Frank Alcantara was 14 years old when he joined the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in 1975 as a junior Navy Cadet recruit at HMAS Lonsdale in Victoria.

Kris O’Brien is a Community and Peer Advisor with Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling. In early 2020, he was seconded to Team Rubicon to help them with emergency relief in the wake of the bushfires. The combination of roles has turned out to be his dream job. But it took years of job-hopping to find his calling.

While Robyn says her transition from service was a positive experience, it wasn’t as easy as she expected.

A psychologist in the Australian Army for 22 years, John McGrogan enjoyed his time in the Australian Defence Force and the many opportunities it provided him.

After serving in the Australian Army for four years, Rob Goulden successfully transitioned to civilian life and now works as a community peer advisor for Open Arms in Western Australia.

Trained as an Air Intelligence Analyst, Michael Long served for eight years in the Royal Australian Air Force.

David Ball joined the RAAF in 1981, straight out of school. 

Melinda Templeton was looking for a fresh start away from her home town in Tasmania when she decided to join the Navy.

Edwin’s military career spanned an impressive 24 years, enlisting in 1985 at the age of 19 and retiring in 2008. 

While initially joining the military was unexpected, having been called up in 1967, Dr Thompson quickly realised the benefits that time in the RAAF could bring.