Australian Defence Force

Away from Home and Family

Whilst ADF members are deployed , their family back home does it tough, basically becoming a single parent family with all of the challenges that involves, along with the worry and stress of not knowing that their loved one (husband, wife, mother or father) will even return and if they do, if they will be be the same person they once knew.

Immense Responsibilities

As a member of the Navy, Army or Air Force you have immense responsibilities, your first priority of course is to defend Australia. This means you could be called upon to deploy to or near a combat zone, or find yourself supporting a peacekeeping mission, helping a community devastated by a natural disaster, or engaged in a search and rescue operation. Handling weapons and becoming combat proficient is just the start. ADF personnel are called upon to work long and irregular hours.

Risking Their Lives

The defence landscape is changing at an unprecedented rate, with potential threats coming from areas barely envisaged a decade ago.

The ADF protects Australian interests well beyond our own borders. They have a presence in volatile situations in several countries, such as Iraq, Egypt, Israel and South Sudan; and more recently in Afghanistan and East Timor.

Sometimes they are hospitalised through illness or injury whilst far away from their homes. Sadly, when a loved one dies there are many decisions and arrangements that the family left behind have to deal with.