Teacher's military career celebrated

CELEBRATION: Music teacher Gabby Raffin has served in the Army Reserves for 10 years.

A DECADE of Army Reserve service for music teacher Gabby Raffin was recently celebrated in Dili, East Timor, after a short notice deployment to serve with the International Stabilisation Force as a liaison officer.

Gabby, who normally teaches primary students at Marsden State School, is now on an eight-month tour with the support of her employer principal Kev Leathwaite.

“I've been in the Army Reserve for 10 years, and have had nothing but positive experiences, so it's definitely something I want to continue, and this was a great opportunity,” she said.

Balancing a military and civilian career needs support from civilian employers, and Gabby was able to catch up with her boss recently when he visited East Timor in January with Exercise Boss Lift.

Exercise Boss Lift is a Department of Defence program that aims to improve understanding of the skills and capabilities Defence Reservists can bring back into the civilian workplace. Exercise Boss Lift is conducted by the Cadet, Reserve and Employer Support Division (CRESD), which has the responsibility for facilitating employer support for Australia's Defence Reservists.

For Mr Leathwaite, the experience was a chance to see normal roles reversed.

“Gabby in uniform is probably more ready to take control of the situation, because here she is the one with the knowledge and experience and I'm the one who is new here. She is the one who knows what is going on and what to do, and how to do it. Back at work, I'm the one making decisions and providing advice,” he said.

“Gabby is always a very effective and efficient person, but I do have a better understanding of some of the capabilities that she has, such as being able to deal with things in difficult situations.”

Mr Leathwaite was impressed with the Reservists he met on the three-day trip where he was able to experience some of the aspects of life on operations, such as transport by helicopter and truck, firing weapons on a range, and a number of briefings on Defence activities in East Timor.

“It has given me a much deeper understanding of the importance of Reservists within the forces and for Australia in general. I think if I knew someone was a Reservist, I would know the sort of person they are. That person is ready to give up part of their life for something, and is someone who really can commit themselves, which is a really important asset to have,” he said.

According to Gabby there are parallels between her job as a teacher and her military role.

“At home I deal with children a lot, but here I deal with adults in important positions within the government of East Timor. It's good because I still get to use my communication skills, I just get to use them at a different level,” she said.