Dear 3 Telecommunications Association members

Here we find ourselves with the 2024 AGM done and dusted, with a year in review, and an
interesting year ahead of us.
First up, on behalf of the Committee, may I extend our thanks for your continued support of us in our
current roles. All Committee members were re-elected unopposed and have retained our respective
positions. And from myself, I would like to thank all Committee members for their continued efforts
throughout the year. It is very much appreciated.
Our intent to ensure two social events in addition to the Anzac Day luncheon and the AGM were
achieved, albeit not in our usual manner. Due to various other engagements, the second social
gathering for the year in Perth did not eventuate. However, as many will be aware, a gathering of
“the faithful” took place in Brisbane in late October. Some 50 members and associates expressed an
interest in attending and a total of 45 enjoyed the day, some having travelled significant distances to
be part of the event. Many thanks to Rachael Munyard as the key organiser, and rumour has it that
John Beggs has taken up the baton to run with a similar event in 2025.
The success of the east coast gathering confirms that interest in our Association is strong.
Membership numbers remain in the high 80s and show no signs of diminishing. Financially, the
Association is in good order, and it was very satisfying that members attending the Brisbane event
were able to be supplemented as per social events held in the West.
The current healthy status of our membership has given rise to considerable discussion about where
our future membership might come from. One of the recurring suggestions is that the Association
needs to broaden its membership base. A much-discussed proposal is that the Association modify its
name in order to appeal to a broader base, to appeal to not only former 3TU members and their
families, but also associates from other services, be they military or civilian, as well as the younger
generation of Sigsops, Linguists, and most recently, Air Intelligence Analysts.
While the proposal has merit, it must also be borne in mind that this would likely result in a ‘dilution’
of the Association’s original intent. A look at our history shows the earlier iteration of the 3TU
Association, the Djinang Association, opened its doors to a very broad base which effectively resulted
in the Association becoming so dominated by the RAAF Communications associated musterings and
branches, that little remains of the Teleg/Sigsop founding organisation. As an aside, I have spoken
with current members of the Djinang Association who have no idea where their Association name
even came from, such is the dilution of the original concept.
As a committee, we have determined that any name change would not be in our members or the
Associations long term interest and have voted against the proposal. Nonetheless, we do recognise
the need to ensure the broadest possible membership base, both as full members and associate
members. With this in mind, an ‘Inclusivity Statement’ has been drafted, for promulgation among
those we hope to appeal. It reads as follows:

 

3 Telecommunications Inclusivity Statement

The 3TU Association has a long history of including people that did not serve at the unit. Our
objective is to bring people together to celebrate our unique history, maintain camaraderie, grow our
membership, and maintain the ‘esprit de corps’ of our unique military service. Currently 10% of our
membership are associate members.

In order to promote our inclusivity, the committee will advertise our functions more frequently and
widely to members of the 7 Sig Association, the JTS Memories group and the broader Naval
community.
The Association seeks to reinforce the desire for our community to come together, and we are hopeful
that 3 Telecommunications Unit Association events will continue to be well attended not only by
former SIGSOPS, but also our OPSIG, ROEW and civilian ‘family’.

We, the committee, would welcome any feedback or input you may wish to contribute to the issue.

And so, to the coming year. Our next major event is the 2025 Anzac Day march and luncheon. Due
mostly to our aging membership, numbers marching in the Anzac Day parade have understandably
been steadily reducing. I would appeal to any of our less ‘chronologically advantaged’ members to
make the effort to join the ranks and march under the 3Telecommunications Unit banner once again.
Similarly, for members not in the West, marching in your local event wearing the 3TU cap is a great
way to keep in touch with our Unit’s very real, albeit largely unheralded, contribution to national
security for 50 years.
Our usual venue for post-march lunch, the Seasons Hotel, was under refurbishment in 2024, and a
venue just over the road, My Place, saw significant numbers of members attend. The venue for the
2025 gathering will be the first agenda item for the first committee meeting of 2025.
I wish everyone the very best for the coming festive season and look forward to catching up with as
many of you as possible at our social events in the new year.
Very best regards,

Ken McLennan
President
3 Telecommunications Association