A RAAF C-17 Globemaster will fly over Canberra and the Defence offices at Russell will be lit up in rainbow colours this weekend to mark two significant occasions within the services.
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The first will be the Chief of Defence Force welcoming the incoming trainees to the Australian Defence Force Academy on the main parade ground at Campbell Park.
The trainee officers have successfully passed through their initial training and will now enter the academy as officer cadets or naval midshipmen for a three-year program.
First-year officer trainees receive a salary of about $46,000 plus superannuation, plus a service allowance, subsidised accommodation and free medical and dental. ADFA has about 800 students at any one time.
The incoming parade will begin about 9.30am on Saturday.
On Saturday night, the Defence Force offices at Russell will switch from its Ukrainian national colour lighting scheme - in support of that country's battle against the invading Russian forces - to that of rainbow colours to mark the services' participation in WorldPride week and the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Major General Anthony Rawlins, who will lead the uniformed servicemen and women in the mardi gras parade, said it would be great occasion to reaffirm the inclusiveness which is now embraced across the services.
He will be joined for the first time by Assistant Minister for Defence and Veterans' Affairs Matt Thistlethwaite, and Matt Keogh, the government's Veterans' Affairs and Defence Personnel Minister.
"There's no doubt that in recent years, not all people in Defence have felt as valued as they should and could have been," Minister Keogh told The Canberra Times.
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Inclusiveness has been a rocky road at times within the ranks, especially under a conservative federal government.
In 2021, under the previous Morrison government, former defence minister and now Liberal party leader Peter Dutton told Defence Force Chief Angus Campbell and secretary Greg Moriarty to issue a note ending any events which celebrated the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT).
Mr Dutton also said while he would never tolerate discrimination, he would not pursue a "woke agenda" either.
At the time, the Community and Public Sector Union described the comments as "hurtful to many Defence LGBTI+ employees and their many allies".
But that ground has shifted demonstrably since the May election last year which ousted the conservatives.
Major General Rawlins was keen to avoid stepping into any politically contentious areas, saying there "there has been no shift by Defence in its full support of LGBTI+".
"This has been a long journey for us to overcome some of the, should we say, difficulties and disadvantages, that have been registered in Australian society over many years," he said.
"People are our most important asset. [Military] capability is agnostic of any of those sort of divides, discriminators or partitions you might want to put across things."
He said between 4-5 per cent of Defence public servants identified as members of the LGBTI+ community, and 4.8 per cent of the military's serving men and women.
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