Stripes to service: Comedy film leads to career in army intelligence

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 in Stripes, a film where two mates dissatisfied with their jobs join the army for fun.

“I followed the movie line,” Simon said.

“I wasn’t getting anywhere in Sydney, and I wanted out of Dodge, so I just decided to join the army.”

After beginning in the infantry, Simon sought a more intellectually demanding path and transitioned into intelligence in the early 1990s.

There, he worked across a range of roles, including as a handler, security specialist and interrogator.

“It kept me interested and occupied. It was a very fascinating type of work, and you’re up at the upper end of the department of defence so you know what is going on,” Simon said.

“You can control your own destiny a little bit more.”

Over that time, he witnessed a rapid shift in military technology.

His first piece of equipment he received was a locked laptop capable of little more than typing a few sentences and basic sketches.

 

In the decades that followed, he saw defence adapt, as computerisation, software and new systems transformed the way intelligence work is done.

“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.

“It was a real exploratory time.”

His intelligence postings took him around the world, including to Japan, Malaysia, Hawaii, Singapore, Somalia and Timor-Leste – experiences he said reflected a core ambition for many in uniform.

“I think that’s every soldier’s desire, more so than anything else” Simon said.

“It’s hard to explain unless you are a soldier, but soldiers train their entire life to deploy as a unit overseas.”

Simon reflects fondly on his time with the army, saying it gave him a career he could not have predicted.

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.