18 June 2025
From a little girl who loved sleeping in the backyard, burning marshmallows and never sitting still, to a budding fuel specialist, Private Bernadete Aniceto has found her place in the world – in Army.
Private Aniceto’s parents arrived in Darwin from East Timor about the time the ADF deployed to lead the multinational peacemaking campaign there. Having grown up with a strong connection to the old country, the significance of joining the Australian Army is not lost on her.
“There is some pride I take in being in the Army, knowing that they went over and protected my family,” she said.
“My parents came from Timor to start a new life here. It was very hard, trying to start a new life in a country where they didn't have much money, just doing the best they could. I’m very proud of my parents, but here I am, making them proud as well.”
Private Aniceto has spent the past four months completing her Initial Employment Training Operator Petroleum Course at Army School of Ordnance in Bandiana, thriving in an environment of hands-on learning, strong leadership and tight team culture.
“We were getting some theory at the beginning, but then we got hands-on experience, which I just fell in love with,” she said.
'It was heartwarming for me to see the full circle – a Timorese person here serving in the Australian Army.'
“Getting to actually touch the equipment we're going to be working with throughout our career, working with fire and getting on our fire gear is honestly the experience of a lifetime.
“The friends that you make throughout the course, I know we're going to be mates forever. The instructors, they're awesome. They treat us with so much respect and we do the same.”
It was during her training that Private Aniceto met ASO Training Development Wing 2IC Captain Ben Clifton. He was freshly back from a reunion tour to Timor-Leste after serving under United Nations Transitional Authority East Timor in 2000.
With much to talk about, Captain Clifton said the meeting was both timely and momentous.
“It was heartwarming for me to see the full circle – a Timorese person here serving in the Australian Army,” he said.
“In fact, her and her sister are both serving. They've had that opportunity, they've both seized it and they're both striving forward with it.”
Feeling extremely confident in her training, Private Aniceto is keen to move onto her first job in Army.
“I'm going to either get posted to Townsville or Amberley – I'm more than happy to go anywhere, just as long as I get started with my job. I'm so keen,” she said.
