Our People in VIC
Erica Green - Sale officer on the watch in East Timor
The opportunity to work with the Army while on operational deployment has been a highlight for Sale Air Force officer Erica Green.
“I hadn’t really done a lot of work with the Army, so working in a joint force headquarters environment has been great to see how other parts of our Defence Force work,” said Erica, who is a Flight Lieutenant with the Royal Australian Air Force.
Erica ,27, is working in East Timor as a watchkeeper with the International Stabilisation Force, which is assisting the East Timorese and UN maintain stability and security in the country.
“A watchkeeper is someone who has a coordination role, so my job is to liaise with people, disseminate information, and generally know what’s going on and pass that information on when required,” she said.
It isn’t Erica’s first operational deployment, as she met her husband Lee while on operations in the Middle East in 2004.
“My husband and sister are also in the Air Force, so my family understands deployment, and they are very supportive,” she said.
“I’m normally an instructor at the Officer Training School in Sale, and I love that. It’s been fantastic helping people discover things about themselves,” she said.
It is Erica’s first trip to East Timor, and she is amazed at what we can learn from the East Timorese.
“There is just so much more to life than what you own or what job you have,” she says.
“It amazes me that you can have so much or make so much with so little.”
Erica is missing her husband and dogs, as well as a meal of gnocci and pesto, but it’s the ability to dress up that she says she’s most looking forward to.
“I can’t wait to wear dresses and paint my toenails!” she laughs.
Erica is one of 650 Australian Defence Force personnel now serving in East Timor on Operation Astute.
The operation is part of the Australian Government's response to a request from the Government of East Timor to assist in bringing stability, security and confidence to the Timorese.