WHILE families are celebrating Christmas together, spare a thought for Manilla’s Susan Coyle, who’s spending the festive season in Afghanistan.
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Colonel Coyle is in command of more than 400 men and women of the Australian Defence Force as part of Operation Slipper.
She said her posting to Afghanistan as the deputy commander of Joint Task Force 636 (JTF636), which is made up of navy, army and air force personnel, was her career highlight.
“There is no greater privilege than commanding Australian troops, regardless of the role, function or mission,” she said.
Colonel Coyle said, although she was busy, her thoughts sometimes turned to her family back in Manilla.
“My brothers, Geoffrey and Ron, are still Manilla locals and I have fond memories of my time growing up there,” she said.
“It was probably the smallest town I’ve ever lived in, only a couple thousand people, but a very hardworking community, all very proud, with a lot of large families there, either farming or working in the town. Two of my brothers married local girls, so we pretty much married the town when that happened, which was good.”
Colonel Coyle left Manilla when she got a scholarship from the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA), which was followed by a tenure at the Royal Military College Duntroon.
“I originally joined the army through the ADFA scholarship scheme, which was offered during my final years at Oxley High in Tamworth,” she said.
“I was in the army reserve in years 11 and 12 at the 12th /16th Hunter River Lancers. I always wanted to do something with my life – I didn’t know where or what – but the army had a calling, so I’m glad I went.”
After graduating from Duntroon, she was posted to the Royal Australian Corps of Signals.
“I had a sister in signals corps, Alice, who was my role model,” she said.
“I wanted to be just like her, so I joined signals.”
With operations in Afghanistan set to transition to a new NATO-led mission, Resolute Support, in January, Susan said she was proud to be part of Australia’s changing focus in support of the new “train, advise and assist” role.
“It’s a special time in history,” she said.
“Things that used to be coalition-led are now Afghan-led and coalition-supported, so you can really see that progress.”
