Lessons From The Front Line

From serving in five overseas missions and earning nine military and war medals to becoming an Australian peacekeeping ambassador, keynote speaker and inspirational trailblazer, Matina Jewell’s life story is begging to be made into a Hollywood film.

- Susan Armstrong

Fiercely driven is just one way to describe Major Matina Jewell (Retired) CSP, whose remarkable 15-year military career has seen her receive countless accolades and experience many firsts, including being the first woman in the Australian Army to complete the Navy Ships Diver course and becoming the only Australian to receive two Republic of Lebanon war medals for acts of bravery on the battlefield and being wounded in combat. She’s tracked down militia leaders, worked with special forces, fast-roped from helicopters, boarded smuggler ships in the Arabian Gulf, and has escaped death more times than she’d care to remember.

Fiercely feminine is another way to describe her, albeit more surprising. After all, this is someone who faced such extreme gender bias you’d perhaps expect she might have hardened over time. But the woman sitting in front of me, captivating me with some of the most extraordinary stories I’ve ever heard, is gently spoken, with a kind, open face, sparkling blue eyes and a soft laugh. I have to wonder, did the constant adversity change her as a person? And did it alter her leadership style?