Whose Name We Share

130 The Royal Australian Artillery is a proud corps steeped in mythology and long-standing traditions which over time have shaped the culture and identity of the Corps itself. Gunners from across the centuries have revered women like Saint Barbara and have sought safety in the support of their partners. Across the decades, women have been among the battery’s biggest supporters and now, in more recent times, some of it’s hardest workers. Notable women over the years of the battery’s long standing history have been a part of the lives of some of its most successful members. Regardless of attitudes towards women in defence, many women have joined the ranks of the 103 rd Battery in recent years, which has contributed greatly towards the culture and has directly facilitated the betterment of the battery. Employing women in the battery has helped to discard the rhetoric of gender equality by giving them the opportunity to prove their value through hard work and commitment. Where previously women’s place in ADF and in combat roles have been called into doubt, the women of the 103 rd Battery continuously prove that notion wrong, giving merit to the arguments and strategies emplaced by defence’s prioritising of the employment of women in 2011. From a personal standpoint, the women I have worked with in the 103 rd Battery over the course of my service have been among the most switched and hardest workers. It’s a shame sometimes to see the legitimacy of their service called into question by people online or other members of defence. I’ve thankfully been in just long enough to witness attitudes towards women in artillery shift in a more positive direction over the years. I’ve seen an all -male gunline and I’ve been part of a detachment with women gunners. There’s very little disruption to daily operations, if any at all. The only extra consideration it takes to operate with women on the gun line is that they’ll want to fight you if you take the rammer from them. Whilst historically speaking there is little to demonstrate on women’s involvement in the 103 rd Battery’s history its notable to mention that these are historic times. Prior to the last 20 years there have never been fully employed women on the 103 rd Battery’s gun line and it is a truly significant event in the history of the battery and it’s their hard work that’s inspired me to write this section. Throughout this piece we will meet some of the women that have been behind us, supporting us before we talk about those who now beside us.