Australian Department of Defence (ADF) says since 1999, 68 Afghan men and women have joined the Australian armed forces and 43 of them are still serving.
The Department also says seven of them, including one woman, have been deployed to Afghanistan as part of the Australia’s longest military evolvement overseas.
In 25 April 1915, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps arrived at the Gallipoli Peninsula in which resulted to the death of over 8,000 Australian soldiers.
The following year, April 25 officially named ‘Anzac Day’ to remember those who had sacrificed their lives for the country.
Anzac Day now includes all of the men and women who have served in the Australian Defence Forces. Thousands of Australians come together to pay tribute and remember their Anzacs every year.
Australian Defence Force Colonel Andrew McBaron (2nd left) and Command Sergeant Major Muammad Ali Husanini (right) of the Kabul Garrison Command Source: AAP
Of the 68 members, 52 of them have joined the army, eight the navy and four the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
The current serving number includes six Afghan women. That is five in the army and one in the air force.
The numbers reflect only those who have recorded Afghanistan as their country of birth, the Department said in a statement to SBS Dari.
“The above numbers reflect only members who have recorded a country of birth as Afghanistan. Defence is not able to determine if a member is specifically of Afghan descent,” the statement added.
As the size of Australians of diverse background gets bigger, ADF says it’s “focused on attracting and retaining the best talent Australia has to offer and developing an inclusive culture to support defence’s capability”.
“In July 2017, Defence launched an advertising campaign, ‘The ADF Surprised Us’ with the aim of attracting the best talent, from the widest possible talent pool into the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The campaign features culturally diverse ADF members who share their stories, with the aim of encouraging more Australians to consider an ADF career.”
Capitan Marium Hamimi, a former Afghan refugee who serves in Army says Australian army is a “very different” place.
Capitan Marium Hamimi (left) Source: Supplied
“I think what needs to be understood is that the Australian military is very different and it’s quite positive being here”, she said.
“If you speak to a lot of the Afghan women that are in the army at the moment … the experience is very positive – very different to the military that we know in Afghanistan.”
