Army clergymen’s southern rendezvous

After two decades following different journeys through life, three former army chaplains have unexpectedly found their paths leading them back together in Dunsborough.

Father Ian Johnson, Reverend Don Dowling and Reverend David Jackson met in 1992 when they joined the army as chaplains.

Despite following different denominations — Rev. Dowling and Rev. Jackson are Uniting Church ministers, while Fr Johnson is Catholic — the trio bonded over their shared experiences in the military.

Fr Johnson said different denominations in the military were not about proselytising or attracting new members.

“When you are a padre, you’re there for everybody,” he said.

After joining the Army Reserves in 1991 as a chaplain, Fr Johnson moved through a number of units and eventually found himself in Afghanistan, flying in with the Governor-General on Anzac Day.

He went on to become the first Catholic padre embedded with troops, which he described as “the experience of my life”.

Each man took a different path through the military and their life that followed.

Rev. Jackson, having started his career as a reservist in the Pilbara Regiment, went on to become full-time in 1999 and worked with a number of different units, as well as training others at Duntroon.

Rev. Dowling also joined as a reservist and moved throughout the country during his time in the military, facing a number of challenging experiences, including the 1996 Black Hawk disaster, where 15 SASR members and three Army Aviation Corps members died in a helicopter disaster during training exercises in Queensland.

Both Rev. Dowling and Rev. Jackson were involved in the aftermath of the incident, which Rev. Dowling described as a “powerful” experience.

“You’re involved with people’s lives in ways you wouldn’t normally be involved,” he said.

Retirement in Dunsborough appealed to both Rev. Jackson and Rev. Dowling and it was not long before the three realised they had found themselves back together in the coastal town where Fr Johnson was posted in 2013, becoming the foundation parish priest at Our Lady of the Southern Cross.

The trio often catch up to reminisce about their days in the military and have started a new, almost daily, ritual — cycling.

Most mornings the holy trinity cycle for about an hour out to Toby’s Inlet and end up at Yallingup Coffee Company.

Fr Johnson said the rides were a great way for the three to sit over coffee and talk, and their differing denominations did not get in the way of good conversation.

“It’s that lovely sense of feeling comfortable in each others’ faith positions,” he said.

“The differences are good too,” Rev Jackson added.

“It just allows us to see the same thing from different angles.”

The three agreed their friendship and regular rides would continue long into the future.

They encouraged priests to take on the military experience and Rev. Jackson said the army was facing shortages in its chaplaincy.

Priests have to be ordained and have two years experience in their denomination before joining the army. All three spoke fondly of their time in military uniform.

“Once you become a member of the green uniform, you never really stop, even if you retire,” Rev Jackson said.