In 1999, idealistic 23-year-old Registered Nurse Sharon Bown left her cozy relations lifestyles in Tasmania and joined the Royal Australian Air strength with the purpose of delivering humanitarian reduction to the realm. via her 16-year army occupation she deployed on 3 operations, slightly survived a helicopter crash, struggled to come back to army provider, jumbled in political circles in Canberra and world wide as Aide de Camp to the Minister for Defence, and commanded a wrestle surgical workforce in the course of probably the most extreme combating in Afghanistan. in this time, she misplaced her mom to breast melanoma and nearly misplaced her policeman father to a homicidal psychopath on his solution to shoot lifeless his female friend yet who made up our minds to kill a cop in its place. From instructing East Timorese orphans to benefit English to tending to wounded Coalition infantrymen choppered into her surgical staff from lethal battles at the Afghan airborne dirt and dust, Sharon’s tale is that of a sheltered civilian RN turning into an army Nursing Officer and a commander. Her army carrier used to be particular, assorted and far-reaching yet got here on the fee of her actual and psychological overall healthiness. A damaged again, shattered jaw and Post-Traumatic rigidity illness are the fee she has paid for a impressive and inspirational occupation within the Royal Australian Air Force.

Wing Commander Sharon Bown (Retd) accomplished her Bachelor of Nursing on the college of Tasmania in 1995. With post-graduate skills in Peri-operative nursing and complicated Nursing in kin, baby and early life overall healthiness, she labored as a Registered Nurse at Calvary medical institution, Hobart from 1996–1999, together with years within the working theatre, prior to becoming a member of the Royal Australian Air strength as a Nursing Officer in 1999. in the course of her Air strength provider, she served in a foreign country in East Timor and Afghanistan and used to be appointed commander of the RAAF Base Townsville well-being centre from 2008– 2011 and because the commander of surgical/critical care group deployed to Afghanistan in 2008. other than her army nursing carrier, she additionally served because the Aide-de-Camp to the Minister for Defence in 2006 — a different privilege for a Nursing Officer. in the course of her provider she suffered a couple of life-altering occasions akin to surviving a helicopter crash with a shattered jaw and damaged again and having her policeman father shot within the line of responsibility, quickly after wasting her mom to breast melanoma. Her carrier existence has uncovered her to the easiest and the worst of humanity and her life’s stories have led to a analysis of Post-Traumatic tension sickness. Sharon retired from the Air strength in 2015 and is pursuing additional research in the direction of a Bachelor of Psychology. Sharon is a passionate suggest for Australia’s army nurses and for army and veterans’ health and wellbeing the place she hopes her reports and Psychology skills will support others. She is very wanted as a public speaker and is usually invited to talk about the original reviews of her carrier occupation. She lives in Townsville together with her husband and their sons.