The small town of Sungai Geringging is in the mountains to the north of Padang in Sumatra. Tightly-packed sets of houses and shops make up the main street of the town and a lush green soccer field lends respite to the thick jungle that creeps up to its edges.

But when a 7.6 magnitude earthquake shook the area on September 30, the small town and the surrounding area took the brunt of the destruction. Houses, schools and bridges collapsed, and devastating landslides covering entire villages.

The ADF moved quickly to deploy a primary health care facility into the town to treat the injured in the whole area.

Susan is now an Army Major and the senior medical office at the facility. It’s her second overseas deployment, after an earlier tour of duty in East Timor.

“I’m the senior medical officer in the hospital so I provide clinical advice to the commanding officer and oversee training and medical practice,” she said. “I enjoy the job, even though it has its challenges.”

Bellingen-born Susan joined the Army in 1996 as a Nursing Officer in the Army Reserve. After being accepted into the Army’s Graduate Medical Scheme and studying medicine with a fully-paid Army scholarship, she became a full-time doctor in the Medical Corps.

“Balancing Army demands with clinical work can be a challenge, but overall it’s very rewarding,” she said. “It’s a real positive, making a difference for people here in West Sumatra”

When she returns home, Susan is seriously considering studying Indonesian, having been inspired by her latest Sumatra experience.

Australian soldiers, sailors and airmen are working day and night to provide health care, engineering works, purified water, and to deliver aid supplies to the people of Padang and the surrounding areas of West Sumatra in the wake of the devastating earthquakes that recently rocked the Indonesian province.