Sep 18, 2023
RAAF Wing Commander (Ret’d) Sharon Bown
“One Woman's War and Peace: a nurse's journey in the Royal Australian Air Force”.
On this week’s podcast we speak with former Wing Commander
Sharon Bown (Ret'd) completed her Bachelor of Nursing at the
University of Tasmania in 1995. In 1999 wanting more of a
challenge Sharon joined the Air Force RAAF. Born and raised in
Hobart, Tasmania, Sharon served as a Nursing Officer in the
Royal Australian Air Force for 16 years. She deployed to
Timor-Leste in 2000 and again in 2004, where she narrowly
escaped death twice – first in a near-fatal helicopter crash
and again during the surgery that followed. Having fought for
her
life, Sharon took on the colossus of the Australian Defence Force
to overcome her injuries and to fight to save her career. She
exceeded all expectations and in 2008 was appointed to command
in a theatre of war – Afghanistan. A Registered Nurse with a
Bachelor of Psychological Science, Sharon translates the
contemporary research surrounding resilience, mindset, and
posttraumatic growth, and explores the strategies that can
transform personal trauma into personal
growth.
Sharon is the award-winning author of One Woman's War and Peace: a
nurse's journey in the Royal Australian Air Force and this
humble Registered Nurse from Tasmania now serves as a Member
of the Council of the Australian War Memorial and as an
Ambassador for Phoenix Australia – Centre for Posttraumatic
Mental Health.
Presenter: Adam Blum
Guest: Sharon Bown
Editor: Kyle Watkins
Investigative Consultant: Adam Holloway