{"id":45160,"date":"2013-09-22T19:20:10","date_gmt":"2013-09-22T09:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=45160"},"modified":"2020-12-11T16:30:17","modified_gmt":"2020-12-11T06:30:17","slug":"they-want-you-as-a-new-recruit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2013\/09\/22\/they-want-you-as-a-new-recruit\/","title":{"rendered":"They Want You As A New Recruit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Australian Navy Petty Officers Sam Sheppard and Glen Hall\u2019s love of their job rubbed off at Cherbourg … three residents contacted the recruitment office before the officers left town\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Front, Australian Defence Force applicants Justin Bond, 32, and Aaron Hegarty, 22, are pictured with Australian Navy Indigenous Recruitment team\u2019s Petty Officer Sam Sheppard and, at back, Petty Officer Glen Hall and Employment Services Queensland\u2019s Anna Hanson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

September 22, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Marcus Priaulx<\/strong><\/p>\n

Petty Officer Sam Sheppard wakes every day with a smile on his face.\u00a0He just loves being in the navy.<\/p>\n

He explained his “life of adventure” in the armed services when he spoke to a group of potential recruits at Cherbourg last month.<\/p>\n

The former Mareeba resident graduated from high school with an ambition to join up, a career choice which had been instilled within him from a young age as he would watch his uncles and aunties visit his home in their air force uniforms.<\/p>\n

At age 18 he tried to join the Air Force, only to find it wasn\u2019t recruiting at the time, so he turned to the seas and hasn\u2019t looked back.<\/p>\n

The Royal Australian Navy provides a sea of adventure, careers\u00a0and life opportunities.<\/p>\n

As a navy man, Petty Officer Sheppard enjoys the teamwork, mateship and a feeling he can\u2019t explain when he\u2019s in the open seas, travelling to exotic locations.<\/p>\n

He also enjoys the actual work and a healthy wage.<\/p>\n

He is a communications and information systems supervisor who provides the link between all those on board a ship, other sea craft and on land bases.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a complex job involving satellites, radios, Morse code, flags and computers.<\/p>\n

Petty Officer Sheppard\u00a0told the potential Cherbourg recruits they could join the army in some roles if they had a Year 9 pass; Year 10 and above could open up most jobs across the navy, army, and air force, while good tertiary entry results could have them attend the Australian Defence Force Academy and become an officer.<\/p>\n

He said people could always further their education or learn a trade while serving in the Australian Defence Force because it helped people to reach their life goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lifestyle is great, the pay\u2019s good and there\u2019s always a job to be had,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t imagine my life without being in the navy. Joining was the best thing I could\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n