Captain Sios supports bomb disposal operation in ENB
Australian Defence Force (ADF) Captain Jeffery Sios works with ADF soldiers and members of the East
New Britain Provincial Administration of the National Disaster Centre during preparations for Operation
Render Safe in Kokopo, Papua New Guinea.
ADF Captain Jeffrey Sios in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea during Operation Render Safe 2026.
MILITARY personnel from Papua New Guinea, Australia and partner nations are currently in East New
Britain as part of Operation Render Safe, a multinational mission led by the Australian Defence Force
(ADF) to locate and dispose of unexploded ordnance from World War II.
Captain Jeffrey Sios, a Papua New Guinean Australian and the Logistics
Officer for the operation, has returned to his home province to support this important work. Currently
serving with the Australian Army's 20th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Squadron Group in Queensland,
Captain Sios is performing a key role in coordinating the movement of personnel and equipment for the
operation.
Growing up in East New Britain, Captain Jeffrey Sios spent countless afternoons exploring creek beds
with his cousins, climbing through bushland and playing in waterways that cut through the province's
volcanic landscape.
Earlier this year, while conducting reconnaissance for Operation Render Safe, Captain Sios returned to
one of those same creeks for the first time in years.
We walked along a creek bed where my cousins and I used to play as kids, and some of the EOD boys
pointed out like 10 or 15 unexploded ordnances Captain Sios said.
We used to walk down this exact same place, and I had no idea any of this stuff was there. It's close to
the heart because I'm from here too, and hopefully it makes people want to come back and keep
helping this area, Captain Sios said.
This year's operation brings together personnel from Papua New Guinea, Australia, Canada, France,
Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States to safely dispose of unexploded
ordnance identified during previous missions.
Story by Sam Vulum
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