Fifteen Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel will be deployed to Parliament House this week for the annual exchange activity as part of the ADF Parliamentary Program.

The selected personnel will spend the week being hosted by a Senator or Member of Parliament, and will be given the opportunity to see up close just how the Federal Parliament works.

Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, Senator David Feeney, said the exchange component of the program allowed ADF participants to gain a unique insight into the operation of Parliament and the daily working routines of their hosts.

“This part of the ADF Parliamentary Program complements the opportunity given annually to Federal Parliamentarians to work alongside the men and women of the ADF in areas as diverse as operations in Afghanistan, to major joint exercises, to basic army recruit training at Kapooka in NSW,” said Senator Feeney.

"Parliamentarians and ADF members live and work in very different environments and this is a valuable opportunity for ADF personnel to gain an appreciation and understanding of these differences.”

The 15 ADF representatives have been selected from the three services and are of varying ranks. From the Navy there is a Commander who started his career as an Air Traffic Controller before converting to flying duties as an Observer with the Seahawk helicopters. His next posting is as Director Navy Ministerials and Coordination.

A Leading Aircraftswoman from the Air Force has recently transitioned from five years in the Air Force reserves, and hopes this exchange program will assist with her full time career in personnel management.

The Army representatives also include an Armoured Corps Captain who graduated from ADFA in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts (Politics/History) and has since been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Information and imagery of the ADFPP can be obtained from http://www.defence.gov.au/adfpp/index.cfm

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