I had a troubled childhood, coming from a broken home where drug abuse was a daily factor and where I would often move home every couple of years. My parents still did their best to provide for me, considering the circumstances, especially my mother, who was there for me when dad was away working. Because of the situation at home, you would often find me in the company of my mates where we would roam the streets creating adventure for ourselves.

Those adventures and the mateship that came with them would be what first planted the seed to join Army in my mind. My Pop would tell me stories of his uncles and brothers who were all cavalrymen, and upon hearing these stories I would envision myself in their place – which, from a young age, would fill me with pride and excitement! I couldn’t wait until I was old enough to apply.

However, as I got older, this opportunity fell by the wayside. The great adventure of joining the Army became clouded with life’s growing hardships and having to focus all my energy on school, work, and extra-curricular taskings. I found myself stuck. The trouble that I found myself in was that everything I was involved in quickly became easy and there was no challenge. I was a top of the class student – I was amongst the best in sports and musical studies. I was developing well at work due to my work ethic. This quickly led me to boredom and complacency, which in turn meant that I decided to leave school to find that sense of challenge and adventure that I had been yearning for.

This opportunity was dropped in my lap when my father and I became homeless. The adventure had finally begun, and we camped from place to place across the state. Facing the challenges to get enough money for food and find shelter, I met many people who had some great stories to tell.

Dad had been mapping our next place to move to when he came across an abandoned farm. We quickly jumped at the opportunity and after speaking with the local elders and the power company next door, we now had an opportunity to have a roof over our heads. They said that we could live there as long as we rebuilt the houses, cleared the land of scrap metal, practiced traditional back burns of the grass, and found any artefacts for the elders. It was a massive challenge for two people, with little income to achieve it. But it was worth it in the end when I could see the product of our hard work!

Living on that property, I regained my focus and applied for the Army. In doing that, everything seemed to start to fall into place for me and my father. My mother was able to find a good job and a lovely house in Lismore. My father was also able to find employment within the farming community of NSW.

I have found that all of the hard work and stressful environments that I had experienced as I got older had given me the resilience and strength of character to join the Army. On completion of the Army Indigenous Development Program (AIDP) in 2023, I have made lifelong friends who have become an extension of my family. I have had to overcome many challenges before being accepted for the AIDP, and on completion of the program, I have been kept busy and thriving in the military environment.

Many of my family and friends would also thrive within the Army. It has provided me with a platform to motivate the warriors of my community to consider a job within the ADF. As well as being a highly inclusive workplace, the values of the Army – Service, Courage, Integrity, Respect, and Excellence – shine through each and every soldier.