In December 2023, during his graduation ceremony, Lieutenant Aiden Allen was awarded the King's Medal for Academic Achievement - an award presented to the candidate who achieves the highest aggregate mark.

And, with approximately 230 others competing for the top spot, Lieutenant Allen had some stiff competition.

This even included 20 international cadets from New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Cambodia, Fiji, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore and Qatar.

But there could only be one King's Medal recipient.

And Lieutenant Allen was extremely excited to be that 'one.'

"I was delighted. I was ecstatic, to be honest, and it was a little bit hard to take in at the time but it was a great feeling," he said.

"I mean that award is particularly outstanding I guess, because it means that you were the top of the pile, and you had the highest aggregate marks over first and second class."

These marks are determined by academic assessments, field training and physical fitness rankings as a holistic evaluation at the college.

But the King's Award is not the only one he received during his time in training.

After graduating from Stannies in 2018, Lieutenant Allen first headed to the Australian Defence Force Academy in 2019 to get a taste of army life during a gap year.

Following this gap year, he began his civil engineering degree through ADFA, before entering the RMC in Duntroon for further training.

There, he was presented with the Royal Australian Engineer Award, which is given to the top engineer in the cohort.

And though Lieutenant Allen said achieving these impressive results is a great pat on the back, he doesn't see them as the highlight of his time in Defence.

These highlights stem from the reasons why he decided to join in the first place.

"The main reason for me was probably that I wanted a job where I could be physical but still use my mind and my mental abilities at the same time," he said.

"As well as that, I knew I wanted to study, and Defence gave me the opportunity to study and get paid, and still do that physical work at the same time.

"Yeah, the awards are great, but I wouldn't say they are highlights.

"I mean working with your friends ... and being able to lead your peers, and being given opportunities to travel ... or going to watch training exercises, they are all sort of highlights."

Now, Lieutenant Allen is back at ADFA to complete his civil engineering degree, of which he is currently in his fourth year.

And, considering how much he has enjoyed his time, he can't see himself in a career outside of Defence for a very long time - it's a career that he would recommend to anyone.

"Literally anything you want to develop or grow in, Defence can support that and guide you and help you along the way," Lieutenant Allen said.