6 February 2025
An air intelligence analyst who transformed the way Air Force evaluates enemy tactics was awarded a Conspicuous Service Medal as part of the 2025 Australia Day Honours.
Corporal Simon Tapply was working in 88 Squadron’s Australian Tactics and Adversary Studies Element (AusTASE), analysing adversary aircraft to help broader efforts to develop tactics and training to counter them.
He found some processes and data were not being used as efficiently as they could, and set about streamlining them.
Corporal Tapply said the changes were needed to keep up with a changing environment.
“We couldn't continue doing business as we had been,” he said.
“Things are growing quickly in that environment, and some of the datasets, procedures and tools we needed weren’t in place.”
He worked to eliminate workflow gaps and develop training to enable other teams to pick up the changes quickly.
He also worked to exploit new datasets in order to elevate the quality of intelligence outputs.
While there was out-of-hours work involved, Corporal Tapply said the changes were a collaborative effort.
“The teams we worked with that enabled these changes did a lot of the technical work, so it was a lot of coordinating to ensure what was being produced was fit for purpose,” he said.
“Thankfully we were supported by teams whose mission is to help elements such as AusTASE be as efficient as possible.”
'People interested in intelligence should consider joining later in life, because you'll bring a whole bunch of life experience and other training that can really benefit you in the role.'
Receiving the award was an honour but a shock, when an unexpected email from the Governor-General’s department arrived in Corporal Tapply’s inbox.
“I thought it might have been for someone else. I was very surprised and confused at first, but I’m definitely honoured,” he said.
Corporal Tapply joined the Air Force by an unusual route, spending more than a decade as a Spanish language translator and scuba instructor before enlisting.
He was teaching helicopter underwater escape training at HMAS Albatross when Navy personnel suggested he join Defence in an intelligence role.
While Corporal Tapply thought the job would be centred around language, he posted to different roles that broadened his horizons.
The job has taken him to the United States and Japan, and he was even able to use his language skills during Exercise Pitch Black 24, which the Spanish Air Force participated in for the first time.
“People interested in intelligence should consider joining later in life, because you'll bring a whole bunch of life experience and other training that can really benefit you in the role,” Corporal Tapply said.
“I haven’t looked back – there is intrinsic value in the work but also opportunities to travel and, you know, experience things that were just not available in the civilian world.”
