Anita has packed more into her life than many do in a lifetime.
The daughter of Swiss migrants, she grew up in Gawler, South Australia. At 16, while completing her Duke of Edinburgh Award through the Gawler Blue Light program, she trekked the Kokoda Track – a rugged 96 km jungle trail through Papua New Guinea’s Owen Stanley Range. The track is renowned as the site of a pivotal 1942 World War II battle between Australian and Japanese forces.
The experience changed her life.
Anita fell and cracked ribs on day one. On day two, she vomited after taking malaria tablets. For days, she slogged through mud and relentless terrain. But what struck her most was the sacrifice of the Australian soldiers who fought and died there defending their nation.
“It hit me how close their sacrifice was – and how much they gave,” Anita says.
That sense of purpose drew her to military service. At just 17, she accepted an offer to attend the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) in Canberra as an Army officer cadet.
At ADFA, Anita completed a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in business, before moving next door to the Royal Military College (RMC) to undertake the intensive 12-month officer commissioning course. She was one of just 23 women in a cohort of 180 cadets.
“We banded together – it was an incredible support network, with very strong camaraderie,” she says.
Upon graduating from RMC, Anita was commissioned into the Royal Australian Corps of Transport and secured a coveted posting to Army’s water transport squadron in Townsville.
There, she commanded the amphibious beach team – a critical ship‑to‑shore capability deploying across the Pacific for humanitarian aid, disaster relief and naval operations.
Her teams supported responses to cyclones, tsunamis, bushfires and major floods.
“I looked after the ‘boats with the wheels’ – the lighter amphibious resupply cargo vessels, or LARCs and the LCM-8s (landing craft mechanised),” she explains.
“Working with the Navy, it was our job to disembark first off the ship to assess a beachhead so that our forces could project further forward.”
Anita was later posted to Darwin where she commanded a platoon responsible for border protection operations across northern Australia. It was here that she embraced Territory living – and bought her pet crocodile, Schnapps. Crocodiles are legal pets in the Northern Territory.
“When in Darwin, do as the Darwinians do – why not buy a crocodile?” Anita laughs.
She collected Schnapps from a crocodile park, raising him from a tiny hatchling into a metre‑long companion. Eventually, he grew too large to keep and was adopted by another Defence family – but he has never forgotten Anita.
“I went back to visit him after 15 months away and he was over a metre long. The moment I picked him up again, he just melted into me,” she says.
With crocodiles living up to 100 years, Anita plans to stay in touch with her former pet for decades to come.
In 2023, Anita deployed with the United Nations as military observer to the occupied Golan Heights, becoming one of the youngest officers in a multi-national team of 15 Captains and Majors. She later served as aide‑de‑camp to the Head of Mission in Jerusalem, operating across Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.
After leaving the Army, Anita took time out, spending several months in Lombok, Indonesia. There, she launched two small businesses – a restaurant and a Pilates studio – and met her fiancé.
Anita says leaving the military was overwhelming.
“You lose community, purpose and identity all at once,” she says. “It’s all I had known for my entire adult life.”
Five months ago, Anita returned to Australia and soon after commenced a role at ASC. Today, she is a passionate advocate for veteran inclusion, describing veterans as an untapped talent pool.
“You can’t teach what service gives you – leadership, time management, judgement under pressure, and the ability to work with anyone from anywhere,” Anita says.
More veterans are set to join ASC following the organisation’s announcement of the establishment of a Veterans Advisory Committee.
Made up of veterans and non-veterans, the committee will guide the development of a dedicated program designed to strengthen veteran inclusion, ensure ex‑serving employees feel valued and supported, and attract more veterans to the organisation.
ASC has also strengthened its support for the veteran community by joining the South Australian Veteran Employer Network (SAVEN). The network enables employers to build genuine veteran‑ready workplaces and connects them with like‑minded organisations to share guidance, expertise and talent, helping to strengthen veteran employment practices across the South Australian business community.
Now, at 30, Anita is thriving in her career pivot – still driven by the sense of purpose she first discovered as a teenager on the Kokoda Track.
“It’s the closest I’ve felt to the military’s sense of purpose,” she says.
“Veterans bring so much to ASC. I’m proud to be part of an organisation that recognises that – and is now building something meaningful for those who’ve served.”
