Sgt Garry Noble has just clocked up 49 years of service to ACT Policing and the AFP.

He began his recruit training on March 15 1977, after receiving a telegram offering him the job.

Since then, says ACT Policing, Garry has contributed to almost every corner of the service from his early days in general duties, to overseas deployment with the 17th Australian Police Contingent in Cyprus, to leadership roles across investigations, training, surveillance, ministerial co-ordination, welfare, firearms and more.

In a long-standing AFP tradition, Garry was awarded the baton for being the current longest serving AFP member… and that was two years ago, when he reached 47 years of service, a recognition of both his tenure and the “impact he has made on colleagues, the organisation, and the community”.

His philosophy? A quote he lives by from Oscar Wilde: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken”.