Inside: �ADGs make history – Page 9 �CAF’s farewell tribute – centre

ROLE MODEL

Pages 3-6

AUSSIE SWARM: 75SQN avionics fitter LAC Leon

Hazelwood completes final

checks on an F/A-18 before it taxis out

for a mission during Exercise Pitch

Black. More than 3000 personnel from

nine countries are participating in the major air exercise being staged out

of RAAF Bases Darwin and Tindal. See inside for full coverage. Photo by LAC Leigh Cameron

Pitch Black

special

Battle Battle of theof the fi ghtersfi ghters

FORCEAIRVol. 50, No. 11, June 26, 2008 The official newspaper of the Royal Australian Air Force

By Barry Rollings

ROLES and responsibilities on Air Force bases around Australia will become clearer and more streamlined under the proposed new base sup-port management model unveiled at RAAF Base Amberley on June 17.

From July 1, the ADF will begin a process to adopt the new model that will eventually apply to all bases and establishments. Amberley was chosen as the pilot site for the model.

Those who travelled to Amberley to explain the pilot implementation included: the Deputy Secretary of Defence Support, Martin Bowles; the Head of National Operations Division, MAJGEN Elizabeth Cosson; and incoming Air Commander Australia, AIRCDRE Mark Skidmore.

The unveiling began with CDF ACM Angus Houston’s endorsement of the proposal in a brief video introduc-tion. He said it was imperative to better define a new model of doing business, to establish quite clearly what the roles of each unit on the base were, who was responsible and who was accountable for each of the base support functions.

AIRCDRE Skidmore said the pilot implementation was “about Air Force focusing on the generation of air power and the delivery of capability, while Defence Support Group’s focus will be on the delivery of base support services to enable us to do that.

“It is about clearly defining accountabilities and the support serv-ices that will be provided,” he said.

Continued Page 2

The way ahead

2 News AIR FORCE June 26, 2008

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Air Mail Warrant Officer of the Air Force WOFF-AF Ray Woolnough, AM

AIR FORCE RANKSThe following explains the rank abbreviations, as featured in AIR FORCE News

ACM � Air Chief Marshal

AIRMSHL � Air Marshal

AVM � Air Vice-Marshal

AIRCDRE � Air Commodore

GPCAPT � Group Captain

WGCDR � Wing Commander

SQNLDR � Squadron Leader

FLTLT � Flight Lieutenant

FLGOFF � Flying Officer

PLTOFF � Pilot Officer

OFFCDT � Officer Cadet

WOFF-AF � Warrant Officer of the Air Force

WOFF � Warrant Officer

FSGT � Flight Sergeant

SGT � Sergeant

CPL � Corporal

LAC � Leading Aircraftman

LACW � Leading Aircraftwoman

AC � Aircraftman

ACW � Aircraftwoman

Special thanks to

It’s about Air Force excellenceMaster of Ceremonies - PresentersAIRCDRE Tim OwenWGCDR Charles SiedentopfWOFF Murray SpriggsMusic - Force 10 CPLs Jeffery Cause, Byron Crump, Greg Strong, Leon Suter, Lee Webb; LACs Paul Angas, Michael Fraser, Matthew Hamilton, Barney Loveland, Sean Rankin, Troy McMillin and John ZappiaVenue and ServiceCSU RichmondWGCDR Chris Phelan, SQNLDR Catherine Williams, FSGT Lyle Oaklands and his team DSG RichmondGlenn Jones, Christine Salter and her team Serco SodexhoLyn Grose and her team, Raelene Hards and her team DesignSQNLDRs Fleur James, Catherine Williams, Chris Tancred and Christopher Shepherd

Greetings Airmen and Airwomen of the Air Force.

At the Air Force Awards night, CAF launched the ‘Airman’s Code’. Having watched the DVD a number of times, I am proud to be in our Air Force. A great concept, and great wording. The Aussie larrikin was portrayed in the production – forgetting lines and laughter. From the volume of feedback I have received to date, many of you like the idea. You can view the Airman’s Code on our Air Force Intranet and Internet. Click and have a look – you will not be disappointed.

I would like to congratulate the fol-lowing personnel who were recognised in the 2008 Queen’s Birthday Honours list: Member (AM) in the Military Division – AIRCDRE John Hewitson, AIRCDRE Kym Osley, GPCAPT Peter Norford; Medal (OAM) in the Military Division – WOFF Anthony McDermott, FLTLT David Slattery; Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) – GPCAPT Gavin “Leo” Davies, WGCDR Tracey Simpson, WGCDR Jay Clarke, FSGT Craig O’Malley; Conspicuous Service Medal (CSM) – GPCAPT Peter Wood, WGCDR William Kourelakos, SQNLDR Colin Smith, SGT Matthew Hanley; and Commendation for Distinguished Service – GPCAPT Gavin Turnbull.

On May 23, 324CSS held its 50th anniversary, and although I was unable to attend, I was advised that the parade and festivities were a great credit to the organisers. The parade participants were crisp in their movements and the whole weekend went like clockwork. Congratulations to CO WGCDR Frank Grigson and his team; not forgetting the assistance given by personnel from other establishments.

I would also like to thank those peo-ple who have asked me how my wife, Sheryl, is faring after breaking her right ankle. She is walking, albeit gingerly, but is doing well.

The Air Force Awards night was held on June 4 at RAAF Base Richmond – and what a night. To the personnel and units who won an award – hearty congratulations from me and the rest of the Air Force team. Without detract-ing from any of the previous events, I believe that we got this one right. It is our biggest annual event, aimed at, and for, our greatest asset – our people.

I would like to acknowledge the Air Force personnel and contractors (listed right) who turned a great evening into an outstanding success.

’Till next time, please keep on smiling.

From Page 1Over the next six months, lessons from

the pilot site will help refine and validate base management arrangements, which would then be implemented at other bases by the middle of 2009.

The new arrangements are about clarifying responsibilities and improving support within a customer-supplier model, according to the Director Enabling Capability for Air Force, GPCAPT Andrew Dowse.

“The model aims to clearly separate, to a practical extent, the provision of standard sup-port services at bases from the capability, force generation and operational aspects that the military needs to focus on,” GPCAPT Dowse said. “While there may be potential for future improvements in the delivery of services, the primary and immediate focus is on clarifying accountabilities.”

MAJGEN Cosson said that the initiative is about defining the level of support services required to meet capability outcomes.

“This model provides formal documents, processes and appointments to deliver effective and efficient capability and support manage-ment and services,” she said.

Base services agreements will be developed over the next 12 months to reflect and man-age the support requirements of each base. Processes will be introduced to ensure support services are responsive to capability needs.

Key to the model will be the base manage-ment forum, in which capability requirements and support resources will be managed to bal-ance costs and outcomes.

The base management forum will marry up requirements of the customer and service provider, and allow commanders to raise issues pertaining to facilities and support services.

Mr Bowles stressed the importance of the rapport between Air Force and DSG staff at the base. “Relationship management has always been a hallmark of good base services. I don’t see this changing,” he said.

AIRCDRE Skidmore said over the remain-der of this year, “Amberley personnel will play a critical part in shaping the way our bases will be managed in future.

“I was encouraged by the thoughtful ques-tions at the unveiling and pleased by the way in which Amberley personnel are embracing the opportunity to improve arrangements,” he said.

Amberley aa pilot site

FLYING CHANGE: Above, C-17 and F-111 aircraft onthe flightline at RAAF BaseAmberley. New supportarrangements are plannedfor the base as part of thenew model. Photo by LAC Scott WoodwardPLANNERS: Left, AIRCDRE Mark Skidmore, MAJGEN Elizabeth Cosson and DeputySecretary Martin Bowlesattend a base managementbrief. Photo by AC Benjamin Evans

New base management model unveiled

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By FLTLT Jaimie Abbott

ONE jet after another is com-peting in an airspace the size of central Europe during Exercise Pitch Black 2008 (PB08).

There is everything from the F/A-18, F-111 and F-16 to E3 AWAC (airborne warning and con-trol) and Air Refuelling tanker air-craft.

More than 3000 personnel are supporting PB08 between RAAF Bases Darwin and Tindal. The exer-cise is being held from June 6-27.

Along with Australia, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, France, Germany, Canada, the UK and, for the first time, Malaysia and NATO are taking part.

During PB08, the Northern Territory is divided into ‘Blueland’ and ‘Redland’. The different nations are carrying out role play, in which cross border tensions are increased and fighter aircraft are used for attack and defence.

The capabilities of these forces are being put to the test during the three week exercise, both in the air and on the ground, using air defence assets.

Air Commander Australia AVM Mark Binskin flew into Darwin to officially open the exercise, which he said was a “fantastic opportunity” to work with Australia’s regional neighbours.

“For the RAAF, this is a very important exercise. It gives us

Fever pitch up northTen air forces put to the test in this year’s biggest exercise

a chance to get a lot of the forces together and work on the integration and the high end air combat capabil-ity,” AVM Binskin said.

“As our major air exercise, this is very important for us and it helps us to roll into other multi-national exer-cises, like Talisman Saber, which will be held up here next year,” he said.

The exercise is the last appear-ance in an exercise for the RAAF’s B707. It will retire from Air Force service on June 30.

PB08 also is using the Joint and Combined Training Centre to insert simulated assets into the live mis-sions. No. 3 Control and Reporting Unit will control many of the air-space missions from RAAF Base Williamtown.

The exercise is about learning for the Air Force and testing to see how well it can defend its bases against air and ground attacks.

With approximately 60 aircraft participating, pilots are training with a variety of jets in different ‘pack-ages.’ As the exercise develops, these ‘packages’ will increase. From one-on-one to up to dozens of aircraft in the air at one time. The missions aren’t only conducted in daytime with nightime flying reflecting the realities of a war situation.

There are air-to-air battles, as well as air interdiction and air strikes on ground targets.

Australia’s northern outback

offers an ideal backdrop for PB08, which was designed to give aircrews realistic experience in a joint air combat training environment.

Now, RAAF bases are filled with many different groups – logistics and intelligence officers, cooks, medi-cal and security staff, photographers, maintenance crews and chaplains. A full wrap-up of PB08 will feature in the next edition.

SIGN HERE: Above, FSGT-1 Surasoe Konejaroen from the RTAF signs for fuel while 382ECSS supplier LAC Jason Stephen looks on. Photo by LAC Guy YoungPITCHING IN: Inset, a RAAF member helps RTAF aircrew remove cargo from their Airbus at RAAF Base Darwin. Photo by LAC Christopher Dickson

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Above, AVM Mark Binskin talks to media in front of other senior multi-national Air Force participants to the backdrop of a 3SQN F/A-18 at Darwin. Photo by LAC Guy Young HOT WORK: Left, LAC Ian Hobden and US Marine CPL Josh Maners run fuel lines from a tanker. Photo by LAC Leigh Cameron

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By FLGOFF Eamon Hamilton

FIRST-TIME visitors to Exercise Pitch Black 2008 (PB08) have re-ceived a front row seat to the action in Northern Territory skies.

Representatives of the air arms of Iraq, Yemen, the Republic of South Africa and the People’s Republic of China have seen Pitch Black from on board a 33SQN B707, where they wit-nessed first-hand air-to-air refuelling with RAAF and United States Navy Hornets.

The four countries were mak-ing their inaugural step into the International Air Observer Group, a program conducted for each Exercise Pitch Black to allow foreign air forces an opportunity to see how the event is carried out.

AIRCDRE Peter McDermott, Director-General of Reserves for Air Force, acted as the group leader for the international observers on their tour around Australia.

The tour took them through RAAF Bases Darwin, Williamtown, Glenbrook and Richmond.

AIRCDRE McDermot t sa id engagement with other countries is an important part of Australia’s defence and security policy.

“We engage with others in the region in many ways, through diplo-macy of course, but one of the ways of

doing that is to allow observers from other countries, senior folk from other air forces, to come and see the RAAF in action,” AIRCDRE McDermott said.

“It gives us an opportunity to benchmark our own capabilities and to learn from them.

“Most importantly, it gives us an opportunity to work with these people, with air forces with whom we may be operating now, or may be operating with in future for the mutual security of the Australian region.”

COL La Reoux Greeff, base oper-ations manager at Air Force Base Makhado in the Republic of South Africa, said the B707 flight was a highlight of his trip.

“Mainly what I’m interested to take back is … that the South African Air Force is on course, or on par, with what you guys are doing,” he said

Previously a commanding officer for a squadron of Cheetahs – which is a delta-wing fighter similar to the RAAF’s former Mirage III – COL Greeff said PB08 allowed him to wit-ness the similarities between the RAAF and the South African Air Force.

“I think for me personally just com-ing over and seeing your country is very similar to mine, and living in iso-lation, distance-wise, makes it great to see that you actually don’t live any differently,” COL Greeff said.

Front roww visitorsInternational audience for PB08

AUSSIE FEED: From left, WGCDR Visut (RTAF), FLGOFF Martin Alderette (RAAF), MAJ Yeow Wei Pang and LT Chris Quek (RSAF), CAPT Peter Verlande (German NATO) and MAJ Mohdnasir Mohddin (RMAF), join forces to share a NT favourite of barramundi and chips at Darwin. Photo by LAC Christopher Dickson

THIRSTY WORK: Above, 33SQN flight engineer WOFF Stuart Matthews monitors his panel during an air-to-air refuelling task.TOPPING UP: Left, a US Navy Hornet from the VFA-97 “Warhawks” squadron takes on fuel from the B707’s refuelling drogue.GREAT, MATE: Bottom left, two Iraqi Air Force colonels enjoy watching a refuelling task from the B707. Photos by LAC Guy Young

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THE people of Darwin turned out in large numbers for the RAAF Base Dar-win Open Day on June 14.

More than 10,000 people came out on a perfect northern day to see the aircraft and personnel involved in the exercise.

On display were Australian, Malaysian and US F/A-18s, Singaporean and Thai F-16s, French and NATO AWAC (air-borne warning and control) aircraft, a B707 from 33SQN and a Caribou from 38SQN.

Supporting this assortment of aircraft were displays of vehicles and a laser guided weapons system from the Army’s No. 16 Air Defence Regiment, and the mobile recruiting van.

Other nations’ personnel were show-ing the public their aircraft and doing a brisk trade on their stalls selling eve-rything from t-shirts to hats and pins.

Darwin’s air show

The Malaysian and Thai stalls in particu-lar were kept busy all day. The French AWAC aircraft, with the large black and white dish on top, had a 100m line of people waiting to go inside.

“The main question we are asked is ‘what’s this aircraft and that big dish on the top?’ as it is not something people would get to see every day,” French Air Force deployment CO WGCDR Philippe Broch said.

“It is good to meet these people, speak about France and what we are doing here. They are very cool and relaxed and have given us a good welcome wherever we go. Australia is a nice country with nice people,” he said.

At 12.30pm, an F/A-18 from No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit put on a display of exciting manoeuvres for the crowd.

“The aerial display was a rare treat and showed the public the aircraft’s out-standing flying ability,” GPCAPT Alan Clements from Air Combat Group said.

“It was also an opportunity for both the base and the participants of Pitch Black to say a big ‘thank you’ to the local community for their ongoing support.”

Standing out from the rest of the Air Force and Army personnel, who were in DPCUs, was 1SQN aircraft technician AC Jason Mihatsch.

He was wearing neatly pressed service dress which drew looks from the crowd.

“I am wearing my blues because it gives a good public image, it looks nice and I have a lot of pride in what I do. It’s my first open day and it has been a lot of fun,” AC Mihatsch said.

“The public love it. They don’t get to see things like this very often so they came in droves.

“They have been asking what we do as a squadron, what my job is and what our aircraft do and, in the end, it is good for our recruiting.”

CROWD PLEASER: Above, a 2OCU F/A-18 conducts a fly-past over the crowd at the open day. Photo by LAC Guy YoungLAST LOOK: Inset, crowds queue up to visit the RAAF’s B707 making its last operational visit to the Top End. Photo by FSGT John CarrollUP CLOSE: Left, crew from 3SQN show visitors over an F/A-18. Photo by LAC Christopher DicksonNO CAMS TODAY: Below left, 1SQN’s AC Jason Mihatsch proudly stands out from the crowd in his blues at the open day. Photo by LAC Aaron Curran

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By FLTLT Trevor Grant

WHEN head chef SGT Matthew James went to work, he knew it was going to be a tough day. Exercise Pitch Black was starting and an extra 350 United States Navy and Marine Corps personnel had to be fed each day.

SGT James and his catering staff at the Airmen’s Mess, RAAF Base Tindal, produce high quality nutritious meals for more than 70 people.

With the arrival of 350 extra person-nel, he and his staff have to make sure that the quality and nutritional value of the meals remains at a high standard, while catering for the international tastes of the visitors.

However, the Australian chefs don’t have to go it alone. They are ably assist-ed by chefs and food service specialists from the US Navy and Marines.

“It’s great to have the guys here because we can all learn a lot from each other,” SGT James said. “The Americans are a good bunch who appreciate the

By FLGOFF Martin Alderette

AS THE air-to-air combat ex-ercise phase of Pitch Black begins to spread its wings, the tempo has picked up for 44WG air traffic controllers as they guide military and civilian aircraft at RAAF Base Darwin.

From high above in the control tower, the air traffic control officers (ATCOs) are directing traffic in and out of the Darwin airspace.

The influx of 60 aircraft partici-pating in Pitch Black on top of their routine work is aided by a tower filled with display screens and com-puters, making their efforts to coor-dinate aircraft appear smooth and seamless.

SQNLDR Robert Jackson, XO 44WG Detachment Darwin, said “Pitch Black is a concentration of multi-national forces. It is the larg-est exercise of the year, focusing

Skies undercontrol

Tindal cooks serve it up to extra 350 diners

preparation that goes into great-tasting food.”

LCPL Jeffrey Miller, a US Marines food service specialist, said: “I like being here working with the Aussies because they’re great and I can learn so much.”

During the exercise, the chefs will prepare 25,000 meals using 6700 kilos of vegetables, 4800 kilos of meat, 2000 kilos of chicken and seafood, 900 loaves of bread, 1100 litres of milk and 10,000 eggs.

on large operations and small force movements.

“We get to see a lot of different types of aircraft, and it’s certainly a good testing ground for your skills and for developing your skills.”

Always up for a challenge, the crew of 44WG Detachment Darwin have been looking forward to the exercise to get the opportunity to work with international military aircraft like the F-16 fighters from Singapore and Thailand, Malaysian and Singaporean C-130s, French and NATO E-3 Sentrys, and American KC-135 refuellers.

The increased number of foreign participants has made this year’s Pitch Black the biggest to date.

As part of flying their massive air operations, participants will often take off and return in mass waves, with up to 50 aircraft participating.

Launching each wave requires careful coordination with the civil-

ian traffic at the airport – whether it is a scheduled airline service, a light general aviation aircraft, or an Albatross flying boat.

AT C O F LT LT M a t t h e w McLennan said “Pitch Black is a fast jet exercise that creates a fair bit of intensity at Darwin because of both the military guys arriving as well as our normal civilian aircraft.”

GOOD VIEW: Above, FLGOFF Kevin Murray with the 44WG DET Darwin watches as a C-130J takes off during Exercise Pitch Black. VIGILANCE: Below right, FLTLT Ashley Browne monitors approaching aircraft from the ATC tower at RAAF Base Darwin. Photos by LAC Christopher Dickson

MISSION OVER: A US Navy F/A-18 comes in to land at Darwin under the control of the 44WG DET ATCOs. Photo by LAC Leigh Cameron

TINDAL CUISINE: SGT Matt James with one of the extra 350 meals served at the Airmen’s Mess, while above, LCPL Jeffrey Miller, USMC, serves lunch at the mess. Photos by LAC Leigh Cameron

By LAC Aaron Curran

THE annual Air Force Awards night ceremony, held at RAAF Base Richmond on June 4, was a night of celebration and of firsts.

A total of 23 awards were present-ed during the course of the evening. Integrated into those for the first time were the Air Force Safety Awards, which acknowledge the exemplary commitment to workplace safety in the Air Force.

CAF AIRMSHL Geoff Shepherd also added a first for the awards with the launch of the Airman’s Code, a recognition of our common identity and a statement about what it means to be an Australian airman.

This year, CPL Tamara Fielke, from 462SQN in Canberra, received the Airman of the Year award for 2007. The AVM B.A. Eaton Award is award-ed to a member of the rank of CPL and below in recognition of their contribu-tion to enhancing Air Force (Tamara was featured in the last edition of AIR FORCE News).

This year’s Duke of Gloucester’s Cup award for the most proficient squadron went to 36SQN for achiev-ing all training objectives, supporting air lift activities globally and nation-ally and fulfilling short-notice, high priority tasks, despite the squadron’s expertise being in its infancy, and with still fragile support systems.

The Stonehaven Trophy, which is awarded to the most proficient train-ing unit in the Air Force, went to the

Best on the nighton the nightOur top performers celebrate at the 2008 Air Force Awards night

RAAF School of Technical Training (RAAFSTT) at RAAF Base Wagga.

No. 26 (City of Newcastle) Squadron received the Air Force Association Trophy for the most pro-ficient reserve squadron and 37SQN won the Air Force Maintenance Trophy.

The Markowski Cup is awarded to the most proficient unit, which is not eligible to compete for any other awards and No. 1 Air Transportable Health Squadron received it for 2007.

The Hawker Siddeley Trophy for the most proficient RAAF base went to 324CSS, RMAF Base Butterworth.

The SQNLDR W.T. Riggs Perpetual Trophy for the best official photo-graph of the year went to LAC Scott Woodward for his image of an F-111 in an ordnance loading area at RAAF Base Townsville.

To the most outstanding member

of aircrew in their first operational tour with 1 or 6SQNs, FLTLT Andrew Abbey, an air combat officer with 6SQN, received the Pathfinder Trophy.

Meanwhile, the Pathfinder Force (Air Lift Group) aircrew member of the Year for 2007 went to FLTLT Jarrod Pendlebury from 36SQN.

The Sir Richard Williams Trophy (Fighter Pilot of the Year) went to FLTLT Martin Parker from 75SQN.

The Kittyhawk Squadrons’ trophy is presented each year to the most pro-ficient operational F/A-18 squadron. This year 3SQN picked up the award.

The British Aerospace Trophy for the most proficient 92WG crew was awarded to Crew 2 of 11SQN.

The Best Workplace Health and Safety Management System award went to 92WG Logistic Operations, while the Rehabilitation and Return to Work award went to 75SQN Aircraft Equipment Maintenance Section.

Lastly, the award for the Best Individual Contribution to Health and Safety went to the HQALG FEG Safety Advisor WOFF Terry Yelds.

The recipient of the Lipshut Family Bursary this year was CPL Michael Polsson, Defence Force Recruiting Wollongong. The award was estab-lished in order to provide an education fund to enable an outstanding airman or airwoman of or below the rank of CPL to undertake full-time tertiary studies with a view to commissioning.

The AVM Die t z Memor i a l Medallions are presented to one Air Force and one civilian member to rec-ognise outstanding achievements in, and contributions to, the quality of logistics support for Air Force equip-ment. FLTLT Carol Hofman from 37SQN received the Air Force medal-lion, while Noel Cleal, CSU East Sale, received the civilian award.

The J.R. Bartram and R.A. Kee Sword of Honour is awarded to a grad-uate of the RAAFSTT and for 2007 AC

James Madigan, (now LAC at 77SQN), was the recipient.

From OTS in East Sale, the win-ner of Her Majesty The Queen’s Gold Medal for the most outstanding officer trainee went to OFFCDT Darren Wong and the Thales Australia Leadership Sword to the best overall student in each calendar year, went to PLTOFF Ryan Espie.

At the end of the night, AIRCDRE Tim Owen paid tribute to CAF and his contribution to the Air Force during his long career.

TOP SHOT: Above, LAC Scott Woodward’s Riggs Trophy award-winning photograph of a 6SQN F-111 aircraft at RAAF Base Townsville.SHARP SHOOTER: Right, CAF AIRMSHL Geoff Shepherd presents LAC Woodward with the SQNLDR W.T. Riggs Perpetual Trophy. Photo by LAC Aaron Curran

ACHIEVERS: CAF joins members of 36SQN after they won the Duke of Gloucester’s Cup for most proficient squadron. Photo by AC Michael Green

HEALTHY WIN: Above, AIRMSHL Shepherd joins members of 1ATHS after they won the Markowski Cup.NICE SWORD: Above right, J.R.Bartram and R.A. Kee Sword of Honour winner LAC James Madigan with his invited guest and CAF after receiving his sword.SAFETY FIRST: Right, WGCDR Denis Hunt (centre) from 92WG Logistic Operations is presented with the award for Best Workplace Health and Safety Management System by CAF and GPCAPT Craig White, Director of Defence Aviation and Air Force Safety.

Photos by AC Michael Green

FAMILY MAN: Above, CPL Michael Polsson (centre) from Defence Force Recruiting in Wollongong is presented with the Lipshut Family Bursary trophy by CAF and Daniel Lipshut. Photo by AC Michael GreenGALA GLITTER: Above right, under the candelabra’s glow, 200 guests sat down to hear who were the ‘stars’ for 2007. Photo by ACW Shannon UrieRESERVES RULE: Right, CAF congratulates members of No. 26 (City of Newcastle) Squadron after they won the Air Force Association Trophy for most proficient reserve squadron. Photo by AC Michael Green

7NewsAIR FORCE June 26, 2008

MECHANICAL EXPERTISE: Members of 37SQN pose proudly with the Air Force Maintenance Trophy. Photo by AC Michael Green

PLAY THE GIG: The Air Force Band entertains guests at the awards night. Photo by AC Michael Green

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8 News AIR FORCE June 26, 2008

By LAC Aaron Curran

MEMBERS of Australia’s Fed-eration Guard (AFG) came to the aid of a seriously injured man after a dramatic four-storey fall in Brisbane on May 24.

In town for the Careers Expo, FLTLT Wayne Donchi, LAC Alan Stocks, CPL Lucas Zwikielberg (Army) and SMN Richard Cole were part of the AFG contingent staying at the Metro Hotel Tower Mill on Wickham Terrace when the incident occurred.

“At 8.30pm, I heard a loud bang. It sounded like a chair or table had been thrown off a balcony,” FLTLT Donchi said.

“Then I heard this woman’s screams coming from the level above me to the right. A man had fallen from his fourth floor balcony more than 10 metres on to the iron roof of the first floor below.”

L AC S t o c k s , C P L L u c a s Zwikielberg and SMN Richard Cole

TWO new on-line directories have been established to assist ADF parents find suitable schools in their new posting areas.

The Australian Schools Directory is the only directory to list all gov-ernment and private schools in Australia, while the Private Schools Directory lists all private schools.

The directories show all schools which might match parents’ specifi-cations. They can search for schools by a range of criteria. Addresses, phone numbers and location maps are provided. For more information, visit: www.

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ran down the stairs, with FLTLT Donchi close behind.

The first three went out to the road and climbed up on to the iron roof while FLTLT Donchi went into the hotel to raise the alarm.

“I went to the reception telling them to call the ambulance, fire and police and took their first aid kit.

“When I got to the roof, LAC Stocks had used his shirt as a make-shift bandage, placing it onto the back of the man’s head where he was bleed-ing from,” FLTLT Donchi said.

“We then applied gauze and band-ages from the first aid kit trying to slow the bleeding.

“He was going in and out of con-sciousness so we kept talking to him to keep him awake and then continued with the first aid treatment, checking him for other injuries.”

The emergency services arrived about 15-20 minutes after the man had fallen.

The AFG members identified themselves as military to the ambu-lance officers once they arrived, who

then threw a neck brace up, which CPL Zwikielberg and SMN Cole placed on the man.

“The guys continued to assist the ambulance officers with first aid treat-ment, getting the man into a stable condition and rolling his body onto the spinal stretcher.

“They then helped the firies get him off the roof,” FLTLT Donchi said.

One of the ambulance officers at

the incident said that the level of first aid administered by the members most likely saved the young man’s life and was a credit to their training.

Their efforts were mentioned to a Channel 10 reporter during an inter-view afterwards.

“The guys did a really good job; that is the truth. They acted instinc-tively and quickly with no thought to their own safety.

“It was above and beyond what you would normally do in a situation like that.

“I was very impressed with their actions; they did Defence and the Federation Guard proud,” FLTLT Donchi said

“After it had all been done and the man was taken to hospital, the bar manager came out and bought us all some well-earned drinks.”

GOOD SAMARITANS: From left, LAC Alan Stocks, SMN Richard Cole, CPL Lucas Zwikielberg and FLTLT Wayne Donchi came to the aid of a seriously-injured Brisbane man after he fell. Photo by LAC Aaron Curran

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9 InternationalAIR FORCE June 26, 2008

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ADGs join SECDET By CAPT Joe Nyhan

MEMBERS of No. 2 Airfield De-fence Squadron (2AFDS) have won the full support and respect of their Army cousins after making history by deploying on operations as part of the 13th rotation of Security Detachment – Baghdad (SECDET 13).

SECDET, previously the sole domain of the Army, is a combat team of about 120 personnel. It provides transporta-tion and protection for staff of the Australian Embassy in Iraq to ensure the Diplomatic Mission is able to carry out its tasks.

Thirteen airfield defence guards (ADGs) have integrated among SECDET 13, providing several small teams, known as ‘bricks’, for tasks ranging from armed escorts to man-ning observation posts and entry control points.

Without hesitat ion, numerous SECDET 13 soldiers have spoken of the respect the ADGs have won for their willingness and competency in taking on all the challenges presented to them in Baghdad.

OC SECDET 13 MAJ Ewen Hedges said there is no doubt the Air Force troops have been accepted as equals by the Army members of his combat team.

“There is no difference in the tasks we give the infantry and the ADGs and having the Air Force element here has provided us with a lot of additional flex-ibility,” he said.

“Their skills and ability are equal to the infantry and they have integrated extremely well.”

For an example of the inter-Service integration and cooperation at work, look no further than SECDET 13’s snip-er team, which involves Air Force CPL Robbie Steedman paired with Army PTE Casey Poletti (pictured above).

THE Combined Arms Training Centre’s recent small arms conference discussed small arms safety, training, doctrine, capability development and related issues.

The conference cov-ered three days of discus-sion and presentations, covering topics ranging from Services updates and lethality to the ‘Buddy System’. The conference noted that of more than 70 reported small arms inci-dents in 2007, only one did not involve human error. Since January 1 this year, another 20 incidents had been reported, with human error again the key factor.

D e f e n c e S u p p o r t Group is soon to release a new Defence Instruction to provide guidance regard-ing live firing in height-ened fire periods, while the Defence Material Organisation is continu-ing to investigate ways to improve the Steyr. For more information, contact the ADF Weapons Policy Cell on (03) 5735 6490 or 0408 410758.

They spend a lot of time together on rooftops looking out over Baghdad and have formed a tight bond.

The duo is enjoying the opportuni-ty for both Services to learn from one another. “This is the first time Army and Air Force have paired a sniper team,” CPL Steedman said.

“It’s primarily an Army skill but a few Air Force personnel have been given the chance of doing the course and it’s great for us to be able to keep in touch with the Army in this way.”

CPL Steedman said that because the Air Force uses the Bushmaster, the greatest challenge for the ADGs was getting used to the Army ASLAVs – the Australian Light Armoured Vehicle – but everything else encountered within the combat team was fairly similar to what the Air Force was used to.

For Air Force Section Commander, CPL Pat Maron, the opportunity for 2AFDS to be part of SECDET 13 is a significant step forward for the way ADGs are employed on operations.

“Being the first group, there will be a great expectation of us to pass on

our knowledge and assist with the pre-deployment training of future rotations,” CPL Maron said. “Experience-wise, it’s a massive thing for us to be able to take back to our home unit. The lessons we’ve learned are things we can pass on to all the troops back home and should do wonders for our unit.

“This is also an opportunity for us to show everyone we can integrate with the infantry and do the same job as them.”

Even after several months in-coun-try, CPL Maron often still can’t believe where he is.

“At times it’s absolutely surreal. When you find yourself at one o’clock in the morning picking up someone from an LZ [landing zone] in Baghdad or standing up as a shooter on top of an ASLAV during a red zone run [a trip outside the International (Green) Zone], you ask yourself, ‘is this really happen-ing?’ It’s nothing you can pay to do. It’s been absolutely great and the experience for our guys to be over here is just won-derful.”

SECDET 13 is on a six-month rota-tion in Baghdad.

Small arms under the microscope

MATES: SECDET 13’s sniper team, CPL Robbie Steedman (left) and PTE Casey Poletti, keep a look out at an observation post in Baghdad.

ON PATROL: Below, LAC

Clifford Morgan

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Bridge in Baghdad’s

International Zone.

MAKING HISTORY: ADGs from 2AFDS in the Australian Embassy compound in Baghdad. Top from left, CPL Pat Maron, LAC Ryan Cooper; (2nd row) LAC Daniel Sultanowski; (3rd row) LAC Grant Diversi, LAC Clifford Morgan; (front) LACs Nathan Ward and Craig Kennewell. Photos by CAPT Joe Nyhan

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PARLIAMENT OF AUSTRALIA

New InquiryParliamentary Inquiry into F-111 Deseal/Reseal workers and their families.

The Defence Sub-Committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade is inquiring into issues surrounding former Royal Australian Air Force personnel and their families affected by the F-111 deseal/reseal cleaning process of fuel tanks.

The closing date for interested organisations and individuals to make written submissions addressing the Terms of Reference has been extended until 18 July 2008.

Submissions may be emailed to the address below. All paper-based submissions should be accompanied by an electronic version on disc.

For further information, please contact the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade secretariat by phone on (02) 6277 2313, via email at jscfadt@aph.gov.au of visit the inquiry website at www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jfadt.index

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10 News AIR FORCE June 26, 2008

By FLTLT Jaimie Abbott

JOINING forces with South Australian Police (SAPOL) turned into an excellent oppor-tunity for 11SQN to practise its search and rescue (SAR) tech-niques during a recent Air Sea Rescue (ASR) exercise off the coast of Adelaide.

The squadron approached the SAPOL Water Operations Unit to assist with its ASR training by positioning a simulated survivor in the Gulf of St Vincent.

11SQN personnel in two Orions conducted a visual search for the survivor and then suc-cessfully dropped Air Sea Rescue Kits (ASRK) into the water after they found the survivor.

ASRKs are a combination of inflatable life raft and stores con-tainers filled with survival aids designed to keep personnel alive until they can be recovered. In

this case, the retrieval unit was the SAPOL vessel ‘Endeavour’.

Four 11SQN personnel were on board the police vessel to assist with retrieving the ASRKs. However, it wasn’t just the Air Force who gained from the expe-rience, as eight police officers from the Water Operations and Mounted Units were on board the Orions.

“This was a fantastic oppor-tunity. It was great to interact with the SA Police and exercise the capabilities of both organisa-tions,” 11SQN’s tasking officer, FLTLT Simon Longley, said.

“Search and rescue is one of the many roles for which we maintain a high level of profi-ciency. These exercises are important to ensure that we keep our skills up-to-date so that we can achieve the best possible results, should we be called upon to save lives at sea.”

ASRK dropLET ’ER RIP: An Air Sea Rescue Kit is released out of an Orion’s bomb bay during 11SQN’s search and rescue training with the SA Police in the Gulf of St Vincent. Photos by FLTLT Simon Longley

SAFE LANDING: An Orion crew flies over the life raft it dropped from the aircraft’s bomb bay.

General Sir Francis Hassett’s dedication to duty honoured

A SOLDIER’S LAST JOURNEY: The casket of GEN Hassett is mounted on a gun-carriage as it leaves the church at Duntroon. Photo by CPL Ricky Fuller

LEADER: GEN Sir Francis Hassett with junior officers ‘in the field’.

By CPL Corinne Boer

THE ADF lost one of its most dis-tinguished Chiefs on June 11 when GEN Sir Francis Hassett (ret’d) died at the age of 90.

At a service at Duntroon Chapel on June 17, GEN Hassett was remembered for his inspiring leadership, constant achievement and relentless dedication to duty.

The funeral of the former Chief of Defence Force Staff was attended by Governor-General MAJGEN Michael Jeffery, CDF ACM Angus Houston, Chief of Army LTGEN Peter Leahy, VCDF LTGEN Ken Gillespie, Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, family and friends.

The service was highlighted by the fly-past of Hawk aircraft from RAAF Base Williamtown.

MAJGEN Jeffery described GEN Hassett has an outstanding combat sol-dier, a great military leader and a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

“Sir Francis believed in leadership by example, self-discipline and quiet com-petence,” MAJGEN Jeffery said.

“His subordinates thought that he was charismatic and his professional confi-dence and loyalty permeated through all who worked for him.”

GEN Hassett was born in Sydney in 1918 and entered RMC aged 16, gradu-ating in 1938. During his career, which spanned more than 42 years, he under-took a variety of positions, including

Chief of the General Staff (now Chief of Army). He saw active service in World War II, Korea and Malaya. At age 23, he was the youngest officer promoted to LTCOL during WWII. He is best remem-bered for his achievements in com-mand of an under-strength battalion at Maryang San in 1951, regarded as possi-bly the single greatest feat of arms by the Australian Army in the Korean War.

Shortly after his appointment to Chief of Defence Force Staff, GEN Hassett was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1976. He retired in 1977.

11 NewsAIR FORCE June 26, 2008

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By FLGOFF Anita Green

AS SOON as I arrived on the B707 with most of the Australian contingent travelling to the [50th an-niversary] celebrations, I noticed the incredible passion felt by everyone about Butterworth, Penang, the base, and its community.

The common theme in all the sto-ries is that of fond memories with life-long friends, love of the Malaysian community, and an incredible passion for all ‘things’ Butterworth.

The most remarkable person at the event was 93-year-old AIRCDRE Keith Parsons (ret’d). AIRCDRE Parsons was the first OC RAAF Support Unit Butterworth in 1958 and 1959, and fostered the wonderful rela-tionship between the Australians and Malaysians that is evident today. He encouraged all under his command to join together in sport in the belief that this would create a bond and long-last-ing relationships. AIRCDRE Parsons was proud to see that his tradition was carried on after he left.

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Distinguished Service Order and Air Force Cross, and was made a Commander of the Order

of the British Empire. He also com-manded 460SQN flying Lancasters.

The admiration that members past and present have for him was obvi-ous. All weekend he was approached by a constant string of members who wanted to talk to this great man.

The locally employed civil-ians (LECs) are an integral part of Butterworth. Without the dedication and friendship of these people, the Butterworth community would not be the wonderful place that it has been for the past 50 years. A. Krishnan worked at Butterworth from 1980 till 1988 as a driver and now works as the road movements dispatcher and the main driver for VIP guests. T. Muniandy, known as ‘German’ is a refuelling tanker driver who has been employed for 27 years at Butterworth. They are proud to be friends with the many Australians they have met through their work, and many of them are now extremely close friends.

It was remarkable to see how many past members of Butterworth made the trek to Malaysia for the reunion.

Telmay and Graeme Dodd were posted to Butterworth from 1971 to 1973. They met while Graeme was on leave in Bangkok and married on the

anniversary of Butterworth, so their visit marks not only the Butterworth 50th, but also their 36th wedding anni-versary. Graeme became the radio announcer and Technical Director of Radio RAAF Butterworth. At its peak, it serviced about 5000 Australian per-sonnel at the base, but went off the air in the late 1980s when Butterworth was downsized.

Wayne Naggs was a CPL electri-cian working at 3SQN Butterworth from 1977 until 1980. He said that many members who had been posted to Butterworth always wanted to come

back for another posting or holiday. His wife accompanied him on post-ing and their first child was born at Butterworth. His memories are of the wonderful food, lifestyle, and culture that are special to Malaysia.

Butterworth has a very special place in the hearts of all who have been posted or attached there. They will never forget the amazing friendships and experiences they have gained.

I was honoured to be a part of an event where I was surrounded by so many people who are so passionate about Butterworth.

Malaysian memories

LOCALS: Above, SGT Terry Brient from 324CSS and his wife join in the celebrations during the gala anniversary ball at the Hotel Equatorial in Penang, Malaysia.POMP: Left, CAF AIRMSHL Geoff Shepherd inspects the twilight anniversary parade held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of an RAAF support unit at Butterworth. Photos by LAC Scott Woodward

LIKE OLD TIMES: Above from left, WOFF Scott Chenery, FLTLT Wayne Dicks and WOFF John Millar at the ‘Hostie’ in Butterworth.NOW AND THEN: Right, retired AIRCDRE Keith Parsons, the first CO of Butterworth, with FLTLT Tanya Carter. Photos by LAC Scott Woodward

12 AIR FORCE June 26, 2008 13 Centrepiece

CAF AIRMSHL Geoff Shepherd talks to reporter Barry Rollings about life, leadership and camaraderie during his 37-year career as he prepares to farewell Air Force.

Ask retiring CAF AIRMSHL Geoff Shepherd what he will miss most on retire-ment from a long Air Force career and, surprisingly, his

answer is not ‘flying’.“I did that recently and the hands

and feet went to all the right places again,” he said of his most recent fast jet flight.

“I will miss that easy camaraderie of friends,” he said. “You can be any-where in the world and be talking with Air Force friends.”

This was evident on his recent trip to Gallipoli when talking to mem-bers of the Air Force Band and the Federation Guard. “You might not have met those kids before and they might not have met you but there is an easy camaraderie and familiarity.

Chief’s fi nal ‘cooee’Chief’s fi nal ‘cooee’friendship out there in other organisa-tions, so I will certainly miss that.”

CAF said that joining the Air Force was not always a life plan.

“Somewhere throughout repeating Year 12, in between growing long hair, riding a motor bike and surfing a lot, I saw an advertisement for the Air Force Academy at Point Cook. I started the recruiting process and here I am. Some would say I am a stayer, some might say I lack imagination.”

AIRMSHL Shepherd – who is well known for his Aussie catchcry “cooee” – said that there were positives and negatives, but his positives “have well and truly outweighed the negatives”.

“I am not a backward-looking per-son so I don’t tend to worry about the mistakes of the past, though lord knows, I have made enough of them. We all learn from them; that’s the main thing. I have made personal mistakes and maybe in some ways I have made some leadership and command deci-sions that have not been the best ones.

“In this job, you deal very much in conceptual issues and uncertainties. There are no clear cut, simple ‘black and white’ answers a lot of the time.

“I am more than robust enough in my own self-awareness to say that these decisions I have made, if I look backwards – which I don’t – could have been made a bit better, or perhaps a bit worse. We are all human – we learn from our mistakes and move on.”

He said he has enjoyed every post-ing. “Some of the best operational excitement I had was at Glenbrook when we first developed the Air Operations Centre. Command and con-

trol of air exercises of that centralised way was as exciting as getting in an aircraft and flying.

“Some of the decisions I have had to make as chief, some of the issues we have had to cover have been incredibly exciting and important.

“I have seen my role as more of a gradually building continuum or devel-opment with no great peak or trough; it was a line that went increasingly upward. It’s been a great career. Every job has built on every previous job. It certainly wasn’t a master plan; there was a lot of luck and opportunity in there.

He said he was proud to make chief – not for himself – but to represent the Air Force and his country as CAF.

“I can remember being proud of my first solo flight [as well], becom-ing a Mirage pilot and an F-111 pilot, and becoming a QFI (qualified flying instructor). All these things add up; we all have these bits of pride in our career baggage.

“Throughout your career, you will get things you are proud of and things that are a bit more boring. Sometimes I wish I had the proverbial dog to kick but I don’t keep a score on these things; it’s all part of life’s rich tapestry.”

He will settle near Noosa on a prop-erty that has been rented for 10 years and he has not seen for the past three. His only plan at this stage is a smooth transition from CAF to ‘civvie street’.

“The first plan is to leave the Air Force in good order both for the force and myself; there is no wind-down or caretaker period in this post.”

He estimates it will take him at least six months to draw breath. But when he does, his fishing boat beckons.

“We will have to see what life pres-ents,” he said. “I love gardening and we’ve had a wonderful house here at Duntroon. It has been a great privilege to live in one of these historic houses.

“Apart from travel, we (he and his wife Anne) enjoy tropical gardening and have 10 acres up there to work on.

“I have done a lot of travelling in this job. They have been busy, exciting trips done in top-shelf fashion but you don’t have control over them while working, so it will be nice to go back and have a look at them – from the back of aircraft rather than up front and not carrying mess kits.”

As he departs, he sees the state of the Air Force as “very good, on the threshold of a wonderful and exciting future as it re-equips over the next 10 or so years as part of the White Paper outcomes”. At the same time, he said we are doing the job now and meeting all the short-notice tasking that we are required to.

Speaking of Air Force’s needs and what it needs to deliver to the joint effect was very clear through the force structuring process, he said: “We need to be able to deliver security of

air space and air superiority. Without that, we cannot do any ground or sea manoeuvres. We need to give our army and navy colleagues the freedom to operate unhindered by air attack. Air superiority is the first and primary campaign.”

He saw himself as the tip of the Air Force spear and said he could not do his job without the whole team behind him.

“It’s the leadership team and every-one in the force working together in a cohesive way. I only ever saw it as being part of a long endurance race and it was my turn to hold the baton for this period of time,” he said. “Without culture and good people, all the poli-cies and equipment in the world don’t amount to anything.”

The hard work of the past nine years to build an aligned senior leader-ship team would make for a smooth transition for the incoming CAF.

“My proudest boast as CAF is that you could take out half the Air Force leadership team in a bus crash – heaven forbid – and the senior leadership team and the direction would stay the same because we are all aligned.” AIRMSHL Shepherd will retire on July 3.

Knowing that you are part of a bigger team has been the defining

point of my 37 years in the Air Force’

‘

“Being part of a bigger family, knowing that you are part of a bigger team has been the defining point of my 37 years in the Air Force.

“As a retiring member, while you are still part of the Air Force family in a broad sense, you are not actively in it any more and you don’t get that easy familiarity, easy Air Force family

TECHNOLOGY: Above, 10SQN’s FLTLT Richard Charles shows CAF some new systems aboard an Australian Orion in the MEAO. Photo by CPL Mike McSweeneyERA’S END: Main photo, CAF prepares to fly the last F-111G aircraft sortie. Photo by LAC Scot Woodward

WATERWORKS: Above, CAF tries his hand at firefighting during a visit to the RAAF Security and Fire School at RAAF Base Amberley. Photo by LAC Aaron CurranFIREPOWER: Left, CAF gets a feel for the F89 Minimi light machine gun, assisted by SQNLDR (now WGCDR) Wayne Kelly. Photos by LAC Aaron CurranVIP: Right, CAF signs the visitors’ register during his recent visit to the Orion detachment in the MEAO. Photo by AB Paul Berry

FAMILY GUY: Above, CAF presents a “Supporting our Air Force Team” pin to Tahlia, the daughter of 11SQN’s FSGT Tony Stevenson, during a squadron welcome home ceremony at RAAF Base Edinburgh. Photo by AC Glen McCarthyDROP ZONE: Right, CAF abseils towards the ground after leaping off the water tower during a visit to RAAF Base Wagga. Photo by Christine Williams

EXPRESSION: CAF reflects on his experiences in the Air Force. Photo by LAC Aaron Curran

MR AND MRS CHIEF: CAF and Anne Shepherd at the gala ball held by 324CSS at the Hotel Equatorial, Penang, Malaysia, for the 50th anniversary celebrations of an RAAF presence at Butterworth. Photo by LAC Scott Woodward

PUPPY POWER: CAF meets a recent edition to the puppy breeding program at the military working dog breeding cell at RAAF Base Amberley. Photo by LACW Melina Mancuso

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14 News AIR FORCE June 26, 2008

Fancy dress for GTESPO fundraisers

IT WAS an office party of a different kind at RAAFBase Williamtown recently when personnel from theGround Telecommunications Equipment SystemsPrograms Office (GTESPO) dressed up for charity.

Each year, GTESPO staff get together for a cuppaand a chat to raise money for The Australian CancerCouncil’s ‘Biggest Morning Tea’ event.

This year, however, they ‘upped the ante’ by issuingdares to members as a means of raising as much as theycould. The dares involved some interesting fancy dress.

GTESPO OC GPCAPT Mike Walkington certainlylooked like a professional in his waders, a coloured wigand boat float. It wasn’t hard to see that he was a sea-soned fisherman in this outfit.

Meanwhile, getting right into the swing of things,WGCDR Peter Pollock took on the challenge of hisdare with full gusto and spent the day dressed as abikini-clad, grass skirt-wearing lady with a long maneof golden blonde hair.

He was joined by his trend-setting companion,WOFF Nick Dentrinos, who donned sunglasses to giveCory Worthington a run for his money. In keeping withthe look, the sneaky WOFF managed to dodge all thecameras.

The Knights Templar was represented in fine formby Daronmont contractor, David Jarrett, who cut a dash-ing figure in silver chain mail, sword and shield.

Phil Barnett, project manager of minor projects,ended up feeling a little confused as he lived his morn-ing mostly backwards, including all of his clothes. Atleast everyone saw him coming.

Shvon Costar, the executive support officer who hailsfrom the Ngapuhi Tribe in Northland New Zealand,dressed in her native Maori costume and showed herexpertise in twirling her poi’s.

Finally, graduate engineer, Cameron Just, lookedto have had a bit of a down day, which showed in hisbrightly coloured blue hair. We thought he’d done it forthe State of Origin NSW side, but no, it was for charity.

The morning’s event was dedicated to GTESPO’sSQNLDR Graham Neal, who recently lost his battlewith cancer. Graham’s wife Joanne and son Hamishjoined in the event.

A total of $1406 was raised for the Cancer Council. This article was provided by Shvon Costar from GTESPO.

By Andrew Stackpool

A FAMILY facing a medical cri-sis is $11,000 better off, thanks to the hard work of a small group of dedicated volunteers at RAAF Base Williamtown and the unstinting gen-erosity of base personnel.

In November last year, local Medowie resident Sebastian Abbott complained of feeling unwell.

Medical tests found that he had a tumour the size of a small football behind his chest and an aggressive form of lymphoma. He began week-ly treatment at Newcastle’s Mater Hospital, which may continue for up to three years. To add to their prob-lems, his wife Rosie is a full-time mother to their four young children, while Sebastian is unable to work because of the severity of the two diseases.

Enter Williamtown. Some mem-bers heard of Sebastian’s condition and decided to do something about it. He was part of the Air Force family as he and Rosie each had a parent who had served in the Air Force.

They decided to raise money by holding ‘Bald for Bucks’. The event, which was held on May 20, com-prised volunteers shaving their heads

SHAVED FOR SEBASTIAN: BAE employees show off their shaved heads after participating in the ‘Bald for Bucks’ charity event at RAAF Base Williamtown. Photo provided by Sam Hays

Head first to help family

and waxing their chests to raise the money through donations, pledges and raffles.

British Aerospace employees held their own event on the other side of the base while a coin drop was organ-ised at the base front gates.

CO 381ECSS WGCDR Peter Davis said the day was a “truly mag-nificent display of community spirit”.

“So many people banded together to help the Abbott family,” he said.

“To Sam Hays and his large band

of helpers, a great big pat on the back. To all those who have sacrificed treasured parts of their body, a sac-rifice well worth while. To all those who donated prizes, sponsored par-ticipants, your generosity is greatly appreciated.

“In true Australian tradition people of the base and the community joined together to assist a family in need. As the commander of the base, I could not think of a more worthy cause to support and promote on the base.”

CHARITY COUTURE: GPCAPT Mike Walkington led the GTESPO ‘dare charge’ when he turned out in coloured wig and waders for the organisation’s annual ‘Biggest Morning Tea.” for charity. Photo provided by Shvon Costar

By FLTLT Erin van Beuningen

AFTER 60 years in the making, the combined moustaches of two senior air traffic control officers from RAAF Base East Sale were shaved into history – all in the name of char-ity.

Members from the 19 Supervisor Course led the charge at the School of Air Traffic Control (SATC) din-ing-in night to see SATC CO WGCDR Andrew Gilbert and 44WG Detachment Commander (DETCDR) SQNLDR St John Morris lose their moustaches.

Led by FLGOFF Tristan Chuntie, the postgraduate course offered a dona-tion of $10 a member to the Leukemia

Foundation’s ‘Shave for a Cure’ charity if the CO would lose the moustache he had worn since 1980. Hoping to out-manoeuvre the students without having to match their $180, the CO agreed – on the proviso that SQNLDR Morris, a fellow moustache wearer since 1975, also removed his “tach.”

Unfortunately for the CO and DETCDR, the remaining body rose as one to lay their money on the table for the good cause.

The following morning, the CO and DETCDR were summarily charged with fulfilling their duties and subse-quently shaved by local base hairdress-er, Pip Shields.

SATCO’s tach trim

BEFORE AND AFTER: WGCDR Andrew Gilbert (right) and SQNLDR St John Morris face-off after losing their moustaches at Sale for charity. Photos by CPL Col Dadd

15NewsAIR FORCE June 26, 2008

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VINTAGE Air Force aircraft briefly took to the air again as part of a renovation exercise at RAAF Base Wagga recently.

This time their flight was assist-ed and the term ‘airlift’ was given new meaning as members from Air Movements Training and Development Unit (AMTDU) visited Wagga to lower the aircraft onto newly-installed park-ing stands.

The exercise was part of the ongo-ing project to restore the RAAF Base Wagga front gate display, or ‘Gate Guards’ aircraft to a more presentable standard.

The ‘Gate Guards’ were showing their age after years of exposure to the elements. In the past, members from the base had done various repairs to the aircraft to refurbish them, but their constant exposure to the elements and the affects of the sprinklers took their toll.

The tail surfaces of the Sabre and Mirage were suffering severe degrada-tion from their proximity to the trees behind them and needed to be moved forward to prevent further damage from sap, bird droppings and detritus.

A Winjeel and Meteor located at

Lift for gategate guards

GATE GUARDS: A Mirage (above)

and Sabre (left) are lifted onto new

parking stands at the front gate of RAAF

Base Wagga with the help of visiting AMTDU personnel

from RAAF Base Richmond. Photos by

Glenn Alderton

the front gate also needed to be moved onto their new concrete parking stands.

The work was part of a larg-er project sponsored by Combat Support Unit, Wagga CO WGCDR John Herlihy and RAAF School of Technical Training (RAAFSTT) CO WGCDR John Dohnt to renovate and preserve the aircraft, and for their dis-play area to be a more inviting area for the public to visit.

“AMTDU jumped at the invitation to use the RAAF Base Wagga ‘Gate Guards’ for the exercise,” FLTLT Brendon Mulloy from RAAFSTT said.

“An aircraft recovery involved assessing the aircraft, designing a safe sling system and moving the aircraft to the required position. For the ‘Gate Guards’, the aircraft also needed to be placed onto their new pads.”

AMTDU had documentation for the Mirage and Winjeel but had to design the sling and lift procedure for the Sabre and Meteor from scratch, which tested their knowledge and adaptability.

Within three days, all four aircraft had been safely lifted onto their new parking pads.

The refurbishment of the static dis-

plays began in mid-2007 and is far from over, with new fencing, light-ing and surfacing to be installed. Repainting of the aircraft will continue for some time.

Each aircraft is being assessed and treated for corrosion and upper surface sealing to prevent moisture penetra-tion, and an ongoing maintenance pro-gram is being developed. Information for this article provided by FLTLT Brendon Mulloy.

By Paul Lineham

COMBAT Support Group (CSG) staff from around Australia and in Malaysia recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.

RAAF Base Amberley has been the home of HQ CSG since it moved from Glenbrook in 1999, so it was deemed fitting that the main events were held in Ipswich to say thank you for the local support that Ipswich has provided to CSG.

The anniversary of the forma-tion of CSG was marked by a serv-ice at St Paul’s Anglican Church in Ipswich on June 4 to remember those CSG personnel who lost their lives in both conflict and peacetime.

Ipswich City Council co-hosted a reception at the Ipswich Art Gallery to celebrate with members of the Ipswich and Brisbane communities.

The Combat Support Conference on June 4-5 at the Ipswich International Hotel included rep-resentatives from the United States and Britain and aimed to promote the importance of combat support to air operations.

Because CSG members were spread across Australia, as well as Butterworth in Malaysia, it made it difficult for all members to celebrate the anniversary in one location. To commemorate the important mile-stone, functions were held around the country by each CSG unit on May 16.

“While the group has changed subtly in recent years, the require-ments for the existence of CSG remain as relevant today as it was in 1998,” Commander CSG AIRCDRE Mark Gower said.

HQ CSG celebrates

TRAINING POWER: Senior instructor SQNLDR Gary Bremer explains the workings of a Mk 82 Bomb to

weaponeering course student FLGOFF Piotr Jaster.Left, SQNLDR Bremer conducts a weaponeering

course. Digitally manipulated image. Photos by CPL Col Dadd

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16 News AIR FORCE June 26, 2008

Know your weaponsTHE SCHOOL of Air Warfare

(SAW) at RAAF Base East Sale strives to broaden the knowledge of its graduates, so that they can better understand the wider application of air power.

“The more ‘hands-on’ aspects of the delivery of air power have tradi-tionally been regarded as the exclu-sive domain of the fast jet fraternity,” SAW Weapons and Systems Flight Commander SQNLDR Gary Bremer said.

“The knowledge required to employ those weapons was left to those who carried the bombs but this is no longer the case as more people become direct-ly or indirectly involved with weapon delivery. It is vital that all war-fighters understand the application of lethal or non-lethal effects.”

SAW had faced a number of chal-lenges in recent months, as it transi-tioned to train the air combat officer (ACO) category.

“As the School of Air Navigation, it turned out high-quality graduates for decades, supplying aviators to Air Force and Navy and also to air forces from countries such as New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore. Despite the changes, that tradition is set to contin-ue but with a subtle shift in emphasis,” SQNLDR Bremer said.

“The application of air power resides not just with those who fly but with a multitude of operators across a broad spectrum of platforms and envi-ronments; the ACO category is a key component of that future capability.”

SAW aims to produce graduates

with a broad understanding of the concept of war-fighting in a modern, networked environment. Once the students graduate, they develop those skills through postgraduate training.

“The staff at SAW have a role to play in postgraduate development, including the training of instructors at SAW. Probably less well known is that SAW is the sole provider of training for Air Force in weapons employment.

“The weapon training provided by SAW is delivered in a modular package known as the Weapons Employment Course (WEC). Originally aimed at aircrew, the WEC now has wide appli-cability to several categories within Air Force and the other Services, and comprises three separate courses,” SQNLDR Bremer said.

The Weapons Theory Course pro-vides training in the principles, appli-cations and limitations of the employ-ment and effects of conventional weapons. It introduces a basic level of knowledge in radar, electro-optics and electronic combat. It covers weapon types, their functions and effects, the

basic principles of weapon guidance and the delivery of weapons.

The Weaponeering Basic Course provides training in the computer-based methodology applied to the weaponeering of conventional air-to-surface weapons. It outlines the target-ing cycle and techniques required to correctly weaponeer specific targets.

The Advanced Course provides training in the duties required to effec-

tively apply weaponeering methodol-ogy in a joint air operations centre, headquarters, squadron or unit, and the competency to lecture WEC mate-rial. The course exposes students to the targeting process and reinforces the targeting cycle and techniques required to correctly weaponeer specific target sets.

“Ten courses are run each year at SAW,” SQNLDR Bremer said.

“However, the instructors are keen to ensure they provide the level of train-ing required by units and are willing to visit units to deliver tailored courses.

“The name of the unit may have changed but the staff at SAW is dedi-cated to providing capability through training; their core business.” For more information, visit the SAW website: http://intranet.defence.gov.au/raafweb/sites/schoolofairwarfare

17AIR FORCE June 26, 2008

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CREW CONNECTION: Above, SGT Peter Hedger from 10SQN assists his crew during a tactical exercise in preparation for the recent Fincastle Trophy competition in Canada. Photo by ACW Shannon UrieKNIGHT OUT: Below centre, WOFF-AF Ray Woolnough takes the throne at WOFF Graham Farrington’s farewell dinner at the RAAF Base Wagga Sergeants’ Mess. Photo courtesy of Angel Photography

BLOOMIN’ GOOD: LAC Jeremy Halcrow tends to a resident’s garden at the Old Timers’ retirement village during No. 1 Radar Surveillance Unit’s visit to Alice Springs over the Anzac Day long weekend. The unit traditionally visits the home and carries out general maintenance each year.

Photo by AC Vasilis Solomou

RED ALERT: WGCDR Reg Carruthers puts his feet up in the mobile RedCross Blood Bank at RAAF Base Edinburgh, joined by WGCDR RichardTrotman-Dickenson, PLTOFF Nicole Glaser and WOFFs Jacqui Reid andMark Wilson. The team from Information Warfare Wing Group volunteeredtheir veins for the worthy cause. Photo by ACW Shannon Urie

MODEL: WOFF Jodi Graham stands next to a bas-relief figure of an Iraqi soldier on a mural outside the Australian Headquarters at Camp Victory in Baghdad. Photo by CAPT Cameron Jamieson

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18 Cadets Corner AIR FORCE June 26, 2008

BULLETIN BOARDAir Force BandJune 26: The band will support the 2FTS dining-in night at the RAAF Base Pearce Offi cers’ Mess.June 27: The Ceremonial Band will support the 2FTS pilots’ graduation at RAAF Base Pearce.June 27: Various chamber ensembles will give a free lunchtime concert at St John’s Southgate, Melbourne, from 12.30-1.30pm. June 27: The Sydney Detachment will provide back-ground music for the ACAUST handover/takeover dinner at the RAAF Base Glenbrook Offi cers’ Mess.June 28: The band will support the 33SQN “End of Era” event to signify the retirement of the B707 air-craft at the 33SQN hangar, RAAF Base Richmond, from 6pm.July 1: The band will travel to Ballarat to provide background music for the RAAF Association’s annual dinner.July 1: The Ceremonial Band will travel to Canberra to support the 28SQN Freedom of the City parade.July 2: The Ceremonial Band will support the lat-est graduation of airmen from 1RTU at RAAF Base Wagga from 11am.July 2: The Ceremonial Band will support the latest graduation of offi cers from OTS at RAAF Base East Sale from 11.30am.July 6: The Ceremonial Band will aid the Air Force Reserves in celebrating Reserve Forces Day in the Melbourne CBD.

Reserve Forces DayJoin in the Reserve Forces Day celebrations and receive a unique commemorative certifi cate signed by Governor-General MAJGEN Michael Jeffery. Parades and celebrations commemorating the 60th anniversary of the re-formation of part-time military service following World War II will be held at 17 locations throughout Australia, commencing Saturday June 28. � To receive this one-off commemorative

certifi cate, register now, or on the day, with your appropriate unit association. Celebration dates, locations and list of unit associations are listed on www.rfd.org.au

36SQN Association reunionThe 36SQN Association is planning to hold a reunion at RAAF Base Amberley on October 3. Current, former and new members are welcome to attend.� For more information, contact Ian Christensen at

chrisso_c@bigpond.com or call 0417 224017.

CFS’s 95th anniversaryCentral Flying School (CFS) is celebrating its 95th anniversary on August 15. As part of the celebrations, CFS is hosting a reunion dinner and other activities. Former CFS members wishing to attend are requested to send their details to FLGOFF Amanda Van de Paverd at email: amanda.vandepaverd@defence.gov.au Members without email access should send their request by mail to CFS, RAAF Base East Sale, VIC 3852.� For more information, contact FLGOFF Van De

Paverd on (03) 5146 7303.

By CPL (AAFC)Kate Johnson

PURSUING their love of avi-ation through the Australian Air Force Cadets (AAFC) recently paid off for six cadets from 8WG, AAFC.

LCDT Michael Dreghorn, CUO Michael Marriner, CFSGTs Dani Brewster and Byron Collins and CSGTs Jack Simpson and Allan Sommerville have achieved careers in aviation.

Since their first solo flight with the AAFC, they have gained employment with the Vincent Aviation company and two have become commercially accred-ited in flying its 19-passenger Beechcraft 1900 and nine-passen-ger Cessna Conquest 441.

L C D T D r e g h o r n , C U O Marriner, CFSGT Brewster and CSGT Sommerville gained their initial aviation experience through the AAFC after they were award-ed the Ian Davidson Memorial Scholarship of $5000.

This grant enables selected cadets to attain their first solo flight after an intensive week of flight training.

CSGT Simpson and CFSGT Collins learnt to fly through the AAFC.

CUO Marriner began his cadet career at the age of 13, and since completing his first solo at 16, started with Vincent Aviation as a ground handler in 2006. Now, two years later, he is a first officer for the company.

“Opportunities come and go. I have made sure that when a door opens, I walk through and don’t look back,” he said.

Six in the sky

RECENTLY, Navy, Army and Air Force cadets attended the 2008 ADF lifestyles camp in Darwin. They toured Navy, Army and Air Force establishments in the Top End, including RAAF Bases Darwin and Tindal and HMA Ships Coonawarra and Maryborough. The cadets received presentations on a wide range of careers from serving members, including bomb disposal experts, engineers, medics, air traffic controllers and weapons specialists.

Cadets camp out

“If I did [look back], I wouldn’t be where I am now. It’s thanks to those pilots who help the cadets, not only in Darwin but Australia-wide, donating their time and expe-rience. It is invaluable.”

CFSGT Dani Brewster said that starting out as a ground handler “wasn’t anything flash when all you want to do is fly.

“But I’m in the aviation indus-

try and getting paid, so that’s a bonus,” he said.

SQNLDR (AAFC) Cameron Marchant , the AAFC’s OC Northern Territory, is Vincent Aviation’s manager of checking and training for pilots.

“These cadets were select-ed because of their strong work ethic,” he said. “They possess the military understanding of follow-

ing instructions, the personal dis-cipline to use their initiative and carry out their duties with the utmost professionalism.”

Company founder Peter Vincent said: “We are not just looking for well qualified and experienced pilots. We are looking for people who can work as part of our team, and help us work to make the job go smoothly.”

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AAFC AVIATORS: From left, 8WG cadets CSGT Jack Simpson, CUO Michael Marriner, CFSGT Dani Brewster and CSGT Allan Sommerville get acquainted with their future ‘office’ in the sky. Photo courtesy of CPL (AAFC) Kate Johnson

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By WGCDR Jim Lewis Deputy Director Military

Personnel Policy

WHEN the media announces the serious injury or death of an Austral-ian serviceman or servicewoman, the tragedy is felt throughout the Defence community. But imagine if that trag-edy belonged to your family, and that they were learning about your injury, or worse, from someone outside the Defence organisation.

If this scenario is beyond your imagination, consider the possibility of you seriously injuring yourself in your day-to-day role, or while training. How would you feel if you were in hospital and no one was able to let your family know?

While every effort is made to stop casualties in the ADF, they can-not always be avoided. When they do occur, the ADF’s highest priority after treating casualties is notifying the pri-mary emergency contact (PEC) and next of kin (NOK) as quickly as pos-sible.

Defence has defined procedures to ensure casualty information is pro-vided to the PEC and NOK in a timely fashion by trained notification teams.

As part of Defence’s commitment to continuously improve support to mem-bers and their families, the policy for these procedures was recently updated to include lessons learnt from recent casualty notification cases.

To ensure the accuracy and timeli-ness of casualty information, a number of changes have been made to DI(G) PERS 11-2 – Notification of Australian Defence Force and non-Australian Defence Force Casualties, including: ADF members are now required to ensure that their PEC and NOK information on PMKeyS is current, both annually and prior to a deploy-ment. PECs may now be notified of a casu-alty without an ADF member’s con-sent. When this type of notification is made, information will be limited to a member’s casualty classification (for example, very seriously ill). The initial notification signal has been simplified so that trained noti-fication personnel can notify the PEC and NOK faster than before.In all casualty notifications, the

most important elements are accuracy, speed and compassion. These updated procedures will ensure that PECs and

NOK know of the facts quickly and receive immediate support from the Defence organisation.

PMKeyS is the primary source of information used in all casualty noti-fication situations, so its accuracy is of the highest importance.

Keep NOKNOK current

Members must check their PEC and NOK details in PMKeyS annu-ally. Members must ensure they update their PEC and NOK details in PMKeyS whenever their cir-cumstances change. Members must ensure they check their PEC and NOK details before any deployment.

PECs may now be notified of a casualty without the member’s consent. The notification signal has been simplified so PEC and NOK can be notified faster. Accurate information and faster procedures mean PEC and NOK will know the facts as quickly as possible so they get rapid sup-port.

Update your details now

THE 2008 Reserve Census and At-titude Survey Questionnaires will be mailed to members of the Navy, Army and Air Force Reserves this month.

“While the questionnaire will be mailed to all reservists along with a reply-paid envelope for return of the doc-ument by August 8, for the first time an online version will also be available for completion as an alternative to the paper version,” project coordinator MAJ Ian Crellin said.

Members will find website address details for the online option in the pack which is mailed to them.

“This questionnaire is very important for all reserves,” said MAJ Crellin. “It is a means whereby individual members can provide essential feedback on the issues that individual reservists may be facing in their continuing service.

“It will also provide a range of essential information for the effective management of ADF Reserves and the development of future policy to increase the employability and capability of the reserves.

“Further, it will build on information collected in earlier attitude surveys in 2001 and 2004.”

The Directors General-Reserves of Navy, Army and Air Force have identi-fied information requirements specific to their Service. They will use this opportu-nity to plan the level of reserve contribu-tion to future capability.

“This information is vital,” MAJ Crellin said.

“We are encouraging all reservists to stand up and be counted.” This article was contributed by the Reserve and Employer Support Division.

Reservists to stand up and be counted

Air Force Departure Lounge� Who’s leaving after 20 or more years’ service

Must/SpecGSEFITTCLKASURFINCETECHATECHCLKSPLYATECHSPLR

Last day June 3June 10May 19June 2May 19June 2May 31June 16

Years2624222221212120

NameSGT Haigh CampbellWOFF Tracy DeanFSGT John DrummondSGT Brian MullinSGT Shayne PawlenkoFSGT Gary ThomasFSGT Scott WilliamsCPL Gary Duckitt

THE Government has commit-ted $12.2 million over the next four years to a trial to provide basic medical and dental care to fami-lies living in remote and regional locations. This trial is part of the Government’s commitment to rec-ognise the service and sacrifices of ADF personnel and the important

and valuable role their families play in the achievement of the Defence mission. For more information, see the Intranet site: http://intranet.defence.gov.au/dsg/sites/ADFDepHealth/ or the Internet site: www.defence.gov.au/health/Dependant_Healthcare/i-healthcare.htm

Healthcare trial for families

IN TOUCH: Australian soldiers farewell a fallen comrade during a ramp ceremony in Afghanistan. Make sure your details are up to date so your family can be informed quickly if you are injured, or worse. Photo by CPL Neil Ruskin

Turning 30-something?Don’t let your birthday end in higher premiums.

30 JuneJoin by

If your partner is 30-something and does not have private hospital insurance,then they’re looking at higher premiums.

Under the Federal Government Lifetime Health Cover initiative, health funds are requiredto apply a 2% premium loading for every year a person delays purchasing hospital coverafter turning 30.

As a permanent member of the ADF, the premium loading will not affect you until youdischarge. However you do need to consider its effect on your partner.

By purchasing Defence Health hospital cover by 30 June, your partner’s premium loading will be minimised. And if you make the purchase by 30 June, following your partner’s 31stbirthday, the loading will be avoided altogether.

Remember, the longer you leave it the more it will cost.

For details call Defence Health on 1800 335 425 or visit www.defencehealth.com.au

20 History AIR FORCE June 26, 2008

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FORTY years of faithful service began for the Orion in November, 1964, when the RAAF ordered 10 of the P-3B variant to replace its Neptunes operated by 11SQN. The new aircraft would be based at 11SQN’s new home of RAAF Base Edinburgh.

11SQN’s first aircraft was delivered there on May 13, 1968. Meanwhile, 10SQN’s Neptunes were showing their age and in March, 1975, eight of the P-3C model were ordered. Shortly afterwards, a decision was made to base all LRMP aircraft at Edinburgh under 92WG, so a further two ‘Charlies’ were ordered in September the following year. Delivery of the new aircraft took place between May 26, 1978 and January 16, 1979.

10SQN moved to Edinburgh in July 1977.Both marques of the Orions quickly proved their

worth. However, the ‘Charlie’ had other advantages as it could carry the Australian-designed Barra sonobuoy and the Harpoon long range anti-shipping missile.

They also needed only 10 crew members as opposed to the 12 in the ‘Bravo’.

Consequently, a decision was made to replace the P-3Bs with another 10 P-3Cs and a contract was signed on June 29, 1982. The ‘Bravos’ were sold to Portugal.

Continued advances in digital technology and three major upgrades led to the evolution of the airframes from 2002 of an Australian-specific Orion, the AP-3C.

The Orion has proved an outstanding aircraft, which has participated in activities around the world. Versatile in maritime surveillance (including regular deployments over the South Pacific and Indian Oceans – from RMAF Base Butterworth), in 2003, the aircraft deployed to the Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO) in support of international operations there and added an overland intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability to its bow.

THE Tanilba Bay community of NSW has farewelled a much-loved local – WOFF Peter Ronald Greer (ret’d), who passed away on May 20.

Born on April 4, 1948, he enlisted in August 1966 in the radio tech ground mus-tering. He served 22 years, including stints at RAAF Bases Richmond, Williamtown and Laverton before discharging on August 22, 1988, from the Air Transportable Telecommunications Unit at Richmond.

He was the much-loved husband of Terri, loving father and father-in-law of Sarah and CPL Colin Chiu (37SQN RAAF Base Richmond), Brian, Daniel, Connie and

Radio tech farewelledledWOFF Peter Greer (ret’d)

Eyes on Orions

Dennis; loved “poppy” of Ryan and Michael, much-loved son of Ron and Maude, and loved brother and brother-in-law of Sue and Kevin and their families.

WOFF Greer was always keen to help out his local RSL with setting up on Anzac Day, and any other local festivals. He often helped fellow citizens of Tanilba Bay with a wide variety of handy man and electrical work, and his time and work often given without any request for payment.

He was also an avid painter with entries in 2007 and 2008 for the famous Archibald Prize.

His medals included the Defence Force Service Medal, National Medal, and Australian Defence Medal. This obituary was provided by CPL Colin Chiu.

LONG HAUL: 11SQN CO WGCDR Warren McDonald and former member Bill Burnett join in the Orion’s 40th anniversary celebrations.

Photos by AC Brenton Kwaterski

VALE: WOFF

Peter Greer receiving

his Defence Force

Service Medal.

SAY G’DAY: Former Orion air and groundcrew members catch up on old times at Edinburgh.

21LifestyleAIR FORCE June 26, 2008

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What is RSL Legal Aid?

The RSL Legal Aid Scheme is an initiative of the RSL in cooperation with National Legal Aid (NLA). It is a scheme designed to facilitate the provision of free legal information and preliminary legal advice to Australian Defence Force personnel wherever they may be serving.

Information about civilian law is available from a number of sources, including legal aid commissions and law societies in each state and territory of Australia. Sometimes an understanding of the law relating to your problem will enable you to decide how best to handle it. Sometimes you may also need legal advice. The RSL Legal Aid Scheme is designed to help you obtain information about the law and preliminary advice about your problem.

For information about how to access the scheme, visit the RSL website at:

http://www.rsl.org.au

LET’s begin by making one point. Very few PT sessions need to be hard. ‘If PT isn’t hard it isn’t PT’ is an old and archaic mindset. Be warned, these are much more fun with a training part-ner.The office session orholiday session Exercises: Squat, push-up, walk.Set up an hourly reminder on your desk-top PC or watch to begin at 9am. At the first reminder, begin this low intensi-ty workout in your work clothes (you should not be breathing heavily at all). For this session, your training range should be 30 to 50 per cent of your maxi-mum best effort – depending on your fit-ness – for the squat and push-up. Do the exercises sequentially, completing one set of each. For example, if you can nor-mally complete 30 push-ups, do 10 to 15. Once you have completed the squat and push-up, walk up one flight of stairs or walk from one end of the office block to the other. Return to work and wait for the next reminder. Each training set should last for no longer than a maximum of five minutes. Keep training until 4pm.

By the end of the day you would have clocked up eight mini training sessions and at least 250 per cent of your maxi-mum squat and push-up effort.

Other exercises can be added depend-ing on what is available. Sign out a medi-cine ball for a week, find a chin-up beam, or do dips off a stable chair or desk.

The Egyptian session Exercises: Squat, chin-up, push-up, sit-up, cycle.

This format has you do the exercises in a pyramid. Decide on your method. Will it be up five, 10, 15 or 20? Will it

be down 20, 15, 10 or five? Regardless, warm up thoroughly.

For the squat, chin-up, push-up and sit-up, start off at an intensity of around 75 per cent of your maximum (if the rep-etitions are too high – over two minutes per exercise – add a medicine ball and recalculate the maximum with this load beforehand).

Complete your first set. After the first set, jump on the cycle and ride at an easy pace for one minute, a moderate pace for two minutes and then another easy pace for a final minute.

You can pause for up to a minute between each exercise and reduce or remove the break as you progress. As soon as you have finished riding, move back to the squat, chin-up, push-up and sit-up, this time reducing your repetitions by one for every repetition you complet-ed in the first set (for example 10 – nine – eight or 20 – 18 – 16 or 50 – 45 – 40).

Get back on the cycle. “Pyramid up” by adding one minute to the moderate training period. In this example, this means riding easy for one minute, mod-erate for three minutes and easy again for one minute.

Repeat the last two steps until you have completed as many sets as you desire or when your squats, chin-ups, push-ups and sit-ups reach zero. The good part about this double pyramid is that even as your resistance exer-cises decrease, your metabolic exercise increases. Don’t forget to cool down.

The out of time – low volume, high intensityExercises: Chin-up, push-up, run.

For those days when you are short of time, these 12 to 15 minutes of training will be worth it.

Tired of the standard three sets of 10 reps? LT Rob Orr has created sample training sessions to provide variety in routines.

HEALTH

Get warmed up. Then do one set max chin-ups; one set max push-ups, moving straight into a 400m jog (if possible place cones or a marker out every 100m with a turnaround at 200m). Start off at a moderate pace, getting faster to around 90 per cent effort for the last 100m. Don’t rest, do two repeats. Don’t forget to cool down. Your maximum session time should be close to half an hour.

Final training pointsYour permanent fitness is built up

over time with continuous progres-sive development. Pushing hard for every session will lead to overtrain-ing and injury and, for the general population, PT will become a punish-ment and you’ll take every chance to avoid it.

You should do low to moderate intensity more often and high inten-sity sessions as a treat, which means no more than once every three to four weeks. After all, which is the soldier more desired on the battlefield: the fit and healthy member who is physical-

ly capable and alert or the one who can run really fast, but is constantly injured, tired and may in fact never actually get there?

Practice does not make perfect: perfect practice makes perfect. Take the time to ensure that exercises are performed with strict exercise tech-nique. Muscles do not respond to the amount of weight you lift, they respond to the amount of stimula-tion received so remember it’s not how much you lift, but how well youlift it.

Fitness built over time

TOUGH TREADS: Make the stairs work for your general fitness. Photo by CPL Corinne Boer

22 Lifestyle AIR FORCE June 26, 2008

Learn from the ADF family all you need to know about your money.

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ADF Financial Services Consumer CouncilFor more information visit www.adfconsumer.gov.au or contact us at adf.consumer@defence.gov.au

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Half Page1.indd 1 5/2/08 4:31:06 PM

Australian Securities and Investments Commission Chairman Tony D’Aloisio explains one of the less common investment products.

FINANCE

Know the risk of debentures

INVESTMENT CHOICES: Don’t be left in the dark when it comes to debentures. Photo by CPL Chris Moore

AUSTRALIAN investors are faced with thousands of choices when it comes to in-vesting their funds. The most common financial products are well known, such as shares in a company or a fixed-term deposit at a bank.

Debentures are a more sophisticated financial product option, which ADF members have been showing some inter-est in at recent ADF Financial Services Consumer Council seminars.

Debentures have also gained a higher profile as a result of the collapse of debenture issu-ing companies – Westpoint, Australian Capital Reserve and Fincorp.

These companies issued a specific type of debenture known as an unlisted, unrated debenture.

ASIC has taken some spe-cific action in relation to unlist-

ed, unrated debentures, which I will discuss later in this article.

What are debentures?

A debenture is one way for a business to raise money from investors.

In return for an investor’s money, the business (or issuer) promises to pay the investor interest and pay back the money lent to them (the capital) on a future date.

By investing in a debenture, the investor is effectively lend-ing their money to a business. The issuer might use the money to finance business activities.

They might also lend the money to another business, which is known as on-lending.

Debentures are fixed interest investments.

This means that the inter-est rate on the money investors lend is set in advance.

POINTS TO CONSIDER� Read the prospectus

to learn how the invest-ment works.

� Read ASIC’s new free investor guide.

� If you don’t understand the product or risks after reading the pro-spectus then ask your-self if you should really be investing in it.

However, the actual interest payments on your money and return of your capital are not certain – in fact, the payment of any return is not guaranteed at all.

In this way, a debenture is not the same as a term deposit.

Unlisted and unrated debentures

As the name suggests, unlisted and unrated debentures aren’t listed on public stock exchanges, making it difficult to work out the value of the invest-ment.

Also, these products don’t have a credit rating so there is no independent assessment of the risk of losing any of the funds.

Conversely, some deben-tures are listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and traded widely.

ASIC’s benchmarks and guidelines

ASIC has introduced chang-

es to improve the quality of the information made available, or disclosures, to retail investors.

We have developed eight benchmarks that apply to issu-ers of unlisted, unrated deben-tures and introduced new guide-lines on the advertising of these products.

The benchmarks cover such things as how much money the issuer has invested in the busi-ness (equity capital) and the issuer’s liquidity – which is the issuer’s ability to meet short-term cash needs.

These benchmarks are designed to help investors and their advisers assess the risks of an unlisted, unrated debenture product.

ASIC’s new free investor

guide, Investing in debentures? Independent guide for inves-tors reading a prospectus for unlisted debentures provides further explanation about these products, the new benchmarks and how to use the benchmarks when reading a prospectus.

Before investing, identify your financial objectives and assess the risks.

If you can’t afford to risk losing any of your capital, you might consider other financial products from specially regu-lated financial institutions, such as banks. For more information or a copy of ASIC’s investor guide, visit www.fido.gov.au or call 1300 300 630. Email suggest-ed topics for this column to ADFcolumn@asic.gov.au

23SportAIR FORCE June 26, 2008

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MEMBERS of the ADF serving in the Middle East were anxiously awaiting the second State of Origin rugby league match between Queensland and NSW on the night of June 11.

Origin football is famous for pitching mate against mate and state against state. That rival-ry has spilled over into Baghdad where Origin fever is igniting friendly but keen state paro-chialism among the normally tight-knit group that forms the ADF’s Security Detachment (SECDET) in the International Zone.

State of Origin time in Iraq not only means it’s mate against mate and state against state,

but also Army versus Air Force. For the first time, the current SECDET rotation (SECDET 13) includes airfield defence guards – the Air Force equivalent of an Army infantry soldier (see page 9 for the full story).

Although the soldiers and airmen have formed close bonds nearing the mid-point of their six-month deployment, mateship and inter-Service cooperation were put aside on Wednesday when everyone barracked for their respective states.

Pictured below is Air Force Maroons sup-porter SGT Clayton Haack having a friendly jostle with Army Blues fan CPL Anthony

Rann inside the Security Detachment Baghdad compound as State of Origin fever hit. Inset, SGT Haack (right) joins forces with Army’s CPL Tyrone Cashin to watch the game in the Maroons camp.

SGT Haack is a member of No. 2 Airfield Defence Squadron (2ADFS), based at RAAF Base Amberley. The airfield defence guard would have been glad to have packed his Maroons jersey, after his team crushed NSW in the second State of Origin clash 30-0.

The friendly SECDET rivalry will reach fever pitch on July 2 when the decider is played back home in Australia.

By SQNLDR Grant Pinder

A SHARED love of the sport has led to the Australian Services Cricket Association (ASCA) arranging for a cricket bat signed by the Australian team to be presented to Sudan-based Indian military officer LTGEN Jasbir Singh Lidder.

LTGEN Lidder is the outgoing Chief Military and Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).

The ADF contingent to UNMIS, through its commander LTCOL Bill Coates, set the ball rolling in the quest to obtain the bat for LTGEN Lidder.

CDF ACM Angus Houston endorsed the concept in his capacity as ASCA patron, and Cricket Australia also sup-ported the presentation of the specially-signed bat.

LTGEN Lidder, who had been serv-ing in his current role for more than two years, received the bat recently in Khartoum at UNMIS headquarters.

A passionate cricket enthusiast, LTGEN Lidder enjoyed great rapport with the ADF personnel during his time in post, most notably during the 2007/08 Australia and India cricket series.

There are 15 ADF personnel deployed to the Sudan as part of Operation Azure.

GAME PLANNetball� ACT ADF netball teams are calling for

players to join the ACT women’s, men’s and mixed teams for the Australian Defence Force Netball Association (ADFNA) national carnival from September 28-October 4 in Adelaide.

� For information in participating in trials at the end of this month, or for selection in one of the ACT teams, contact FLTLT Tanya Leifels at email: tanya.leifels@defence.gov.au or for APS players, contact Iain Rowley at email: iain.rowley@defence.gov.au

Squash� The 2008 Australian Defence national

squash championships will be held at RAAF Base Williamtown from August 25-29.

� This year, the Australian Defence Squash Racquets Association would like to see an increase in APS participants. Interested APS players should contact Phil Whiteman on (02) 496 5626. For more information, visit: http://intranet.defence.gov.au/dsg/sites/squash/

Golf� Air Force is looking for men and women

golfers keen on representing it in the inter-Service golf competition from October 24-28. The team, to play at Mollymook Golf Club on the NSW South Coast, will consist of 11 players and one reserve.

� Interested players should contact SQNLDR Mark Wilkins on (02) 6265 5083 or email: mark.wilkins2@defence.gov.au or FLTLT Wayne Thompson on (02) 6127 2596 or email: wayne.thompson2@defence.gov.au

Bowls� All ADF current and former serving

personnel are invited to contest the National Diggers’ Bowls Carnival in Dubbo from September 16-18.

� Play will be in the traditional triples format held over three days. The entry fee is $30 per player with the organisers hoping to raise more than $10,000 for the Starlight Foundation during the carnival.

� For more information or nomination forms, visit www.dubborailwaybowlingclub.com.au or contact Eric Chamberlain on 0447 139737 or email: ericchamberlain@tadaust.org.au

ADF cricket gesture unites fans in Sudan

BOWLED OVER: Commander Australian Contingent LTCOL Bill Coates presents the bat to LTGEN Jasbir Singh Lidder, flanked by LCDR Ben Favelle, MAJ Hamish Macintyre, SQNLDR Scott Le Fevre, SGT Brenda Rielly and SGT Chris Warwick. The ADF members have since returned to Australia. Photo provided by LCDR Ben Favelle

State of rivalry

Photos by CAPT Joe Nyhan

Air Force claims third in golf champs FLTLT Brenden Casey from

Latchford Barracks (Bonegilla) flew the flag for Air Force with a third placing at the ADF Golf Cup Championships at Wodon-ga Country Club recently.

Army’s WO1 Bruce Sukroo and SGT Rowan Clayton won the major events.

The cup is a tri-Service event open to Defence personnel from all over Australia (regular

and reserve serving members). The ADF Golf Association’s North-East Victorian Regional Championship, restricted to players from Albury-Wodonga and Wagga, was won by SGT Clayton, with 69 and 65 for a total of 134 net over the 36 holes.

WO1 Ian Mitchell , who carded a 72 and 71 for a total of 143, was second with FLTLT Casey third, carding 73 and 72

for a total of 145. With signifi-cant changes to the course since last year, competitors from Queensland, NSW, the ACT, SA and Victoria were challenged by the 6289m course.

“Organisers wish to encour-age more women and retired players to compete in the 2009 ADF Cup Golf Championship,” one of the organisers, WO1 Danny Wolfe said.

SPORT

By Barry Rollings

AIR FORCE had five players selected in the representative team at the Australian Defence Tenpin Bowling Association’s (ADTBA) national championships from June 2-6 at Tuggeranong Bowl in Can-berra.

They were CPL Keiran Wyllie, CPL Mick Walker, FSGT Brett Byers, FSGT Dennis Dillon and LAC James Mitchell.

The titles read like an Army ben-efit after it swept most of the awards and had the majority of players selected in the representative team.

Army had 10 members selected

in the Combined Services national tenpin bowling team, with four from the APS and one from Navy.

Those selected will go on to con-test the Australian championships as the Australian Defence Organisation team at Tuggeranong Bowl in October.

This year’s tournament began with the inaugural Services chal-lenge, a four-cornered event for Navy, Army, Air Force and APS organised by WO Raymon Cooper (Navy).

Army won and will defend its crown next year in Victoria.

The Combined Services State versus State was contested with sin-

gles, doubles and teams competi-tions over 18 games in challenging conditions.

The GB Plate for those members who did not qualify for the Masters event was won by PTE Liam Wardell from NSW with PTE Gay Arnell from Queensland the run-ner-up.

The Masters Champion of the ADTBA for the second succes-sive year was PTE David Edwards from Queensland, defeating fellow Queenslander MAJ Jamie Arnell in a closely fought encounter.

The ACT was the overall winner of the ADTBA nationals, closely fol-lowed by Queensland.

KING PINS

Air Force takes to the fast lane in the ADF tenpin national champs

ROCK ’N’ ROLL: Air Force’s CPL Keiran Wyllie from Defence Network Operations Centre, HMAS Harman, keeps his eye

on the pins after a straight delivery down the aisle during the Australian Defence Tenpin Bowling Association’s national

championships in Canberra. Photo by LAC Aaron Curran

Inside: ■ League ■ GolfJune 26, 2008