Can't help with the army side of things but in terms of general things associated with moving........
I've been here for 6 years now and love it. Originally from UK. Permanent resident now. Wouldn't go anywhere else.
The reality is that any white face here (and many other colours) are all immigrants in one way or another. A few might have been here a little longer than others but we all came from somewhere else at some point. That means there is a diverse range of people here and I think Australian's are far more accepting of others because of it.
The visa process can be painful. My advice is get an immigration consultant to handle it for you. Yes, it will cost, but it'll be the best money you've spend in terms of saving stress and time.
I came in on a 457 visa. They were easier to get a few years ago but I've heard they're tightening up on them now. When I came they were a 4 year work dependent visa. You had to agree to stay in your original job for 3 years and then I think you can change, but you must be employed. After 4 years you can then apply for citizenship. I've not done that yet but I did change to a 856 permanent visa after 6 months. I actually applied for the 856 visa first but it was taking too long so came in on the 457 while the 856 was being processed. I was lucky though. I was being sponsored by my employer so it was far simpler.
As others have said, everyone is easy going here (too easy going at times) and as long as you make an effort to fit in then you'll be fine. It's the people who come in and refuse to change that rubs people up the wrong way, and rightly so. You're in someone else's country. Experience it, adapt to it, and enjoy it.
I would certainly recommend coming over for a holiday to see if you do like it. It can be the silliest little things that you find you can't live with and a few weeks holiday can give you a far better impression of the place than you'll get from talking to others about it.
Good luck with it.
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