Wearing many hats is an understatement when describing Captain Taylor Evans.
Perth-based Captain Evans is an Army Reserve infantry officer, a Western Australia Police Force senior constable detective, a footy player and a new mum.
With a family history of service in the ADF, Captain Evans said she always had an interest in a Defence career and, in 2014, decided to enlist, but admits infantry was not an initial consideration.
"I didn't always want to be infantry; when I first started training I really despised going out field," Captain Evans said.
"By the time it came to picking a corps, I thought back on everything I'd done and realised that my fondest memories were shooting and taking pits [assaulting enemy trenches], so I figured I'd have the best chance of doing those things as an infantry officer."
Ten years into her Army Reserve career, Captain Evans has completed three rotations of Operation Resolute and is currently posted to 2nd (Australian) Division, working in the field of civil-military cooperation as part of the 3rd Technical Support Team.
In July, Captain Evans deployed on Exercise Austral Shield as a liaison officer, providing a link between Defence and the community of Derby in northern Western Australia.
"We speak with key stakeholders to ensure our activities don't have any negative impacts on the community," she said.
"It's an important function because this is our home and these are enduring relationships, so it's crucial to foster those relationships and not damage the ADF's reputation within the country we live."
When she's not in her police uniform or Army cams, Captain Evans throws on her footy boots, representing the Australian Army and WA Police women's Aussie Rules football teams.
"I had been playing women's metro football in Perth, but when I moved to Carnarvon and there weren't any women's teams, I reached out to Defence sport and was able to play with a Darwin team," Captain Evans said.
After blitzing through the Defence footy carnival, Captain Evans was invited to play for the national Army women's team in 2019 and 2020.
"It was an awesome experience and great to do it wearing the green," she said.
"It's the first time I've been paid to play football. I made some amazing friendships and it was really cool to interact with the full-time personnel."
After taking a season off during pregnancy, Captain Evans is keen to hit the field again this November, representing WA Police with her six-month-old son, Harley, cheering on from the sidelines.
Her advice to anyone thinking of joining the Army Reserve is jump in.
"Just jump in and do it, don't hesitate because women can do anything these days and it's not as daunting as you may think," she said.
"Plus there's Defence sports. Who wouldn't want to get paid to do something they love?"
