By
Luke Sayer
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Mother
and daughter Leeanne (background) and Jackie Koerber hope
to join the Navy together on May 3.
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Photo:
Courtesy of The Mercury
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A
Tasmanian mother and daughter are about to make their mark on
Australia’s armed forces as they set out to join the Navy together.
Leeanne Koerber, 40, started looking at information on Navy careers
for her daughter Jackie, 18, but found herself becoming more and
more interested.
Leeanne said she had often thought about a career in the Defence
Forces, but had been busy raising her two daughters.
“It had been at the back of my mind for a lot of years and I was
really surprised to find they had lifted the age requirements,”
she said.
“If I hadn’t gone looking for information for Jackie, it may never
have happened.” Both are in the final stages of their recruitment
after being provisionally accepted.
If they pass fitness assessments they will join the Navy on May
3.
While they say it isn’t unusual for families to follow each other
into the forces years apart, they haven’t heard of a mother and
daughter joining at the same time before. Leeanne has applied
to become a communications and information sailor, while daughter
Jackie is hoping to be a cook.
Jackie said the chance to travel and also be able to cook was
the best of both worlds for her. “I’ve always planned to tour
Australia and overseas, but now I’ll also have some direction
in my life and be able to build a career,” Jackie said.
“The discipline of the Navy appealed to me, and I love to meet
new people.” Jackie says that while a lot of girls her age are
trying to get as far away from their parents as possible, she
can’t wait to do her basic training with her mum by her side.
“It will be a real bonus having mum coming through basic as well,”
she said. “It’s fantastic that she wants to do this. I’m so proud
of her.”
The pair plans to keep Burnie, Tasmania, as their home base.
