Adam was 18 when he joined the Royal Air Force, straight out of sixth form (the final two years of school in the UK). He served for close to four years as an Air and Space Operations Specialist. Today he’s part of the Sales team at Trilogy Care, a national Support at Home provider that gives older Australians more say in how they’re supported at home, with both self-managed and fully coordinated options. One value from his time in the RAF has stayed with him the whole way, and it fits right in with the work we do.
What ‘service over self’ means to Adam
‘Service over self’ was one of the RAF’s core values. For Adam, “it just meant that you do stuff mainly for other people or for other reasons than yourself and putting that forward.”
He’s quick to point out that it wasn’t always glamorous. More often it looked like being asked at short notice to cover a guard shift or a night shift because someone was ill. For Adam, that meant “saying yes, losing your weekend or losing nights” so the job got done.
Those small choices became a habit of putting someone else’s needs ahead of his own.
How ‘service over self’ shows up now
Adam brings the same value to his work in Sales. “I always think of other people first and try and put that into everything I do.”
It’s also part of what drew him to Trilogy Care. When a recruiter got in touch, Adam saw what we were doing in aged care, from self-management to “giving people more choice for their home care.” He thought it was a really good company to work for.
Remembrance Day, here and back home
In the UK, Remembrance is marked twice: on Remembrance Sunday (the second Sunday in November) and on Remembrance Day itself, 11 November. For Adam, the meaning hasn’t changed since moving to Australia.
“It’s important to reflect on the reason we have the life today, is for sacrifices that people have made in the past.”
It’s personal for him too. “Both my grandparents served as well,” he says. For Adam, it’s a day of reflection, and one that’s open to everyone. “Even if you don’t have any personal ties to anything, you can always look back on your own people and your own family.”
A little piece of home
Adam expected to feel homesick in Australia, but he doesn’t. “Everyone’s been welcoming.” There are a couple of things he’s still adjusting to, though. The tea isn’t quite the same, even the Yorkshire tea. And despite what Australians tend to assume, he’s never seen anyone back home drink a pint of Fosters.
Thank you, Adam, for your service, and for sharing your story with us.
Lest we forget.
