A woman who has become one of the highest-ranking Indigenous soldiers in the country says she hopes to inspire not only other First Nations people but all women to consider a military career.
Lieutenant Colonel Eileen Hall was honoured at a ceremony attended by the military's top brass at her home country of Wujal Wujal, a small community that borders the Daintree Rainforest about 120km north of Cairns.
It was an emotional day for the Bama Bama woman, who was inspired to join the Army after hearing the stories of Norman and Charlie Baird — two Indigenous men from Wujal Wujal who were deployed to the Western Front in World War I.
The Bairds served during a time when Indigenous people often lied about their heritage in order to serve in the military.
"This day is very important to our elders and to our community," Lieutenant Colonel Hall said.
She will help to oversee hundreds of soldiers with the Army's highly specialised Regional Force Surveillance Group (RFSG) and also become its first official cultural adviser.
The RFSG is comprised of three units, including the Cairns-based 51st Battalion, which maintains Australia's northernmost border security and sees soldiers patrol hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of dense, remote bushland.
Private Shinane Doughboy from Wujal Wujal said she was proud of Lieutenant Colonel Hall.
Lieutenant Colonel Hall said half of the RFSG's soldiers were from remote Indigenous communities in Cape York and the Torres Strait.
She said they brought skills that were second nature to them — tracking, hunting and staying hidden in bushland — talents passed down from their grandfathers, fathers and uncles.
That connection to the land was why Indigenous participation in the Army was so important, she said, something she hoped to boost in her cultural adviser role.
"First Nations people know their country better than anybody.
"We can't survive as a regional force surveillance unit unless we have communities as our backbone."
