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In the decades that followed, he saw defence adapt, as computerisation, software and new systems transformed the way intelligence work is done.<\/p>\n
“The military didn’t really know how to deal with the technology that they were getting, but they sure as hell wanted to use it,” Simon said.<\/p>\n
“It was a real exploratory time.”<\/p>\n
His intelligence postings took him around the world, including to Japan, Malaysia, Hawaii, Singapore, Somalia and Timor-Leste \u2013 experiences he said reflected a core ambition for many in uniform.<\/p>\n
“I think that’s every soldier’s desire, more so than anything else” Simon said.<\/p>\n
“It’s hard to explain unless you are a soldier, but soldiers train their entire life to deploy as a unit overseas.”<\/p>\n
Simon reflects fondly on his time with the army, saying it gave him a career he could not have predicted.<\/p>\n
This Anzac Day, he will speak at the Anglesea dawn service, where he hopes the community reflects not only on those who lost their lives, but also on those who returned home carrying the lasting impacts of service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AN 80s comedy movie and the feeling of being stuck led a 20-year-old Graham Simon to join the Australian Army in 1983. It was a decision that shaped the next three decades of his life. Living in Sydney and unsure where he wanted to be or what he wanted to do, Graham found unlikely inspiration […]<\/p>\n