Don Bowie
Born Thursday Island (Proud descendants of the Argun Clan Badu Island Torres Strait)
Warrant Officer Class One
Royal Australian Army Medical Corps
Australian Regular Army 1980 – 2015
Australian Army Reserve 2015 –
Medals and Awards
Australian Service Medal with clasps SE Asia and Timor Leste
Defence Force Service Medal with 1st and 2nd clasps
Australian Defence Medal
Medalha Solidariedade de Timor-Leste (Timor-Leste Solidarity Medal)
Chief of Army Commendation
Both my parents are from the Torres Straits; Dad is from Badu Island, and Mum is from Thursday Island, where I was born. I attended Sacred Heart Primary School and Weipa High School. After finishing my Grade 10, I completed an apprenticeship with Comalco Weipa as a Painter, Decorator and Surface Refinisher on 19 January 1980 and enlisted on 4 March 1980 in the Australian Regular Army. The RAAF, as a surface refinisher, had been my second choice.
I departed Weipa on 3 March 1980 and travelled down to Brisbane to be enlisted on 4 March 1980. After a very long train ride from Brisbane to Sydney and a bus to Kapooka, I arrived at 1 RTB (Recruit Training Battalion) in southern NSW. I was the only Indigenous person in my platoon, and English was my second language. I learned quickly, though, to adjust and understand military terminology, with teamwork from the other recruits in my section. We learned a lot from each other, and even after many years, I’m still in contact with some of them. With support from each other in our sections, we all crossed the line for our March Out Graduations at RTB Kapooka on 16 May 1980. It was a very proud moment for me when I marched out of Kapooka and was allocated to the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps. I attended the School of Army Health in Healesville, Victoria, for my Medical Orderly Course. Encountering the cold weather there was a new experience for me, coming from Far North Queensland and the Torres Straits! From Healesville, I travelled to Sydney for my Initial Employment Training (IET) as Medical Assistant (ECN 031) at 2nd Military Hospital, Ingleburn NSW. After successfully completing my course, I marched into 1st Field Hospital, Ingleburn on 8 December 1980.
Since that day, I have had the honour and privilege of serving with the RAAMC in many postings throughout Australia and overseas: 1st Field Hospital, Ingleburn, NSW; Kokoda Barracks, Canungra, QLD; 8th/9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment RAP (Regimental Aid Post), Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera, QLD; DSU/BASC (District Support Unit/Base Administrative Support Centre), Randwick, NSW; 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment, Porton Barracks, Cairns, QLD; ADFRU (ADF Recruitment Unit) Career Reference Centre, Darwin, NT; Pilbara Regiment, Taylor Barracks, Karratha, WA; and Defence Indigenous Affairs, Cairns, QLD.
I am particularly proud of several highlights and achievements:
In June-July 1993, I was in the Australian Army Contingent to support our WW1 Veterans on their return to the battlefields of the Western Front in France and Belgium and performed ceremonial duties in support of the 75th Anniversary of the end of the 1914-18 Great War. A few years later, I was posted to Defence Cooperation Program East Timor (DCP ET) from 19 January 2007 to 30 June 2008.
Promotion through the ranks has been a source of pride for me and a mark of my dedication to service and Country. On 19 January 2000, I became the first Torres Strait Islander to be promoted to the Rank of Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2) RAAMC. A few months later, on 23 May 2000, the Commander, Northern Command Darwin, presented me with my Warrant Officer Certificate during the official opening ceremony of the new ADF Joint Facilities on Thursday Island. It was a very proud moment for my mother, my families, and my friends who were present at the ceremony. Then, on 19 January 2010, I achieved another milestone as the First Torres Strait Islander to be promoted to the Rank of Warrant Officer Class 1 (WO1) RAAMC.
A career change and a career pathway that has been rewarding was being posted to Defence Indigenous Affairs from 2008 to 2015. I was posted to Defence Force Recruiting Cairns during that time as an Indigenous Recruitment Advisor travelling with other members of our Indigenous Recruitment Team to remote areas, engaging with interested candidates from remote Indigenous communities and preparing them for a career in the Australian Defence Force or for pathways towards the Indigenous Pre-Recruit Program (IPRP). In 2010 Defence Indigenous Development Program Navy (DIDP Navy) was developed and hosted by ITEC Group Australia and Royal Australian Navy. It’s now called Navy Indigenous Development Program (NIDP) and is hosted by the Royal Australian Navy in Cairns.
I’ll continue to serve Country in the Australian Defence Force and plan to do so until my Compulsory Retirement Age on 30 June 2025. During my many years of service, I’ve been very close to my families and friends who have supported me, and throughout my career in the ADF, I’ve made a lot of friends and have been able to share my culture and customs with them and with the military leadership, it has often been my role to advise. Service in the ADF offers all of us a great opportunity to share our cultures and know who we are and where we come from, which is a very great learning experience for everyone.
