Lane, a Software Engineer and Australian Defence Force veteran says he’s looking forward to carrying the Legacy Torch – a symbol of his appreciation for the organisation that has played an important role in supporting both him and his family over the past decade.
“I’ll have both of my kids with me during the event which is taking place at the MCG. I’m proud to be part of the gala dinner and pay tribute to Legacy which has been so important to me and my family.”
He says Legacy supported his family with some of the challenges unique to military families.
“Legacy helped me out when I was at school – like helping me buy an iPad to help me better manage my studies. Later on, it helped me with my kids – they’ve been able to take part in a camp, alongside other military kids, whose parents are going through the same struggles.”
“It’s given them opportunities that they wouldn’t have had. With both parents serving and often overseas on exercises, Legacy helps out and gets kids together. A lot of defence kids end up getting bullied; and Legacy has helped out with this.”
Looking back
Lane was only 19 when he packed his bags and headed off to East Timor, having joined the Australian Defence Force just twelve months earlier. At the time, he could not have predicted Australia would soon deploy its largest number of troops since the Vietnam War.
Alongside 5,500 other Australian service men and women, Lane became part of INTERFET – otherwise known as International Force East Timor.
When he reflects upon the experience nearly a quarter of a century later and as a university graduate and father of two, he says he couldn’t imagine his kids, or his university peers, fronting up in the same way.
He’d go on to have two more stints in East Timor and battle a short battle with malaria, which he describes as “really terrible”.
Between stints in East Timor, Lane undertook military defence force training through the ADF.
Two years later, a promotion to Pioneer resulted in a career change of sorts; giving him a taste of engineering and construction.
“We helped build roads and prepare for the wet season. It was a fun trip – we had fresh food the whole way – a big step up from the ration packs I’d survived on until then.
“After that trip I thought, ‘I’m never going to have a ration pack again! And I don’t think I had one for about the next four years. But then, obviously if you have no other choice, you have to.”
Over the next few years, Lane trained with ADF’s Parachuting School – an experience he loved – until the East Timorese crisis began in 2006.
A year later however, he recognised that his ‘body was cooked,’ and it was time to hang up his boots and discharge from service.
Sparking a career transition
His next career move was spurred on by a mate who was an electrician, thinking, “I’ve always been interested in that, I’ll give it a go.”
He became an apprentice and went on to operate his own business. At the time, he says, he never imagined that he’d spend the next six years studying.“It came to the point where I had to take some time off for some operations – to fix a shoulder. During this time, I thought I’ll go to uni and do some engineering for a few months, and see how I go.
“It turns out, I loved it and stuck it out for the next six years.”
In 2021, Lane embarked upon his new career in engineering, after he received a call from the Talent Acquisition team.
“This role just popped up. I really liked it – and before I knew it I had a full time role in Melbourne. It was a total surprise having hated school as a child.”
“It just goes to show you – it’s never too late to change.”