In 1981, aged 17, I joined the Australian Army undertaking officer training and my engineering degree at the Royal Military College Duntroon. On graduating in 1985 with an honours degree in Civil Engineering I joined the Royal Australian Engineers. During my time in the Army I served in PNG, the Solomon Islands, West Germany and Hawaii and was involved in civil design and construction projects as well as combat engineering tasks. I left the Regular Army and transferred to the Reserves in January 1994, having attained the rank of Major, and after serving with the 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment at Enoggera in Queensland.
