Manjimup flag-bearer inspires young women in home town

After spending some years away in the navy, Manjimup resident Kodie Collins marched as a flag-bearer on Anzac Day last Thursday. Ms Collins, 20, is now an active reservist ,and marched behind her great-uncle, RSL president Wayne Hughes. She said it was a huge honour. “It’s great to show the town, and especially a lot of young girls, that we can do this kind of thing,” she told the Times. “It’s important for girls to see that it’s not only a man’s job, and our potential is limitless. “It was good to put my uniform back on and march with other people that have served or are currently serving. I was very honoured to do it.” Since joining the military, Ms Collins said she had gained more confidence ,and stood proud — something she wanted other girls to feel as well. After finishing high school in 2021, she went on to pick avocados and harvest potatoes before joining the navy in April, 2022, just days before turning 18. “I wasn’t treated any differently,” she said. “As a female, I wasn’t treated any differently either. “Everyone’s equal, everyone’s your teammate. You’re as fast as the slowest person.” “We moved into a lot of seamanship skills. We had to do a lot of survival at sea, lots of simulations — floods, fires, toxic hazards, rifle training.” Living over east at the time, Ms Collins said phone use was kept to once a week for an hour, which helped her bond with her teammates. “They tried to drill it into us the whole time that everyone here is your teammate, and if someone in your team is feeling weak or something, that could potentially put your mission one day at risk, so it was very important that we all got along, even if you didn’t get along with someone,” she said. Ms Collins said it was a hard decision to leave the navy, but she was ready for new experiences. “I’ve seen too many people in the navy for eight years or 12 years and get out and not have many civilian qualifications behind them, and then have to kind of restart their whole career,” she said. “I didn’t want that to be me.” As a flag-bearer on Anzac Day in her home town, Ms Collins felt some nerves, but they were quickly replaced by pride as her community turned out to show their respects. “Once I saw the crowd, and I got to be at the front and I was holding the flag, I felt proud to be doing it, especially alongside people that I respect in the community,” she said. “It was good to come back and show the town what you’ve done, and what you can achieve. “I love when people ask me about it, especially from my home town. “It makes me feel so proud of myself that I can be a good role model to them.” Ms Collins expects to study Marine Biology and Environmental Science at Murdoch University next year.