This year, two sisters and navy captains return to their hometown to participate in an Anzac Day service.
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Captain Lisa Batchler and Captain Melanie Verho will lay a wreath together at the main service in Launceston on behalf of the navy, and both will review the march at the main service.
Captain Verho will speak at the dawn service, and Captain Batchler will address the main service.
This year is the first time the sisters have been able to attend with their father, David Batchler, also a navy veteran.
Both sisters said it was an honour to participate in the services in their hometown, with Captain Batchler travelling from Canberra, and Captain Verho from Darwin.
While both have embarked on careers in the navy, the sisters have rarely crossed paths, making moments like these cherished.
"Every single Anzac Day is is very special, but for me to now be able to actually do it in my hometown with my sister and with my family here as well is certainly going to be extra special," Captain Verho said.
"While we both have had quite different career paths, being in different branches. We've both, I think, been very successful in our own rights and in our own areas, and this is the first opportunity that we've had to come and do Anzac Day together in our hometown, which is lovely."
"I've done a lot of Anzac Day ceremonies, a lot of services, a lot of school services, a lot of small towns but by far, coming home is my favourite of those because it's just a chance to go back to where I started my journey from, and it's always just an absolute delight to do that," Captain Batchler said.
"To be able to give that back to my parents is just incredibly humbling and I think they are really so excited about having us both home at the same time."
Captain Batchler, a maritime logistics officer, took the first step in her career during her final year at St Patrick's College, where she was offered a scholarship.
"That was at the time when navy was really opening up opportunities, particularly for women, to serve," she said. "And I think that appealed to me."
Graduating from the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1990, she has had a number of career highlights, some of the most memorable occurring at sea.
These included gulf deployments, supporting the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and a number of other deployments around the Southwest Pacific and Southeast Asia. Another was being commanding officer of the HMAS Harman, supporting over 2000 navy people in the Canberra region.
Captain Batchler said working in the navy had opened her eyes to the world around her.
"I've certainly had some fabulous opportunities, I've lived in a number of different places around Australia, and been to a lot of interesting places that perhaps I wouldn't have otherwise visited," she said.
Captain Verho, a maritime warfare officer, joined the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1990. Finishing school, she was not ready for a nine to five job and craved a "life of adventure".
"I've had quite a lot of adventures, and I'm still doing it," she said.
Captain Verho said there were a few moments that stood out for her.
One was attending the International Fleet Review in Sydney Harbour in 2013, in what she described as a "once in a generation type activity".
At the review, the Royal Australian Navy was joined by vessels from 20 nations to commemorate the Royal Australian Navy Fleet entering Sydney for the first time 100 years earlier. Another highlight was bringing the HMAS Sirius into Hobart under her command.
"To bring a ship that you're in command of to your home state is pretty special," she said.
Both sisters said it was a privilege to be involved with the Launceston Anzac Day service.
"Every Anzac Day as a service member is really special because you not only get to say thank you and remember the service of those who have served before you, but also of the current service people [and] also the families and friends that support them," Captain Verho said.
"It's about the concept and the notion of service and the willingness to do something that's not just about you as a person ... For me it's about that service to your people and to your country."
"We have a great life here in Australian and we're very, very lucky and privileged to have the life that we do... and it's only because of the service of hundreds of thousands of people over the years that we have this great life."
Captain Batchler said Anzac Day offered an opportunity to stop and reflect on how we got to where we are.
"It's a really important day for us to wear a uniform and for the families that love and support us," she said.
Captain Batchler observed a number of changes to Anzac Day over the last decade, saying a veteran was no longer "an old man in a khaki hat".
"It does change ... [but] while it changes, we still have that same sense of commemoration for what started it and how we've moved it forward," she said.
Captain Batchler said when she joined, more women were entering the field, but she was still often one of few working on a job.
"It didn't seem so ground-breaking at the time, but when you look back, you think actually, that was probably a very big step for everybody involved," she said.
"My experiences have been very positive. I've had many opportunities, I've had all the same training and experience that my male counterparts have. And I'm finding myself now in a number of the same jobs as my male counterparts that I joined with."
She said everything was on the table for young women embarking on navy careers.
"I think that background that we forged for them, we'll see them take every opportunity in their careers as they go forward," she said.
Captain Verho said the number of women joining the navy was a reflection on society's progress.
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