Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Captain Steven Lillis enlisted into the Australian Regular Army (ARA) on 25 May 1977. His previous occupation was a furnaceman, after leaving secondary school.

After recruit training he was allocated to the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps as a storeman. As a junior soldier he undertook several field force and static unit postings.

As a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer, he had postings with Land Command, Logistic Command and Training Command. These postings included the 1st Field Supply Company Townsville, 32nd Supply Battalion; Melbourne, 3rd Field Supply Company; Sydney, Adelaide Logistics Battalion and the Army Logistic Training Centre, Bandiana, Victoria. He was also detached to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, as an exchange soldier as a participant in Exercise Tropic Lightning.

Due to his experience and knowledge, he was chosen as a senior instructor in Warehousing at the Army Logistic Training Centre.  Notable achievements, during this posting period; he trained members of the Malaysian Defence Force in storage and packaging techniques in Malaysia.

In 1995 as a Warrant Officer Class Two, he was selected to be part of the Extraction team to the Australian Contingent, which formed part of the United Nations forces in Rwanda. During this time of service, he was required to participate in the managing of stores and equipment in the preparation for their return to Australia to meet Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) and Customs requirements. He performed a reconnaissance in Rwanda and later returned from Australia with an Extraction Team. This task was completed successfully with a team of Army Logistics specialists and representatives from Australian Customs Service and AQIS.

Later he became the Army Trade Technical Advisor on warehousing and was promoted to Warrant Officer Class One during the posting.  His appointment required he be responsible for upholding high trade standards in logistics, supply, and equipment management.

Since discharging from the ARA in 1998, he continued to enjoy a successful and rewarding career with the Army Reserve (ARES).

Steven transferred to the Army Reserve as a Warrant Officer Class One and was posted to the 4th Combat Service Support Battalion (4CSSB) Victoria.In 2006 he was commissioned to the rank of Captain and appointed to the position of Officer-in-Charge of the Victorian Northern Detachments of 4CSSB which included depots in Wangaratta, Shepparton, and Bandiana.

In his civilian capacity, Steven became a Senior Educator within the Industrial Skills Department of Wodonga TAFE, Victoria for 21 year’s.

He discharged from the Army in 2017 after 40 years of dedicated service.

Achievements

·         Trained members of the Malaysian Defence Force on storage and packaging techniques.

·         Rationalised the three trades of supply, specifically warehousing into one super trade. “Operator Supply”

·         Independently published a suite of training packages covering initial employment through to expert in the warehousing field.

·         Identified training needs, design training requirements, wrote Training Packages and reviewed procedures,

·         Authored the following: ‘Fundamentals of Storage’ and ‘Storage in the Tropics’ Training Manuals in use by Defence agencies in Australia and overseas.

·         Chosen as the Subject Matter Expert in Warehousing for input into the National Competency Frameworks Project

·         Returned all Australian stores and equipment from Rwanda to Australia without damage, well under budget, and in accordance with customs and quarantine regulations

·         Acted as the  Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM), of the Adelaide Logistics Battalion.

·         Successfully completed United States Armed Forces distance learning courses in packaging, preservation and palletisation.

·         Detached to Australian Support Unit - Darwin  (ASU-D), to review fleet management and warehousing practice's.

·         Achievement of Excellence Award (Storage Doctrine).

Honours and Service Medals

·         20/08/2019 Meritorious Unit Citation Rwanda

·         21/03/2018 Defence Long Service Medal

·         21/03/2018 First Clasp to the Defence Long Service Medal

·         21/03/2018 Second Clasp to the Defence Long Service Medal

·         21/03/2018 Third Clasp to the Defence Long Service Medal

·         21/03/2018 Fourth Clasp to the Defence Long Service Medal

·         21/03/2022 Fifth Clasp to the Defence Long Service Medal – Federation Star

·         16/11/2006 Australian Active Service Medal with Clasp RWANDA

·         20/10/2006 Australian Defence Medal