Naomi Shephard didn’t dwell on her youth and the weight of responsibility she had when navigating a military aircraft through treacherous Afghanistan territory in 2008 at just 25.
She was just one of tens of thousands of Australian Defence Force personnel who served in or directly supported operations in Afghanistan over the 20-year commitment following the 9/11 attacks.
Her story and belongings will be on display near an old Chinook helicopter when the Australian War Memorial officially opens its new Afghanistan gallery next Tuesday.
The gallery is the last full exhibit to be completed as part of a $550 million redevelopment of the iconic building in Canberra.
Alongside photos during three deployments in the Middle East lays an old brown flying suit showing her maiden name “Naomi Rogusz” on the tag.
Walking into the back of an on-display Chinook, Ms Shephard laughed about how difficult it must be to get the smell of “sweaty men” out of the aircraft and how different it looked without “Power-aid bottles everywhere”.
The WA now search and rescue pilot had been aged just 17 and living in Queensland when she joined the army. By age 20 she flew her first fixed-wing aircraft before jumping in the cockpit of a helicopter at just 21.
Ms Shephard described herself as young, bright-eyed and enthusiastic to see the world.
She undertook simulations abroad before she went on her first tour as a co-pilot in 2008, before becoming an aircraft captain and second-in-command in 2009, and then as troop commander in 2010.
“I joined the army when I was 17, straight out of school. I think I had no idea what I was really getting in for at the time,” she said.
“I ended up coming to Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy, which saw me then through Duntroon and on pilots course and I ended up flying an Iroquois (military utility helicopter).
“I purely went to Chinook based on the aircraft type that I was flying (an Iroquois) becoming out of service and because of the deployments coming out for Chinook to Afghanistan, they were really bolstering that squadron.
“I finished my Chinook course when I was 25 and within six months I was in Afghanistan.
“I feel like my road to that just fell into place, and I ended up doing three tours to Afghanistan.”
She didn’t realise at the time she was the nation’s first female Chinook pilot.
“I certainly didn’t feel like a pioneer in any regard. I felt like just another one of the pilots who I had been through training with — and this was another step. It didn’t really occur to me,” she said.
“I sort of shied away throughout my career from media. Now, I look forward to that opportunity. If somebody’s out there that can see me and think ‘I can do that too’, then yeah — my job here is done. You can’t be what you can’t see, right?
Although “blessed for the opportunity” to lead women in defence, Ms Shepard admits that, looking back on Australia’s longest military deployment, she might not have been so eager to sign up.
“At 25, I think I was young and excited by the opportunity. If I had to do it again now, I might have a different perspective,” she said.
“There are moments that stay with me. I reflect on my time, my deployments, and they were holistically positive.
“The people that I was there with, they are considered family to me.
“But there were certainly some negative experiences, like the risk in flight, enemy action, the terrain, the environment.
“There was always quite a threat to us, landing in very dusty places, flying over the desert, at night.
“It was absolutely challenging. I don’t think anything in life is ever going to be as hard, which is a good perspective moving forward.
“It had its challenges at all times, and I remember every time I got on that plane to deploy, I’d think ‘okay, this might be it’.
“I think I was never complacent. I always had that in the back of my mind, which probably served me well.”
The question of “was it worth it?” will be one many veterans ask themselves through the gallery according to War Memorial Director Matt Anderson.
“I think that it’s wonderful that the War Memorial has taken the time to interview and gather all. Of the thoughts and memories and experiences of veterans that are still here today and families of those, unfortunately, that aren’t,” Ms Shepard said.
Forty-one Australian soldiers died during the conflict in Afghanistan.
And in the war’s aftermath, veteran deaths by suicide outnumber deaths in combat.
Curators have sought to weave the complex legacy of the war in the exhibit — discussing mental health challenges and pleas for remembrance as well as the Brereton Report and allegations of war crimes.
A small section will reference the alleged war crimes committed by the ADF in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, with a redacted copy and quotes from the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Afghanistan Inquiry Report.
Ms Shepard said Australia should be proud that if there are reports, they’re investigated and acknowledged. But added that the allegations linked to a few soldiers shouldn’t detract from the work of the tens of thousands of troops who served the nation.
“We should be very proud as Australians that if there is an allegation of something unlawful that we investigate it at the end of the day,” she said.
“But I don’t think it takes away from what the Australian War Memorial have collated and the serve of 24,000 troops deployed to Afghanistan who did amazing work.
“I don’t think an inquiry with a small handful of individuals involved should detract from that.”
Parliamentarian will break earlier than usual on Tuesday to attend the opening, alongside stakeholders and Victoria Cross recipients.
Decorated soldier and alleged war criminal has had his bail changed by a Sydney court this week to allow him to travel to the event.
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