12 June 2024
One of Defence’s ongoing areas of importance is growing its workforce and ensuring people remain its greatest capability into the future.
Helping meet that challenge head-on is Wing Commander Matthew Kelly whose hard work and vision has been celebrated in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours military awards for Meritorious Service in Joint Logistics, Air Force Career Management and Initial Military Training capability development.
Wing Commander Kelly is currently working in Headquarters Defence Force Recruiting on a project that is streamlining overseas lateral entry pathways to enhance the ADF’s ability to fill capability shortfalls by recruiting skilled military overseas applicants.
“The work is dynamic, rewarding, and allows me to leverage my experience working with all three services to design an agile system that supports ADF recruitment objectives,” Wing Commander Kelly said.
“Being recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours is naturally thrilling and a privilege, but I’m also mindful that there are so many soldiers, sailors and aviators doing amazing work throughout the enterprise every single day.
“There are so many people out there who are deserving of recognition, so I’m not quite sure why I was singled out.
“I believe I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked with amazing supervisors and role models who go out of their way to make people feel valued and recognised, and I’ve been the lucky beneficiary of their leadership.”
Wing Commander Kelly firmly believes his recognition in the King’s Birthday Honours reflects not just his individual efforts, but also the teamwork he has enjoyed across his experience in Air Force.
“Life in the ADF is a team sport, and any success that I’ve achieved belongs not just to me but to the teams I have worked within,” Wing Commander Kelly said.
“I’ve worked in a variety of fields where the day-to-day activities differed vastly. However, these teams have all been comprised of deeply committed and passionate individuals who do their very best every day in support of our organisation.
“For individuals in the ADF, especially working in areas such as logistics, career management and initial military training, I hope my recognition emphasises that our work in these fields is highly prized and valued by our leaders.”
