Media Room: Media Releases

EMPLOYERS TO GAIN MILITARY EXPERIENCE ON NT EXERCISE

Thirty employers and other people of influence will get a taste of military life this week, when they head to the Northern Territory for the multi-national Defence Exercise Pitch Black 08.

Pitch Black is a regular Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) exercise, held every two years in the Northern Territory.  From 6-27 June, up to 3000 service men and women from Australia and nations including the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and France will support the Exercise.  During the Exercise ground crews and air crews will be operating some of the most sophisticated military systems in the world.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) Reserve and Employer Support Division conducts Boss Lift exercises, designed to showcase the vital contribution Reservists are making to the ADF’s operational commitments.

Participants will get the chance to fly from RAAF Base Darwin to RAAF Base Tindal in a DHC-4 Caribou, meet ADF members and even fly aboard a RAAF Boeing 707 during an in-flight refuelling mission.

Head Reserve and Employer Support Division, Major General Greg Melick, said he believed the participants would gain a valuable insight into the benefits that Reservists can bring back to the civilian workplace.

"As the ADF's commitments grow, Reserves are bringing increased levels of capability to the Australian Defence Force,” Major General Melick said.

"We aim to highlight the skills Reservists gain from being in the ADF and how those skills can benefit civilian employers."

For more information on the Reserves go to www.defence.gov.au/reserves.

Media Contacts:

Boss Lift inquiries:                                         Deanna Nott, Director of Communication,

                                                                     0438 013 548

Pitch Black inquiries:                                     1800 301 885

Additional information can be found at           www.defence.gov.au/pitchblack08