Our People in Tasmania
Cameron McDougall - Hobart
JAWS Architects’ Neal Mackintosh often talks to employee Cameron McDougal, but not often over an army ration pack in the Solomon Islands.
Neal flew into Honiara to visit Cameron as part of the Army’s Boss Lift program. Campbell is an Army Reserve Lieutenant is nearing the end of a four-month deployment with Australia’s contingent to the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI for short).
Cameron said it was great to see his boss and show him what he actually does when he “disappears into the Army”.
“It gave me a feeling of pride to show Neal what I do over here,” Cameron said.
“It was also good to catch up on the office gossip!”
Cameron said the Army had given him great leadership training to handle the responsibility of commanding a platoon of 30 soldiers.
“It was good to finally get a chance to do the job I had trained to do – leading troops on operations,” he said.
“I have also enjoyed the exposure to different people and cultures, and working with a great bunch of people — the soldiers in my platoon.”
Cameron is looking forward to seeing his partner Jane Coogan and catching up with his mates when he gets home.
“I’m also looking forward to reminding myself what beer tastes like,” he said.
“Then I’ll be back at work at JAWS Architects straight after Easter with a lot of work to catch up on.”
The ADF has been in the Solomon Islands at the invitation of the Solomon Islands Government since 2003 to assist with bringing stability to the country.
Army Reserve soldiers have been largely fulfilling that role since 2007.