Kate:
I wanted to play basketball or netball for Australia when I was a young girl. I grew up in Albury and Lauren Jackson was an idol, so that was the dream. I think a lot of young girls have that dream!
I was 16 when I seriously started thinking about joining the Navy. My parents were keen on the idea. My dad is a New Zealander and he had siblings in the New Zealand Defence Force. My mum thought I could join the Royal Australian Navy as a Musician because I played flute and saxophone in my early years, and later bagpipes and tenor drums. But I wanted to be involved in more than the ceremonial side. I thought I could do more. I wanted to serve.
For me it was also about a lifestyle as much as a career. There’s a camaraderie and friendship to a life in the Australian Defence Force, and that appealed to me.
I decided to join through the Australian Defence Force Academy, which meant I could do my military training to learn to be a leader while studying for a uni degree, and could also earn a salary while learning.
As for choosing the Navy, it just seemed natural for me. I spent 12 years of mornings swimming at the Albury pool and have always loved water.
My experience through the recruiting process was excellent. My parents gave me good advice by telling me to make sure I knew what I was getting myself into. Sometimes an outside perspective is very different to actually being on the inside.
My advice to anyone thinking about a life in the Australian Defence Force would be that it’s important to do your own research. The more informed you are about doing something, the better. And my parents facilitated this very early, probably without me even knowing the half of it … and I am really thankful for that. I suppose I knew I wasn’t going to play basketball for Australia for the rest of my life, right!
I have learned that in some ways being in the ADF is not dissimilar to being an elite athlete — in terms of routine, training and nutrition. And like the ADF, a lot of team building revolves around sports.
As for being away for extended periods of time on water, I’d had an experience at sea on the Young Endeavour and really enjoyed it. Being at sea with no land in sight and no shops to visit gives you a really different perspective.
I did initial officer training at HMAS Creswell (Jervis Bay) and you get a real sense of how you will handle things. Some people can struggle with cramped conditions or being at sea a long way from shore, but I didn’t find it to be a problem at all.
After my final year at ADFA, I’ll be a Maritime Warfare Officer at HMAS Watson at South Head in Sydney. We’ll get to practise the skills we learn in the classroom on Patrol Boats in Darwin and Cairns. After more training, I hope to join a Frigate in Perth or Sydney. I’d like to be a Navigator one day.
My advice to a younger me would be: don’t be afraid of what you don’t know.
