Our People in QLD
Glenn Kelly - Family Style Service
Maryborough’s Glenn Kelly, 37, has discovered it’s never too late to join the family business.
The son of a soldier, Glenn grew up on an Army housing estate and was surrounded by uncles and cousins who served in the Army and Air Force.
Determined to break the mold, he became a painter and decorator, but in 2005 he finally relented and joined the Army Reserve as an infantryman.
In 2008 he was a member of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, and now he is in East Timor for eight-months with the International Stabilisation Force (ISF). Glenn is in ISF’s Anzac Infantry Company, a combined force of Australian and New Zealand troops.
“East Timor is a beautiful place to be,” he said. “It’s also a lot hotter!
“Our job here is to support the East Timor security sector as it develops its capability to maintain security for the country,” he said.
“We do a lot of patrolling, which means we get to go out and interact with the community.
“The people are very friendly and are always keen to chat and fine-tune their English with you. Life’s a lot simpler here — as they don’t have as many possessions as we do back home.
“Long-term we are contributing to a better future for the people but day-to-day the biggest reward is seeing the smiles on the faces of the local kids – it reminds me of my children back home.”
With only a few months to go, Glenn already has a few plans for his return to Maryborough.
“The first thing I will do is kiss and hug my beautiful wife Leisha,” he said.
“Then I want to spend heaps of time with my kids – I’m sure my three-year-old will be my new shadow.
“We will probably go on a holiday somewhere in Australia, maybe to Dubbo Zoo — but as long as we are together it doesn’t really matter.”