Robert Thatcher
Corporal
Australian Army
Medals
Australian Operational Service Medal Greater Middle East
National Emergency Medal with clasp Bushfires 19-20
Australian Defence Medal
North Atlantic Treaty Organization Medal with Clasp ‘Afghanistan’
I was born in 1997 in Darwin. My father comes from Frankston, near Melbourne in Victoria, while my mother is from the Aboriginal community of Maningrida in Arnhem Land. I am the third youngest of 10 siblings, and along with my mother, I have three step-mums. I grew up and went to school in Darwin before winning a scholarship through the AIEF, the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, which enabled me to complete Year 12 as a boarder at St Joseph’s Nudgee College in Brisbane.
I enlisted in the Australian Army not long after I finished Year 12. My older brother had joined NORFORCE, our Regional Force Surveillance Unit. He was my inspiration for joining up. I saw him doing some amazing things, learning new skills, growing as a person, and I thought I definitely wanted to do what he was doing and become a soldier. Our Grandfather, Eric Thatcher had been in the Army too. He served as a Signalman in the Signals section of an Anti-Aircraft Regiment during WW2 and fought in North Africa.
In 2016, I deployed to the Middle East myself, to Afghanistan, as part of Australia’s contribution to United Nations Operation Resolute Support, providing training and assistance to Afghan forces. While I was serving in Afghanistan, I was very pleased to be able to record a video message for schoolchildren in South Australia who were producing a book honouring First Nations contributions to the Australian Defence Force, past and present, for Reconciliation Week 2016.
A special highlight of my service in the Army was assisting with relief and recovery operations during the 2019-20 Bushfires in East Gippsland as part of a 6,500-strong ADF contingent supporting affected local communities. I was very honoured to perform the traditional smoking ceremony at the farewell for our ADF and Fiji Military Forces personnel at the end of our operations. This had been an opportunity for me to combine service to country with care for Country, and honour my Culture.
Now, on Anzac Day, I proudly wear my own medals alongside my Grandfather’s from WW2. Growing up, I’d been encouraged to aim higher and try something new. I’ve done that by enlisting in the Army. I’d have to say that service in the Australian Defence Force has made me a stronger, more confident, more mature person. It’s given me a sense of belonging to a team. During our training, we learned the Core Values of the Army – Courage, Initiative, Respect, and Teamwork (CIRT). They’re the Code I live by; they help me be the person I always wanted to be, a role model for family and community.