This first book takes me from my early days at the Australian Defence Force Academy when considering women to be equal in the forces was relatively new. Similarly, the Australian Defence Force Academy was still generally a new establishment, with the doors opening in 1986. I arrived in 1999, when it was the first year that there was such a high number of females in the intake. The years at the Australian Defence Force Academy were unique for a female and, in some respects, quite challenging. These challenges provided the grounding for our future careers. This first part takes me from my Australian Defence Force Academy days, my introduction to sea life, and participation in development of policy for ships and submarine being designed for the embarkment of women, my life at sea and future life in intelligence. I was to go on to be the senior watch officer and acting operations officer for the Australian Joint Intelligence Centre Watch Floor, where I was briefing admirals and generals on a daily basis. I also gained some valuable NSW police friends that provided me with unique experiences at a time they were going under corruption review. It was a challenging road, where I worked alongside clearance divers and submariners, experienced sexual abuse, and was later rewarded with a representational posting to Hawaii. Along my journey, I have met some remarkable people and some manipulators that hid behind the uniform. It was these very experiences, I believe, that led to my change in life, which can only be described as a comedy of errors, with myself ending up in the Middle East basically living on the streets after completing seventeen years in the Royal Australian Navy (Intelligence), Master of Islamic Studies and Masters of International Relations (Nuclear Security), and being placed in prison in Austria only to end up working for the Australian government in Australia training corrections staff and prisoners and again facing life on the streets. Apparently my studies, experiences, and skills do not mean anything in Australia.
