Our People in VIC
Sharon Holt - Werribee soldier looking forward to home after Middle East duty
FOR Private Sharon Holt who grew up in Werribee in Victoria, her six month deployment to the Middle East Area of Operations with the Force Support Unit rotation one (FSU 1) is over.
The 36 year-old supplier was with FSU 1 working in the Quartermaster store warehouse packaging and forwarding vital equipment and stores to Australian troops deployed in Afghanistan.
"It was a rewarding experience and I loved it,” Sharon said.
“This was what I was trained to do, to do my job deployed, and when you did your job, at the end of the day your boss told you'd done well," Sharon said.
"The mateship at the unit was unbelievable, as most of my mates in my home unit, the 1st Combat Services Support Battalion, (located in Darwin) - were here. At the end of the time we'd grown closer.
"It felt great to know we done our bit to get the troops in Afghanistan what they needed.
“Honestly there was no other place I'd rather be, knowing I'd made an impact on what they [soldiers in Afghanistan] were doing out there, so they could get their job done," she said.
Sharon joined the Army in 2005 after her children were of school age.
"Its something I'd always wanted to do and I thought I'd do something a little selfish, so I joined 8/7 Royal Victoria Regiment in Laverton in Melbourne and after two years I transferred to the Regular Army," Sharon said.
"Previous to the Army I worked in the bar and gaming industries," she said.
Sharon said after six months in the Middle East she can't wait to get home to her family.
"I'm really looking forward to getting home to see my partner Glen and my four boys, Jayden 17, Keidan 13, Jace 11 and Damon who is 10," Sharon said.
"At the start of the trip it was hard for them all, but now on the phone they say they can't wait for me to come home.
"I have four weeks off when I get back, take a couple of days to relax and then let the boys take control of me, so I can take them places," she said.