A Gunnedah boy who earned a Queen's birthday honour running logistics for the army's mission to the Middle East said he always wanted a job that would allow him to contribute to something meaningful.
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After the horrific September 11 attacks, Lieutenant-Colonel Ben David Shaw, then working at Gunnedah TAFE, decided to join the army.
"That year, in quick succession my younger brother was accepted into the Royal Australian Air Force and the 9/11 attacks occurred," he said.
"A short while after that my boss at Gunnedah TAFE caught me on the Army's recruitment website, whilst I was teaching a class.
"Having served in the Navy, he gave me the final nudge and talked me into joining."
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It wasn't the only reason for joining up; three of his grandmother's brothers had served in the Royal Australian Air Force in the Second World War.
Plus, he said, "I had always wanted to be in a job where I could contribute to something meaningful."
Decades later his military career took him to the place those attacks were planned.
In 2018 and 2019 Lieutenant-Colonel Shaw found himself managing the supply across the Middle East Region, responsible for multiple task groups.
For his service nearly two decades after the terrorist attacks that helped trigger his choice to join up, he was this week awarded the Conspicuous Service Medal in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.
He said it was a "great honour".
"I was very lucky to have a number of great people work with me over the course of my nine-month deployment," he said.
"Some were recognised by commendations from the Commander at the time, but not all of them got to see the results of their contributions."
But asked what he would say to a Gunnedah or Tamworth high school student thinking of a job in defence force logistics, he said they should "make an informed choice".
"There are many technical and non-technical jobs within Defence logistics, many more outside of logistics.
"All are important and make meaningful contributions to the whole of Defence. The more informed you are, the better placed you will be to meet the challenges and opportunities the Australian Defence Force can provide you."
Andrew Messenger
Politics, environment and energy journalist at the Northern Daily Leader. I also write about health, bushfires and occasionally music. I'm a Brisbane boy by way of Charleville and Hobart who now lives in in beautiful New England. Get me at andrew.messenger@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Politics, environment and energy journalist at the Northern Daily Leader. I also write about health, bushfires and occasionally music. I'm a Brisbane boy by way of Charleville and Hobart who now lives in in beautiful New England. Get me at andrew.messenger@austcommunitymedia.com.au
