Presented with his medal, which was part of the King’s Birthday honours list, the lieutenant colonel was honoured for his “Meritorious achievement in the design, planning and conduct of advanced collective training for the 2nd (Australian) Division.”
This was a huge moment for the 52-year-old military professional, who from the time he was a young boarder at Xavier College in Melbourne envisaged a career in either the armed forces or the police force. He was a boy Scout in his early years and he loved it — the learning, the discipline and wearing a uniform. Oh, what a life!
After completing Year 12 at Xavier College he applied to join the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1991 as an officer cadet and later attended the University of NSW before being accepted into the Royal Military College Duntroon where he completed a masters degree in strategic management, and was ultimately appointed to the Royal Australian Artillery Corps.
The 35-year military veteran has been physically and mentally challenged throughout his career, yet his chosen path in the armed forces has seen him rise to the top in his field. As a lieutenant colonel, his service history shows he has ability to engage with local authorities and create greater stabilisation in areas such as Bosnia, where he was deployed alongside the British Army with a NATO stabilisation force in 1999. He has also been deployed in East Timor and in Iraq on two occasions, where he was situated in Basrah in the south of the country, involved in planned combat operations.
He has shown immense military knowledge and earned respect from his peers in the US, Canada, UK and New Zealand militaries. “They represent personnel who I joined on combined exercises and are considered to be the best trained soldiers in the world.” Julian said.
While based in Sydney, Julian and his wife, Karly, a teacher, and their two daughters, Lucy, 11, and Chloe, 14, enjoyed the opportunity to discover living overseas for a period of time. The family spent 2020/21 in Hawaii while Julian worked alongside US forces on exercises in the Pacific and was later posted to US Central Command where he was the Australian liaison officer at Tampa, Florida. “Our girls just loved being there, we had an apartment in a large complex where they made many friends,” Julian said.
During 2022/23, it was a return to Kuwait for Julian to join US military headquarters where he was involved in supervising operations in the Middle East. As a senior operational officer in the armed forces, Julian is proud of his years of service overseas and the roles he has played in contributing to the defence of Australia with our allies.
The recent presentation of the Conspicuous Service Medal was a proud moment for this quiet unassuming military man, watched on by his even prouder family and fellow recipients of the 50th anniversary of awards in the Australian Honours System.
Lieutenant Colonel West is the third of six sons and one daughter born to John and Pat West of Cobram. Over the years he has attended ceremonies on Anzac Day or Remembrance Day in Cobram as a guest speaker, and is delighted always to return to the town where he spent an idyllic childhood with his siblings.
