Troy Simmonds

Studied Film Making and Law at university before enlisting in the Australian Army as an Infantry Soldier. Served 22 years in the Australian Army, including 16 years (1996 - 2012) as an operator in The Special Air Service Regiment (SASR). Troy was the Patrol Commander of the lead patrol in the 2008 Battle of Khas Uruzgan which resulted in the awarding of the first Victoria Cross in 40 years to Mark Donaldson. At the time, this was the fiercest and bloodiest battle for Australian troops since Vietnam. During the intense gun battle that raged for over 2 hours, Troy received two gunshot wounds and still has a bullet lodged in his body. Read more here Troy's operational deployments have included Somalia, East Timor, Iraq and six tours of duty in Afghanistan. He was also a member of the SAS Counter Terrorism team for the Sydney Olympics in 2000. His service within SAS included Air (freefall) Troop, Mobility (Vehicle mounted) Troop, Sniper Team leader, Patrol Commander, Training Wing Troop Sergeant and Operations Sergeant. Qualified SAS sniper, Sniper Instructor and SAS Sniper team leader Troy was Troop Sergeant of the SAS Training wing and coordinated the grueling 3 week selection course and 18 month SAS reinforcement training process. Troy features as an instructor in the 2010 documentary, "SAS: The Search for Warriors". In addition to extensive experience as an SAS patrol commander in combat, Troy was intimately involved in SAS mission planning and strategy. In 2015 Troy was appointed as the Veterans 360 Ambassador, an organisation that provides support for homeless veterans throughout Australia.