When Bombardier Louise Banton was 18 she had to lie about her sexuality during interviews to get into the British Army.
"I had to tick the box that said I wasn't a homosexual. Thankfully, by the time I got to my basic training, the ban was lifted," Bombardier Banton said.
"I wanted to join the Army since I was 16. To find out that it was against the law threw me off a bit, but that's how much I wanted to join the Army.
"There were a couple of girls in my troop that kind of kicked the closet doors down when the ban lifted."
The ban was lifted in 2000 when Bombardier Banton was in basic training. Shortly after, she began her first relationship with another woman.
"I guess I could say that was my first love. It only lasted for four months, but it still broke my heart," Bombardier Banton said.
Before enlisting, Bombardier Banton attended a counselling group for LGBTIQ+ people to gain courage to come out to their parents.
When Bombardier Banton revealed her sexuality to her parents, she said it was hard. They were hurt at first and didn't know how to deal with it.
"They're pretty amazing now, but it was a little bit of a struggle for a couple of years," she said.
When she was younger, Bombardier Banton didn't understand her feelings when she looked at other women.
She went through school in denial, thinking it was just a phase, and had the occasional boyfriend.
Those relationships were never long. She thought it was normal and what you were supposed to do.
"But in the end, it just drove me mad, and by the time I was 18, I'd had enough, so I wanted to do something about it."
In 2010 she met her future wife Katie at a bar in Brighton. They were only able to enter into a civil partnership in 2012 and were officially married in 2017.
"We effectively got married twice," she said.
She spent 22 years in the British Royal Artillery as a drone operator and logistics manager before transferring to the Australian Army.
Bombardier Banton wanted to come to Australia because she was still young and fit enough, loved military life, and wanted better opportunities for her family.
She has friends who were also lateral transfers, who helped her through the process.
In the UK, Bombardier Banton worked on behalf of the Army LGBTIQ+ network groups, who got her involved with the 2022 London march, which inspired her to want to participate in this year's Sydney Mardi Gras.
"I just love doing it on behalf of something that is important to me, and it's in Sydney. I've never been, so I'm excited," she said.
"I put myself forward for this so I could meet other like-minded people and possibly get more involved in the future."
