But for Army Reservist Dean Scott, the opportunity to serve overseas had him swap the theatre scrubs for army camouflage for a four-month overseas deployment.

Corporal Scott was deployed under Operation ANODE, which is part of the Regional Assistance Mission Solomon Islands (RAMSI).

"Being here on operations is distinctly different to my civilian life," Corporal Scott said. "Back home I am mainly hands-on while here my job is more administrative."

"During the preparation for the deployment I certainly enjoyed the helicopter underwater escape training. Over here I managed a supply mission out to the east of Guadalcanal, which involved some fairly hard four-wheel driving."

His boss at the hospital, Leica Mackaway, recently joined a group of NSW-based employers to travel to the Solomon Islands to meet with their deployed employees.

During her visit, one of the activities she undertook was the range activity where she fired weapons used by the Australian Army, including the Minimi light machine gun and the larger MAG 58 general purpose machine gun, under the guidance of Corporal Scott.

"For me, seeing Scotty doing his job was great, especially seeing his computer and administration skills," she said.

"It's been great to see him using these skills."