"To any woman thinking of joining the army, I would say ‘do it’."

Being tall has its advantages and disadvantages when you are a woman. For example, it makes you an excellent basketball player – but a terrible pilot.

Leah Swain is tall. She’s also always been interested in figuring out how things work. Leah tried to figure out the complexities of her favourite childhood toys right through to her first car and computer. It seems she was destined to work in a technical trade, but achieving the career of her dreams took a little longer than she’d planned.

Joining the Australian Army had always been at the back of Leah’s mind.

“I looked into joining long before I finished school, but I only got serious about it in year 12 and at that point I decided I wanted to be a pilot. Unfortunately I’m too tall, so I went away and did some other things; went to college in America, played some basketball and worked in a bunch of civilian jobs that just weren’t for me,” she says.

Just as an FYI, you should know that this advertorial is sponsored by Australian Defence Force. 

Then, one fateful day, Leah sat down to watch TV and saw an ad for the Australian Defence Force. She thought to herself, “Why didn’t I do that?” and six months later, she’d enlisted.

Leah is now a Telecommunications Technician in the Australian Army.

The job not only doesn’t have any height restrictions, it also requires the talented 26-year-old to work with high-tech military grade communication equipment providing communications, information systems, and electronic warfare support to the Australian Army and the wider Australian Defence Force (ADF).

“I provide an interface so we can have phones and internet out in the field, which we give to the Commanders so they can call within each position and also call back to base if they need to,” she says.

Wow. When it comes to cool job descriptions, that’s up there, for sure.

Leah loves her work and highly recommends ADF jobs: “To anyone thinking of joining, I would say ‘do it’. Pick the career for you and find something that you’re going to be really interested in. The career prospects once I leave the army, should I choose to, are really good, especially in a technical trade.”

Do you have an area of interest you’ve always wanted to turn into a career? Chances are the Australian Army has something that suits you. Like Leah, you can turn a lifetime of curiosity into the career of your dreams in an organisation that is based on the core values of courage, initiative, respect and teamwork.

Technical trade careers on offer include Telecommunications Technicians like Leah, Aircraft Life Support Fitters, Marine Technicians, Motor Mechanics and Avionics Technicians, just to name a few.

If you’re interested in a career in the Australian Defence Force apply here.

Have you, or anyone you know, ever thought about joining the Defence Force?

 

 

The Australian Defence Force has a host of diverse roles available for women who are looking for a rewarding, flexible and challenging career.

The Defence Force is currently recruiting for various trade roles. For further information of military training and careers in the Navy, Army or Air Force visit: defencejobs.gov.au or call 13 19 01.