I first enlisted in the Australian Army Reserve in 1973 and in the Australian Regular Army in 1978. In the intervening period I have seen my professional environment change considerably.

The world is emerging from a cold war concept of national security that was almost exclusively defined in terms of military threats from outside a nation's borders. This concept assumed that these threats were more dangerous than threats from within—internal enemies to stability and viability.

But national security is increasingly concerned with the rights of the individual instead of just the state. More and more, people see issues of human health and welfare, see social problems and the safety of individuals, families, and communities, as important to national security. To me, this change shows that humanity is making progress.

While global media expansion has some down sides, it has also ensured that crimes against communities or individuals can no longer be hidden. When there is oppression, the oppressors are invariably exposed to international anger. Aggressive acts between nations carry a high political, military, and economic cost.

As humanity has demanded higher standards of justice, support for using conventional military force has declined. Military forces have been led into new activities, such as peace operations, disaster relief, and humanitarian assistance. The use of professional military forces for these purposes, however, has been—and still is—the subject of fierce debate. These and other changes in attitude have affected the way people look at my chosen profession. As I evaluated my accomplishments at this point in my career, I myself began to have some questions about what I had achieved.

In February 2000, I was required to go to East Timor, a former province of Indonesia, on a reconnaissance mission. This was the first step in establishing a diplomatic presence in the country for the Australian Defense Force. At this time, we were leading an international coalition of forces designed to restore stability to East Timor. Anti-independence militia had violently attacked citizens who had voted for independence.

Even though I arrived after the worst of the violence, there was still graphic evidence of wide-spread destruction. The majority of buildings in Dili, the capital, had been burnt to the ground. Infrastructure was basic, with services being provided by the military or elements of the arriving United Nations administration. Many small communities were still living under the protection of armed soldiers, as they feared reprisals from either the militia gangs or the newly liberated population.

To the dispassionate observer, East Timor was struggling to survive.

When there is a need to help people, and we are trying to do good work, God supports this. For example, at the time that I was assigned to Dili, I had been suffering from pain in my eardrums, which were constantly blocked. Because I had to fly to Timor in a variety of pressurized and unpressurized aircraft, I was afraid that changes in altitude and pressure would cause ear damage. But I prayed, and gained a quiet confidence that I had a job to do and that God would enable me to do it.

I made the flights without difficulty, and landed at Dili airport just as the terminal building caught on fire because of faulty wiring. Still, my overriding impression of Dili was the joy of the people and their obvious sense of liberation. Although they had little in terms of material possessions, this seemed unimportant to them. A strong Christian tradition had sustained them through three foreign occupations. The massive statue of Jesus that dominated the city from a nearby promontory, clearly did so in more than a symbolic sense.

On the afternoon of February 24, 2000, I went down to Dili wharf to witness the departure of the commander of the coalition forces. As the warships, troops, and aircraft of the coalition departed, the East Timorese expressed their gratitude for the help they had received. On a personal level, I felt immense satisfaction at having been part of an Army that had brought freedom from fear and had renewed hope for many thousands of people.

From this encounter, I also caught a glimpse of a larger reality. At that moment, the symmetry of God's plan in directing our lives was obvious to me. Many courses of action in my life, including a period when I left the Army but was led to rejoin, fell into place for me. I realized that even in the midst of a realignment in my profession, I had been able to make a positive contribution to peace.