Deputy for Women
Dear Members of the ADF family
When Bishop Davis asked me to be of assistance to him in matters concerning
women in the ADF my mind temporarily closed down with the enormity of the task.
Then I became excited at what we could achieve if we worked together taking
a step at a time. The tricky bit, I think, is the first step.
A word of introduction, first. My name is Carmel and I am married to Steve and we have a daughter and four sons. At the moment we live in Canberra, having tasted the delights of four other states and a period in Papua New Guinea. I have been associated with Defence (mostly Navy) as a serving member and a partner for over thirty years, joining initially in 1972. I have worked in the Personal Services / Defence Community Organisation for about five years, held several staff jobs and recently was Executive Officer of HMAS KUTTABUL - an exhilarating experience! I now work in Navy Systems Command in Canberra. I see my role at this time as being both a filter and facilitator.
We are a mobile population and while there are organisations within Defence which assist us when we move with the physical aspects of transition, I believe we have a need to support each other in transition and in location on a spiritual basis as well.
As a first step, I think it is essential we set up a network of Catholic women
across the diocese. There are many ways of doing this but given our geographic
spread, I am looking at establishing an e-mail network nationally which will
link into smaller local or parish cells. Through the network we can talk to
and support each other. It will also provide a vehicle through which we can
put forward our views or concerns to the bishop and so support him in his leadership.
Working together, we can become a fuller, richer Church. It is an exciting
vision and I pray you will share it with me and that we move forward together.
If you are interested in being part of the network, please e-mail me your details and I will get started. My contact details are given below.
Of further interest, Bishop Davis has made available this page on the Australian Catholic Defence Diocese website. I would like to hear what you would like to see on this page – maybe that could be included in your initial e-mail to me.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Carmel Barnes
Lieutenant Commander RAN
E-mail: carmel.barnes@defence.gov.au
Links of Interest
Commission for Australian Catholic Women