P
TE Ashley Horne is president of the Townsville
branch of Club Maloo, Queensland.
Maloo owners get together, compare notes, enjoy
cruise and raise money for the Cancer Council.
There are 16 members in Townsville - at their most recent cruise
there were eight cars - and fi ve of them are ADF members.
“We’ve got a C
our own club sh
The Queenslan
more than 315 m
their cars and p
Pictured above - Defence members of Club Maloo, Queensland’s Townsv
left) Martin Shilvock and his blue Maloo, Ashley Horne’s poison ivy Ma
Wesley Atkinson, gray Maloo, and Mitch Ell, crunch g
Then, posted to 1RAR, he endured two fi eld
exercises in constant pain, and it was only then a
doctor told him he had a bulge in the L4-L5 disc.
He is in limbo at the moment, medically
classifi ed J31 and sent to join 11 Platoon,
the rehab platoon in the Battalion.
Ashley doesn’t want the injury to end his military
career and already has applied for a corps transfer,
falling back on his mechanic’s background by
applying to join RAEME as a diesel fi tter.
He has already done a bit of On the Job
Training (OJT), but that will go on hold while
he works through rehabilitation in 11 Platoon.
Having been out of action for six months, he
knows the crunch will come in December this
year, when the decision about his future in the
Army will be decided by the MEC Review Board.
He is philosophical about his situation and
is preparing himself mentally to get a job at
a civilian garage if he is shown the door.
But it’s been a battle to get to that point.
He found it hard to accept that he was in the
gym most days before he hurt his back.
“I used to be fully motivated, go to the
gym and go home happy, but now....
“I have lost all strength, everything,” he said.
Ashley found himself in what he said was “a
very dark place”, then to compound it, brother
Paul, who runs his own personal trainer
business, picked up an injury as well.
“Seeing him bounce back from being
fully depressed, then getting back to
22 | SEPTEMBER 2017
being fi t and training people with positive
vibes for everybody helped me a lot.”
Whatever happens, life continues, so he and fi ancee
Nikita Harvey talk about their plans while they
wait for the future to become a little less foggy.
They met at Northern Beaches High School
and in eighth grade established that the
relationship was “pretty serious” by dating for
three weeks before one of those “my best friend
doesn’t like you much, so I am going to break
up with you” moments pushed them apart.
They laugh about it now, but at the time...
Ash said he found himself years later thinking
about Nikita while he was in the gym prepatory to
joining the Army, so he messaged her on Facebook.
He was in Emerald, she was in Mt Isa
and they met up when Ash came to
Townsville for his ADF fi tness test.
They’re hopin g to buy a house and planning
a wedding - Ash has already got the nod
of approval on the engagement ring he has
chosen - but, for the moment, it can only be
plans until they have some sort of certainty.
They’re tossing ideas back and forth about
the sort of house they want, and where.
“I don’t care much what the house
looks like,” Ash said.
“Just so long as I have a big shed
and a hoist, I will be happy.
“Actually, just the shed and the hoist will do.”