Four years after Papua New Guinean Army Major Daniel Orim applied for the military, he received the call that changed his life.
Friends in Port Moresby spotted Major Orim's name on the military recruitment list in the national newspaper.
"I didn't believe it," Major Orim said.
"I had to see it myself so I looked in the paper and there I was, number 20 on the list. After that, there was no turning back."
Fast forward to mid-2025 and the army officer received another life-changing call, this time from his boss asking him to be Deputy Commander of the Pacific Response Group (PRG), with the headquarters based in Brisbane.
"I was concerned to leave my family," the father-of-four said.
"But my wife encouraged me and said I had to take the opportunity."
The PRG is a multinational military unit set up in 2024, providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) to the Pacific region.
It comprises Australia, Fiji, France, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga, whose militaries provide expertise in areas such as operations, military engineering, health and logistics.
The disaster relief team can also coordinate the deployment of follow-on forces for a HADR operation, if requested.
"Before, my focus was narrow, on the different programs between my country and Australia or New Zealand," Major Orim said.
"Now I see how big the ocean is, how big the region is, and the needs of our many small and big islands.
"The PRG has broadened my knowledge and understanding of the Pacific, the home we share. It brings us together to support each other."
Major Orim and the PRG are participating in the French-led Exercise Marara in French Polynesia, where almost 1000 military personnel from 13 nations will test HADR activities, including medical evacuation and re-establishing a water supply.
'Now I see how big the ocean is, how big the region is, and the needs of our many small and big islands.'
He will command a six-member PRG forward planning team - one from each PRG nation - to the small island of Makemo to assess damage and military support required.
The military officer has come a long way since having to quit business studies in Port Moresby to return home and support his mother and four younger brothers after his father broke his spinal cord.
"My dad was a ship engineer in the Navy and I grew up on Lombrum Naval Base on Manus Island," Major Orim said.
"He was my hero. I wanted to be in the military like him.
"One day he was trying to get coconuts from a tree. He poked a coconut and it fell on his spine and broke his spinal cord.
"Life was hard but I never lost hope. I had applied for the military in 2004 but they said I was still a child and not confident.
"When my dad was medically discharged in 2006 he received a pension so I could resume my studies.
"Then I learned two years later I had been accepted in the infantry and there was no turning back. I believe God has a plan for each of us and that is the faith and hope I have."
Soon after, Major Orim met the love of his life at the soccer field one evening after training, but Papua New Guinea military rules meant he had to serve six years before he could marry.
During his career he has worked extensively in Australia and New Zealand, while a highlight was being in the special forces for five years.
Major Orim returns home to his growing family in July, with his wife expecting their fifth child in September.
"In our Pacific family, we have to rely on each other," he said.
"It's like in our village, if someone goes hunting and gets fish, he makes sure the food is distributed. We take care of each other."
