Our People in QLD
Abby McKenzie and Rachael Browning - Mackay Mates Meet again in Kandahar
Two former Mackay school mates have met up in Kandahar while serving as part of the Australian Defence Force’s contribution to peace and stability operations in Afghanistan.
Army Captain Abby McKenzie, 27, formerly, of Planlands, and Navy Lieutenant Rachael Browning, 26, of Bucasia, attended Mackay West Infant State School in the same class during 1988-89.
“It was a great surprise to meet up with Abby – a real morale booster to meet a mate from Mackay with whom I could swap great memories and catch up on current news,” Rachael said.
“We hadn’t seen each other in over 20 years and it was amazing to reconnect here so far away from north Queensland and both in the military,” she said.
They both remained in Mackay for the remainder of their school years, with Abby attending Mackay State High School and Rachael attending Mackay North, however, had lost contact with each other.
Abby joined the Australian Regular Army in 2002, completing a Bachelor of Arts at the Australian Defence Force Academy then graduated from the Royal Military College in 2005 as a Transport Officer into the Royal Australian Corps of Transport.
Rachael joined the Defence Force in 2000, also completed a Bachelor of Arts then commenced her Seaman Officer training in the Royal Australian Navy.
“Its strange how we both ended up in the Australian Defence Force with similar careers, and now we’re both here in Afghanistan,” Rachael said.
Between them, Rachael and Abby have served overseas on numerous operations and international exercises.
In Afghanistan, Abby is the Officer-in-Charge of Joint Movement Control Centre- Afghanistan, and is based in Kandahar in the country’s south. She is responsible for coordinating the movement of ADF personnel and equipment around Afghanistan.
Rachael is based in the capital Kabul as Staff Officer to the Deputy Commander of the Australian Joint Task Force in Afghanistan, Brigadier Wayne Budd.
Rachael and Abby have been working together via email and on the phone on several occasions for many weeks, yet it wasn’t until Rachael’s recent trip to Kandahar that they saw each other and recognised the connection instantly.
“It was a real shock, and to think we’d been working together all this time without realising the connection,” Rachael said.
Both still have family in Mackay and return home to visit from time to time.
Abby’s son, Tristan, currently lives in Mackay and attends Saint Mary’s Catholic School. Her parents (Paul and Carol McKenzie), brother and sister and their families all still live in Mackay.
Rachael’s parents (Michael and Tanya Kelly), sister and nieces also live in Mackay.
Abby thoroughly enjoys her current role deployed with the Army.
“The hours can be quite long every day, but it certainly helps the time pass quickly. As a Movements Officer, I’m required to achieve quick, effective, and efficient movement of personnel and cargo across Afghanistan and the broader Middle East Area of Operations,” Abby said.
“In order to do this, we work closely with our Coalition partners.
“Quite frequently we also assist other nations in the movement of their personnel and cargo on Australian aircraft,” she said.
Abby says the job is very rewarding and thoroughly enjoys the liaison with other Coalition partners. Her team is quite often invited to BBQs hosted by other nations and vice versa which fuels to maintain the strong relationships they have built to facilitate the Movements process.
Meanwhile Rachael, a qualified Seaman Officer who achieved her Bridge Warfare Certificate in the Anzac Class Frigate HMAS STUART, said she finds her current job in the land-locked country different and very rewarding.
“In addition to my staff officer duties, I’m also responsible for the conduct and coordination of all Australian VIP visits within Afghanistan. I thoroughly enjoy the job and the chance to travel around country,” Rachael said.
“This is different to any other deployment I’ve done in the Navy. I really enjoy working with other Services and the interaction with other nations is a great experience,” she said.
Abby and Rachael have promised not to lose contact again and now speak to each other regularly.