Corporal Brodie Hale’s career in the Australian Defence Force could have ended before it even started.

The 29-year-old distribution operator suffered a hip injury in 2019 while undertaking initial training to become an infantryman.

However, the eager recruit from Wodonga, Victoria, was not about to let that setback end his military aspirations and he soldiered on.

What followed were numerous visits with hip replacement experts over the course of 24 months at the Trainee Rehabilitation Wing at Holsworthy Barracks, an experience he describes as “a difficult time”. 

“It was hard to keep a positive mindset, but I just had to do it, so I focused on other things,” Corporal Hale said. 

What the specialists in Sydney probably did not know was that Corporal Hale’s determination to serve in Army was generations in the making.

“My family is a big part of it,” he said. “Both my grandfathers were in Vietnam, great grandfathers in World War II, then there were the great greats in World War I.” 

A compromise was reached, one in which Corporal Hale opted out of joining a combat corps. 

After completing several weeks’ employment training, Corporal Hale was posted to 5th Aviation Regiment as a warehouse storeman supporting Army’s fleet of CH-47F Chinooks.

Two years ago his role was consolidated into a new unit, 16th Aviation Support Battalion, which underpins Army Aviation’s growing battlefield-lift capability.

With ‘Endurance’ as its motto, the unit concentrates on aviation maintenance and sustainment operations for helicopters with a posting emphasis on Townsville and Oakey.

Working within the repair parts store, Corporal Hale’s job revolves around receiving, sorting and delivering parts wherever and whenever required to keep the helicopters flying.

'It was hard to keep a positive mindset, but I just had to do it.'

That includes items needed for regular maintenance caused by wear and tear or to fix random faults. 

He also prepares kits comprising essential inventory to send on training activities, exercises and disaster relief operations.

“In aviation we supply anything from a split pin to a whole transmission. And if we don’t have it, we have to go and track it down,” Corporal Hale said.

“It’s more important than most people think. It’s not flashy like an armoured charge or section attack, but we need to do our job right. That has to happen first, before anything else.”

Distribution operators are also responsible for providing petrol, oil and lubricants required for operations.

Corporal Hale said that meant adhering to strict ‘dangerous goods’ protocols.

“If we’re headed north for under 30 days, we’d carry a small kit that can probably go inside the aircraft, but we pack a whole lot more for something like operations in Papua New Guinea,” he said.

“We use different methods to deliver the parts depending where we are, so anything from military air to white fleet vehicles, commercial freight, and even ships if we have to.”

It often involves problem-solving in the field in a range of environments where supply issues are challenging. 

“It’s not just sitting in a warehouse – you have to get out and support operations directly. I was in PNG last year and also spent eight weeks on HMAS Adelaide as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre,” Corporal Hale said.

“There’s a lot of satisfaction that comes from getting the job done, especially during high-tempo activities. You have that big sigh of relief that it all worked and everything went where it needed to go.”

Distribution operators are also required to operate a range of Defence vehicles, including trucks and forklifts.

“We get our hands dirty,” Corporal Hale said.

For more information on the role, visit the ADF Careers website.