AS Australia celebrated ANZAC day, Brigadier Arran Hassell reflected on what has driven him to serve the nation.
“If we all provide some kind of service then our country is stronger, and our community is stronger,” he noted.
“We can honour those who have served and died overseas by providing some kind of service.”
Having dedicated 30 years of his life to the military, his passion for protecting people and keeping the country safe remains his focus, but his service to the Tamborine Mountain community cannot be overlooked.
During the cyclone, Arran shared his knowledge and experience in various ways to support the community, including liaising with Cr Stephen Moriarty in his role as Chair of the Local Disaster Management Group; chairing the town meetings and helping coordinate recovery efforts.
In 2017 he was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in the Queen’s Birthday Honour’s List for running the Defence Force School of Intelligence at the Kokoda Barracks and for his role as deputy head of army intelligence capability.
“It’s a real privilege. It’s been humbling,” he said of receiving the unique national award, recognising exemplary military service.
After finishing school, Arran went to the Australian Defence Force Academy where he did an arts degree and then on to the Royal Military College in Duntroon.
He moved into intelligence, which took him to East Timor as the lead intelligence officer; Afghanistan, where he was responsible for informing commanders on the ground of threats; and Hawaii, where he was in the Pacific Commands Intelligence Centre working in the United States headquarters.
On his return to Australia, he and his wife, Katherine, shunned Canberra in favour of a better place to raise their three boys.
He took up a posting as the Senior ADF Officer at the Kokoda Barracks at Canungra, and while searching up and down the coast for a place to call home, stumbled upon Tamborine Mountain on a trip back from Yamba in 2012.
They knew this was where they wanted to live and raise their sons.
“We have chosen location, lifestyle and community over work,” he said.
Arran is now a reserve officer in the army, running their training across Australia.
“It’s busy, I’m on the phone a lot and interstate a lot,” he said, adding how much he loves it.
“You’d have to be crazy doing it if you weren’t passionate about it.”
He is also the chairman and part owner of Protegas Australia, an intelligence professional services company supporting federal and state departments and local councils.
“We provide advice, people and services to help them make clearer decisions about what they are working on,” Arran explained.
He said when he tells people what he does they either have no idea what he’s talking about, or they think it’s clandestine escapades like a James Bond or Jason Vaughn movie.
“It’s not nearly as sexy as that,” he laughed.
Arran is also patron of the assistance dog organisation, Young Diggers, which provides assistance dogs to veterans and first responders needing additional mental health support.
“When I saw a couple of people who wouldn’t be alive if they didn’t have their dogs, I realised it was as really powerful organisation keeping people alive.”
The little free time he has left is spent running or with his family.
Together with his sons he’s training for the 48km Kokoda Challenge in July, having previously done the 96km.
He also admits to a love for AFL, having grown up in Victoria and being a ‘cricket tragic’.
“I played cricket in my junior years and have coached some junior years on the mountain,” he shared.
“I don’t have time for much more. Just getting as much time with my family as I can.”
