Observers reach for the sky

RADM Moffitt with Senior Naval Officer East Sale, LCDR Tony Milsom, and members of Nos 47 and 48 Basic Observer Courses.

By LCDR Tony Milsom

Students and instructors at the Navy Basic Observer Course training at the School of Air Navigation, RAAF East Sale, are reaching for the skies.

With the assistance of the SAN and a detachment of pilots from 84 Wing, the school is enjoying operating a small fleet of brand-new, systems-rich, high-performance King Air 350 aircraft.

It also is training the largest number of junior Navy officers through the Basic Observer Course than at any other time. As well, it has taken part in a comprehensive new analysis of Observer and Navigator training to identify new efficiencies and achieve a broader graduation qualification for students.

And when staff and trainees thought life couldn’t get much better, they were surprised by a visit by Deputy Chief of Navy, RADM Rowan Moffitt.

At last year’s Fleet Air Arm Mess Dinner, RADM Moffitt met the students of No 47 Basic Observer Course and he has been a keen follower of their progress since.

A brief informal visit to East Sale last month gave him the ideal opportunity to renew his association with the officers and to meet the rest of the school’s growing Navy contingent.

Navy junior officers have been receiving Basic Observer Course training at the School of Air Navigation since the early 1970s, although courses have traditionally been made up of small numbers.

But Aviation Fleet Element Group initiatives, such as the Sustainable Pilot and Observer Capability Project and the Aspirant Aviator Program, are improving the strength of the Observer category.

They have resulted in a total of 19 Navy officers in East Sale courses 47 and 48.

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