O'Brien, Michael Bernard (Lieutenant Colonel, b.1956)

Collection relating to the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) service of 316989 Lieutenant Colonel Michael Bernard 'Mick' O'Brien, Australian Service Contingent, Syria, Israel, 1995.

Wallet 1 of 1 - Consists of two letters O'Brien sent to his friends Mike and Krys Cecil while deployed to Syria and Israel as Commander Australian Service Contingent to the UNTSO in 1995. The first letter, written from Damascus on 3 March, discusses O'Brien's recent appointment with the UNTSO, relocating his family to the Middle East, his work duties and manning Observation Posts on the Golan Heights, his interactions with and perceptions of personnel from other national contingents, the peace process, and recent developments with NATO and the European Union. In the second letter, written from Nahariya, Israel on 19 November, O'Brien writes of his enjoyment of the United Nations posting, recent tensions between Hezbollah and Israel, the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, preparations for his return to Australia, social functions, visiting other parts of Israel, and observing Remembrance Day in the Middle East.