Cameron McDougall lives a double-life of sorts: civilian architect one day, Army platoon commander another.
As an Army Reservist on deployment in the Solomon Islands, his role is a world away from his day-to-day job in Hobart.
Lieutenant Cameron McDougall works for Hobart-based JAWSARCHITECTS and is also a Reservist with the 12th/40th Battalion.
Attached to the Combined Task Force 635 (CTF635) in the Solomon Islands under Rotation 23, Lieutenant McDougall leads 30 soldiers from Tasmania and South Australia who are tasked with assisting the Participating Police Force within the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI).
Recently his boss, Neal Mackintosh, had the opportunity to join with a group of Tasmanian and South Australian based employers under ‘Exercise Boss Lift’ as they travelled to the Solomon Islands to meet with their deployed Reservist employees. (pictured)
“Cameron’s absence has had a significant impact in our company as he is a very valued employee and we have really missed his skills while he has been deployed,” said Neal Mackintosh.
“Other people have had to step up and even the directors have had to assist. We haven’t had the need to employ someone in Cameron’s place though.”
The insight into Lieutenant McDougall’s other life impressed.
“We always knew that Cameron had great skills but to see how his career in the Army Reserve builds on these skills has been a real eye-opener.”
Exercise Boss Lift is conducted by the Cadet, Reserve and Employer Support Division (CRESD), the organisation responsible for facilitating employer and industry support for Australia's Defence Reservists.
CRESD ensured the four-day Boss Lift program highlights the important role the Reserves play in the Australian Defence Force, through allowing employers to experience directly the essential roles played by their employees.
The majority of Reservists currently deployed in support of the RAMSI mission from the Combined Task Force 635 Rotation 23 are from South Australian and Tasmanian-based units that form part of the 9th Brigade. It was predominantly from within this pool the prospective employers were identified.
To Neal, Cameron’s skills in leadership, discipline and people management had already been noticed in the civilian workplace but he had been unaware how it all connected in the Reserve world.
While leading a group of soldiers in a public order (riot control) demonstration, Neal saw how Cameron commanded the team in order to create a series of actions that demonstrated great skill and discipline in controlling a challenging situation.
With 11 years service, Lieutenant McDougall has previously been listed for deployment twice before as the Reserve platoon commander.
“It has been important for me to be able to participate on this deployment. It is difficult to get the opportunity through Army plus be able to take it at a time when there is a less impact on the civilian employer,” he said.
“It is nice to finally do the job you are trained to do. We are always training and never get a chance to do it unless you can deploy.”
It was also a moving time for Boss Lift participants as they attended the opening of the Private Jamie Clark Memorial Kindergarten at the Gifu Primary School. Private Clark from the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, died when he fell down a sinkhole during a patrol in 2005.
Since that time, Pte Clark’s mother, Avril, has been working to preserve her son’s memory through fund-raising and the building of the kindergarten up on Mt Austen.