Steven Bailey
Sempol and Saibai Islands, Torres Strait Islands – Ka Ka Law Tribe
Corporal
Air Force Security
Royal Australian Air Force

Medals and Awards
Australian Defence Medal
RAAF Good Show Award: for saving 3 Army Kiowa helicopters on the Military Hardstand (MHS) by discovering leaking fuel.
Military Police Dog Satan 1000 received his own Award: – a Mention in Dispatches for detecting and apprehending (No Bite) an intruder at RAAF Garbutt, Far North Queensland during Exercise Tasman Warrior 85 thus saving ex-RAN RNZAF Skyhawk aircraft from damage.

I was born in Box Hill Victoria…a long way from the Torres Strait where my mother is from.  My dad, who is a Radiographer…and a white man, met my mother who was one of the first Torres Strait Islander women to train to be a nurse at Mater Hospital in Brisbane. But they didn’t meet in Brisbane, they met in Port Moresby when Dad was a part of an Australian Commonwealth Government initiative to take medical services for tuberculosis patients to remote communities, often difficult to access, across Australia, Torres Strait and Papua New Guinea.

I was born in 1962, the same year that Indonesia took an interest in Papua. As a result, my parents went down to Melbourne to have me, leaving me in the care of my paternal grandmother. I was isolated from my culture due to racism, but my mother took a strong role in giving me an understanding of who I am. Her grandfather was Fijian, and sailed using the stars to travel to Saibai Island where he met my maternal grandmother.

My paternal grandfathers and Uncles served in the Transport Corps, and so I always wanted to serve. As a kid I had watched lots of American war movies that had Dog Handler soldiers in them, and I thought to myself – that’s what I want to be, and I was lucky enough to get my wish. I enlisted in 1980, at eighteen years of age, into the Royal Australian Air Force as a Dog Handler and served almost twelve years. I was the first Torres Strait Islander Dog Handler in the Australian Defence Force. I left Defence because I wanted to stay more hands on than behind a desk. I am very proud of my son, Brenton, who served in 2nd /14th Light Horse Cavalry.

The Air Force give me their 1,000th dog, his name was Satan 1000, and he was my partner. His name matched his personality, and as a German Shepherd, he was an excellent hunter. He had an incredible wind scent and could locate threats with accuracy. He served for five years after his training and when he got older and his hips let him down, I held his paw when he was given the “green dream”. It was the saddest day of my life, I watched his deep green eyes fade to grey as he left this world.