Captain Carrie Thomas is in East Timor, but looking forward to coming home.
By Vanessa Chircop
AFTER six months’ serving in East Timor, Australian Defence Force Army officer, Captain Carrie Thomas is finally returning home.
The Altona Meadows resident is completing her second tour of duty in East Timor, where she is a senior member of the headquarters with the Australian-led International Stabilisation Force (ISF).
Speaking to Star from East Timor, Capt Thomas said she had enjoyed her time in East Timor, but was looking forward to returning home.
“For me professionally, it’s been fantastic,” she said.
“Something that I’ve always wanted to do as an officer is to deploy and actually be able to do my job on operations.”
Capt Thomas said she seized the opportunity to return to East Timor earlier this year, having first deployed to the country in 1999 when the situation was very different.
“When I came here in 1999, I wasn’t an officer, I was a soldier, I was a diesel mechanic.”
“Eleven years later, I am back here and it is great to see how far the country has come in terms of the growth stability and freedom of movement.
The 43-year-old said she joined the Defence Force because she was looking for a challenge.
“Being in the army, offers you the opportunity to go a number of different cities within Australia and towns.”
“You meet a lot of different people and your job changes almost every day.”
Despite this, Capt Thomas said being away from her loved ones could be difficult, but improvements in technology have made life away from home just that little bit easier.
“When I deployed in 1999, I got a phone call once every fortnight for five minutes,” she said.
“What I have now, I have access to telephone, to the internet and you can always communicate with your family.”
