Paralegal and Army Reservist, Emily, discusses the meaningful impact of Army service

At 23, Private Emily is already a triple threat. Not only does the paralegal have degrees in law and business administration, she’s also a clerk (Human Resource Administrator) in the Army Reserves.

The decision to join the Australian Defence Force was a no-brainer.

Without knowing the full scope of opportunity within the Army when she joined, Emily knew that the Army would have a role that aligned with her career aspirations and what she had studied.

Supplied: ADF Careers (personnel not pictured)

As part of becoming an Army Reservist, Emily had to go through basic training, which has not only given her a sense of community she wouldn’t have found elsewhere, but also given her skills that she uses in her everyday life.

“The friends you make at basic training are friends you just wouldn’t make anywhere else because it’s such a unique experience that brings you together; you become really close,” she says.

“I’ve also gotten discipline in general from basic training. That’s been really helpful [in terms of] time management.”

Beyond the hard skills the Australian Defence Force has equipped her with, some early guidance has stayed with her since.

“A quote I was told at the beginning of training [was]: ‘it is not about the situation we are in, but our response to it’. This got me through to the end of the training, and I felt so accomplished. This quote is something I have used in my everyday life since and I think basic training had the most significant impact on me since joining the ADF.”

And while being part of the Army Reserve means maintaining a civilian lifestyle whilst receiving extra tax-free pay, Emily reckons she’s still getting the full experience of being part of the Australian Defence Force.

“I think a lot of people don't know how much involvement reservists can have and often do have within the Defence Force. People tend to think of being part of the Army as being ‘an infantry soldier, frontline in the trenches’”.

“But there’s so much more that goes on that people don’t know about — which I didn't even really know about until I joined as an admin clerk."

Reservists even have the opportunity to attend activities like Talisman Sabre “which is a Defence-wide exercise where we combine with other countries.”

As Emily herself concludes, “very cool.”