“Push, push, push” were the immortal words of encouragement regularly uttered by Robert O’Hara Burke the Irish Australian leader of the ill-fated 1860 Bourke and Wills Expedition.
“Push, push, push” were also the last words uttered in jest by Jim to Harry and I as we headed towards our night camp 80km north of Balranald on the Burke and Wills trail.
“Push, push, push” is also a fitting epitaph to Jim. It succinctly sums up his attitude and approach to life.
As Harry pointed out in his tribute to Jim “nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
― Calvin Coolidge. Jim was well known for his drive, enthusiasm and dogged determination. He was in many ways a renaissance man –
- a very professional but unconventional soldier;
- intrepid and daring adventurer;
- somewhat reluctant engineer;
- amateur but respected historian and author;
- red wine connoisseur;
- highly successful businessman;
- committed community member; but above all
- son, brother, husband, father, grandfather and friend.
But Jim wasn’t a saint, he could be very polarising and at times trying, and was not only very passionate about certain things:
- rock climbing, cross country skiing, mountaineering,
- business and the business of making money,
- history especially special forces history, and
- military strategy and tactics.
But also had a number of somewhat perplexing prejudices;
- a great distain for golf – but loved his yoga,
- had voted against gay marriage but had liberal social views, and
- was intolerant of bureaucracy but was able to cope with it better than most.
He also sometimes lacked tact and patience. He was a complex man, and like many complex men his weaknesses were in some instances his strength. For instance his impatience with bureaucracy allowed him to push past artificial barriers and achieve outcomes beyond the reach of many.
The following tributes by Leigh Alver and Peter King posted on his memorial page give us a fuller picture of the man:
Leigh noted - “Back when we were young, we all believed ourselves to be invincible, courageous, and willing to take risks that others would never consider. Our confidence sometimes showed in our swagger or how we wore our beret. Then along came Jim Truscott, and frankly, he made us feel like pretenders. No objective was unachievable – no risk too high – no effort ever enough. He was dangerous, even to speak to, as there was every chance that you could be roped into his latest adventure. And if we felt threatened, can you imagine how the hierarchy saw this maverick. A career could be put at risk by no more than guilt by association. But it was Jim’s mind that defined him in my eyes. He was a deep thinker who questioned every problem and provided a solution. He was the soldier who never saw defeat no matter how stacked the odds seemed at first sight. If it could be done by anyone, it would be done by Jim.”
Pete added - “It was Boxing Day 1979. The Australian contingent of the Commonwealth cease-fire monitoring force (Rhodesia) had just landed and been briefed by Major Peter Cosgrove at the Rhodesian Light Infantry Barracks. I was teamed up with a young engineer Lt, Jim Truscott, and we were immediately flown to the Chiota Tribal Trust Land near Marandellas in two British Army Gazelle helicopters. I shared a hutchie with him for the next three months attached to the Rhodesian Amy’s 1 Psychological Operations Unit. On one occasion we received a letter from a group of “freedom fighters” who wanted to surrender to us but thought the Rhodesian Army would kill them. Jim decided that he and I would go and talk them into surrendering peacefully. Along with a small contingent of Rhodesians we travelled to a Native Kraal and Jim announced he would walk in unarmed and talk. I waited and soon a company group of Rhodesians arrived and wanted to attack the Kraal. I managed to get them to give me 15 minutes and went looking for Jim. I found him in a hut with about 6 heavily armed “freedom fighters” (AK 47’s and RPG 2’s) and some villagers all drinking mealie maize beer (warm brown horrible stuff) and some were smoking Dacca (marijuana).
By now Jim was their best friend and he had convinced them to come back to Marandellas as they were safe under his protection. He also convinced the Rhodesian company commander (who was also a big fan of Jim’s unorthodox methods) to safely escort us to the police HQ whilst we sat in the back of a truck singing chimeringa (freedom) songs with our new friends. Jim was an amazing character born a hundred years too late.”
Certainly the picture Peter paints is very much in line with Jim’s interactions with our porters in both Nepal and Pakistan and his affiliation with Taur Matan Ruak and the Falintil guerrillas in Timor Leste. While Jim could be a bit rough around the edges in civilised company he was in his element working with grass roots people across the far reaches of the globe.
He liked nothing better than to sit on his haunches, drink some god awful homemade brew, drag on a bit of bush tabacki and speak in a mixture of simplified English and whatever local lingo he had picked up along the way. He brought a wry smile to many throughout Indonesia and Malaysia with his jungle Bahasa.
Many of us can recount episodes in our lives that where enriched by our association with Jim - most often for the better, sometimes to our surprise.
Andrew Smith recalled a climbing trip that he did with Jim to Booroomba Rocks – “a great route” he said – “you have a go” - 20m up and no pro I said “where to now?” “No idea - I never got that far. Keep going” - classic Jim.
Likewise Jim Wallace recalled having first met Jim when he was the Adjutant at Duntroon and Jim was a cadet.“ Jim marched into my office and said that the Supervising Officer for Cross Country Skiing had fallen ill and couldn’t take them up the snow that weekend - would I fill in. I wasn’t a skier of any type, but he assured me there were some lessons before they planned a short ski trip. Not wanting to see them have to miss the trip, I agreed. We got there and I did the lessons and then went to the RV for the “short ski trip” to find myself at the start of the Australian Cross Country Skiing Championships - entered by Jim!”
I’m sure many in this room have had similar encounters with Jim. No warning, an expectation that if he could do it, so could you. If you ask Colette nicely I’m sure she will regale you with an account of the trip she undertook with Jim down the Franklin River before they were married.
Jim’s list of adventures reads like something out of a boy’s own journal:
- multiple seasons in the Southern Alps of New Zealand,
- serious ventures in the Himalayas and Karakoram ranges including Broad Peak in Pakistan, Nanda Devi in India and Ganesh IV, Everest and of course Mera Peak in Nepal.
- Less serious but just as committing climbs of Aconcagua in Argentina, Carstenz Pyramid (Punjak Jawawijawa) in Irian Jaya (Papua Province), Mount Kinabalu in Sabah and Ball’s Pyramid off Lord Howe Island.
- And of course numerous days’ rock climbing throughout Australia. Jim climbed at every major climbing area and most of the minor ones, he completed hundreds of first ascents – some great routes, others absolute rubbish. As Matt Rogerson reminded me - on one occasion Jim requested that he bring a shovel when assisting develop a new climbing area.
- Jim also attempted a couple of crossings of the Torres Straits by sea kayak, spent many days paddling around the Monte Bello Islands and led a team to retrace the route of the RIMAU operatives thru the Indonesian Archipelago as they attempted to make their way home from Singapore after being compromised by the Japanese during WW2.In this spirit he also completed a serious two month trek through the jungles of Borneo in the footsteps of the SEMUT operatives and their guerrilla band.
- During the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s Jim was also a highly competitive cross country skier and once skied the 75 km length of Kosciusko National Park from Kiandra to Mt Kosciusko in 18 continuous hours. He revelled in the burn of the freezing air in his lungs, and the joy of the rhythm of his skis on crisp new snow.
While this list rolls off my tongue easily, it does not describe the extremes weather, the hot unbearable days and freezing nights, the blizzards, extremely heavy loads, the alpine starts, gallons of sweat and bruised and bloodied bodies.
As George Walker so elegantly pointed out in his tribute to Jim, which I believe Jim had sent to him in the first instance – “Climbing- involved all of my senses, the touch and feel of the various rock faces, the sounds of the mountains, whether listening for an approaching avalanche or the crunch of crystallized ice and snow underfoot; the smells from the summits as tiny spicules of ice crystals invaded my nasal cavities; blown there by a tormenting wind; the taste of the air; laced with fragrances from the valley flora; and finally the sights of almost indescribable beauty, of a perfect windless warm summit day contrasting with the savagery of an unrelenting storm front tearing its way through an unprepared camp.”
So while extensive the list is simply that – a list - the essence for Jim in all this was the freedom he found in the hills, the bonds enhanced through the brotherhood of the rope and the lifelong friendships forged in the crucible of adventure.
As many of you know Jim spent 26 years in the Army. He was the first Duntroon cadet to complete the four year plan in three, having spent a year at Queensland Uni before entering. He graduated with a BE (Hon) and later completed a BA in history and politics out of interest. He was want to point out that the only differences between a BE and BA were three letters and a thousand hours.
But while Jim was a very capable engineer he was not very interested in building roads so as soon as he could he applied for and passed SAS selection. And it was in Special Forces that he made his mark, first as the Operations Officer 3 SAS Sqn and the famous Exercise Biltong Watcher, where the squadron roamed over most of northern Australia for nearly a month on a wide range of disparate tasks, including a B52 strike from Guam.
He is fondly remembered by the old hands in 1 Commando Regiment as one of the best OC’s ever. His innovative and realistic training not only pushed the boundaries but thoroughly tested the troops. His final posting as the Regimental Operations Officer at SASR was perhaps his opus to military operations. His forward planning for the evacuation operations from Timor then troop insertion in 1999 at the commencement of INTERFET was exceptional and paved the way to the overall success of the mission.
Likewise in business Jim had a no nonsense approach. After a rough start he built Truscott Crisis Leaders into the crisis management consultancy of choice for many businesses operating in some of the most isolated and dangerous areas around the globe. His succinct, practical and concise guidance was highly valued. He also ran one of the most streamlined and efficient businesses around. This allowed him to respond to short notice requests and adapt to changing circumstances as need dictated.
To understand how hard Jim worked and his reach and efficiency it is worth considering that he was known to do single day business trips from Perth to Singapore, many trips to Europe for one day jobs, is recorded as having travelled to ten countries in seven days, and had worked all over the globe with over 500 companies and organisations. Jim’s exercises, plans and reports were a work of art. Jim would condense a crisis management exercise that would normally be conducted over several days in the Army into two hours of intense focused work. His crisis management plans became an industry standard. And he always ensured that his reports, which at best were three pages long, were with the client the day following any activity, rapidly followed by his invoice. But best of all his tasking process consisted of a single word document with four columns - the client, country, date and consultants (lead and supporting).Armed with this knowledge those working for Jim were then responsible for liaising with the client, developing the program and completing the task. Some found this lack of guidance disconcerting, others found it liberating.
Jim was also a master salesman, he never took no for an answer, some even called him a serial pest. On being asked his marketing strategy, he replied “I haven’t got time for that wank – it’s just sales”.
Jim was a prolific writer and book reviewer. Writing under the nom de guerre Taipan he published many articles on the future of warfare and the challenges soldiers were likely to face in the coming decades.
He was also actively involved in a range of other projects. Perhaps the most significant was the Timor roofing project that he conducted in concert with several former 2 Commando Company colleagues and Rotary Australia. More recently he had qualified as a Surf Lifesaver, rural fire fighter, and was working with both the HMAS Armidale Association on locating the wreck off the coast of Timor and 2/2 Commando Association on gaining a Unit Citation for Gallantry for the actions of the 2nd Independent Company in Timor in 1942. He was also finalising a Battlefield Guide to East Timor.
Above all, Jim was a family man, very supportive of Colette, proud of his children and chuffed to be a grandad. He was a man to follow and learn from, both in his words and deeds. You had to be quick to keep up and follow his thinking, but he suffered fools better than he made out, and we are all the better for his friendship and life. His passing not only brings a great sadness to his family and close friends but leaves an enormous gap for many across military, veteran, business and adventure communities.
Vale Big Jim, aka Taipan, aka the Feral Major - gone but not forgotten.