Black Hawk 221 Board of Inquiry
| Hon. David Levine RFD QC | Group Captain Steve Fielder AM | Commander Andrew Rourke RAN |
The Hon David Daniel Levine RFD QC has had a distinguished legal career. Completing Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws at the University of Sydney, he was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1971 and was appointed Queens Counsel in 1984. He was a Judge of the New South Wales District Court from 1987 to 1992. From 1992 to 2005, he was a Judge of the New South Wales Supreme Court until his retirement. The President has been awarded the Reserve Forces Decoration (RFD) and was a member of the NSW Naval Legal Reserve Panel (1972 – 2004). He has also filled numerous roles including: • Chairman: State Records, New South Wales (1996 – 2000) He is an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Law at UTS (since 2005) and Chairman of the Serious Offenders Review Council (August 2006). BOARD MEMBER: Group Captain Steve Fielder AM Group Captain Fielder joined the Air Force on leaving high school in 1973. After graduating from the RAAF Academy, he completed pilot training and flew Iroquois helicopters operationally before completing test pilot training in the UK. The following eight years were filled with a variety of flying tasks and leadership roles, including project management activities; all with a test flying emphasis. Following graduation from Canadian Forces Staff College, he took command of the Air Force's Officer Training School and completed a follow-on appointment as Commanding Officer of the Air Force's Flight Test Squadron. Group Captain Fielder completed a variety of assignments before taking on the role as the Commander of the Aerospace Operational Support Group in 2003. Most recently, he completed an Master of Science in National Security Strategy at the National Defense University in Washington DC, before taking up his most recent appointment as the Director of Strategic Planning and Governance for Air Force. A former Black Hawk test-pilot, GPCAPT Fielder brings to the Board of Inquiry significant knowledge and experience of Black Hawk handling qualities, and its dynamic behaviour under certain circumstances and an understanding of ship-borne helicopter operations. Group Captain Fielder was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia in 1989 for services as a helicopter test pilot. BOARD MEMBER: Commander Andrew Rourke RAN Commander Andrew Rourke joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1979 and has extensive operational and command experience, having spent most of his career at sea or in Operational Headquarters. Most recently, he was Commanding Officer of HMAS MANOORA (2004-2006), a sister ship to KANIMBLA. Whilst serving in HMAS CANBERRA, Commander Rourke completed an operational deployment to the Middle East in support of Operation DAMASK, enforcing UN sanctions against Iraq in 1992. Embarked in USS CORONADO, he completed a two-year exchange tour with the United States Navy Third Fleet and was the primary planner for Exercise RIMPAC 98. Commander Rourke has served as the Executive Officer of HMAS BRISBANE, the RAN’s last destroyer, for that ship’s final year in service and he also commanded the National Sail Training Ship, the YOUNG ENDEAVOUR. In February 2002 Commander Rourke joined Headquarters Australian Theatre, the Joint Operational HQ, as an operational planner. The following two years were intense as the ADF conducted operations at the highest tempo since the Vietnam War in theatres around the world. In June 2004, Commander Rourke achieved his long-term career goal and assumed command of HMAS MANOORA, an Amphibious Landing Ship. |