait, inclusive of Cape York and the Gulf Country and west to the Northern Territory border, some 640,000 square kilometres.

This year saw a significant change in the command chain for 51 FNQR. The new Forces Command came into being with the amalgamation of Land Headquarters and Training Command. Next to form was 6 Brigade (Combat Support and Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, Reconnaissance, Electronic Warfare [CS&ISTAR]). 6 Bde is our higher HQ formation. The Commander is Brigadier Jeff Sengelman, DSC, CSC. The Brigade RSM is WO1 Ken Morris, OAM. The new headquarters is located in Victoria Barracks, Sydney. It has been a positive move for the RFSU community to have a Brigade structure above us, reducing the amount of staff work the unit needs to complete itself.

Operation RESOLUTE is the ADF’s contribution to the whole of government to protect Australia’s borders and offshore maritime interests. 51 FNQR has an on-going commitment to this Operation in the Defence of Australia. As always, the basic patrol is our commitment to this Operation – only the amount of patrols and the type of insertion varies.

To the warriors of old, as the torch gets passed from one digger to the next, from one generation to the next, rest assured, 51 FNQR still aims to offer challenging training, adventure, mateship and the self-satisfaction of knowing that you are doing something for your community and country. The real time role of conducting reconnaissance and surveillance in Far North Queensland is what makes service in 51 FNQR so challenging and rewarding for both full time and part time members of today's Army. Ask any current serving member of 51 FNQR and they will proudly tell you they are "the eyes and ears of the north".

Ducit Amor Patriae



LTCOL Steve Brain

Biography – 3 December 2009

8240951 Lieutenant Colonel Steven William BRAIN

LTCOL Steven Brain was born on 29th August 1969 in Sydney. After completing his secondary education at the Marist Brothers’ Benedict College in Sydney, he entered the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1989. He read for his Bachelor of Arts and Graduate Diploma of Defence Studies and then entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1993. Upon graduating in December of that year, he was allocated to the Infantry Corps and posted as a Platoon Commander in the 2nd/4th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment.

As a lieutenant he deployed to Rwanda on Operation TAMAR as a part of UNAMIR. He was also employed as the 3rd Brigade Defence Platoon Commander. As a captain he served in a variety of Regimental appointments including the Adjutant of Monash University Regiment and the 1st Battalion. He also served as an instructor at RMC in the field Wing and as Company Commander of Gallipoli Company. He was appointed as Aide-De-Camp to the Commander Training Command - Army in 2001. It was here LTCOL Brain completed the Combat Officers Advanced Course.

In 2003, as a newly promoted Major, he took command of Alpha Company,             1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. It was in this capacity he deployed to East Timor as part of Operation CITADEL.

On return to Australia he completed his command and was posted as the OC Observer Trainer Cell in the Combined Arms Battle Wing of the Combat Training Centre. LTCOL Brain spent a year posted to Combat Command Wing, Combat Arms Training Centre, where he held the appointment of Officer Instructor – Infantry. On completion of this posting he deployed on Operation CATALYST as an Australian embedded Officer. He worked as a Battle Major (current operations) in the Strategic Operations Centre on the Multi-National Force Iraq Headquarters.

LTCOL Brain then moved with his family to Virginia, USA to take up his posting as the Australian student on the US Marine Corps Command and Staff College. He was then selected to attend the US Marine Corps School of Advanced Warfighting in 2007/08. On return to Australia in mid 2008, he became the Staff Officer Grade 1 in the Enhanced Land Force Capability Implementation Team, Army Headquarters.

On 4 December 2009 LTCOL assumed his current position as Commanding Officer, 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment.

LTCOL Brain holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Graduate Diploma in Defence Studies. He has also read for a Masters of Military Studies and Masters of Operational Studies. He is married to a Cairns local girl, Sharon and has two sons, James and Charles. His interests include both Rugby codes, Golf and military history.