DALIA SABLE

AUSTRALIAN soldier Jason Hymans will leave for Afghanistan in January where he will serve on the front-line.

Having enlisted in the Australian Army two-and-a-half years ago, the mission will be his first overseas deployment and will see him posted to the Oruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan.

“I’m excited and nervous,” the 21-year-old told The AJN. “I’ve come to grips with what could happen and the best way to deal with it is just to get on with it.”

The former Brighton Secondary School student will embark on the trip at the end of January after a send-off at South Caulfield Hebrew Congregation in Melbourne, where he and his family are members.

“I’m really honoured about it. They are having a kiddush in my name, which will be very special,” he said.

While his father, Ian, admitted the family had feelings of “trepidation” about his son’s first deployment, he said he was very proud of him.

Hymans joined the defence force in June 2007, less than a year after graduating from high school.

He said enlisting was something he had always hoped to do, opting to join the army rather than the reserves, as he wanted to serve full-time.