Meet the press
AIR FORCE News takes a look at what has made headlines over the past action-packed 12 months across Air Force.
Volume 48, No. 23, December 14, 2006
The news cycle
January
IN a hard-hitting address to AFHQ staff, CAF laid out the changes to the way Air Force would do business in the future with a division between warfighting and “raise, train and sustain” functions.
Eighteen personnel were honoured in the Australia Day honours list.
On January 16, the third of Australia’s six Wedgetail aircraft touched down at RAAF Base Amberley for fitting out. It is the first of the aircraft to be fitted out at Amberley, instead of in the USA.
Also, a Hercules flew the 1100th air lift mission since the start of Op Catalyst, and the detachment lifted its 2.1 millionth kilo of cargo.
February
THE government announced an increase in maternity leave from 12 to 14 weeks as of February 1.
Air Force working dress is set to take a whole new look as DPCU are phased in; the current tarmac dress may be worn until December 2007.
Seven F/A-18 and six F-111 and their crews were pushed to the limit at the biennial Red Flag air combat exercise held at Nevada, USA, while 76SQN Hawks gave Navy a run during Exercise Ocean Protector off the NSW coast. 10 and 11SQNs also participated, providing ASW, ASUW and strike missions.
March
TWO F-111s also sent a clear message when two 1000kg laser-guided bombs sent the North Korean drug ship Pong Su to a watery grave off the coast of Sydney in spectacular fashion.
77SQN Hornets and personnel from RAAF Bases Amberely, Williams and East Sale, and others, provided support to the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne as part of Op Acolyte.
The Remuneration Reform Project recommended a new pay structure for officers and WOFFs and all members received a 1.5 per cent pay rise, while the DFRT announced it was considering the ADF’s graded pay proposal.
April
AIR Force celebrated its 85th anniversary and MINASST Bruce Billson announced the Australian Defence Medal (ADM), to recognise service of a minimum four years or an initial enlistment period. At the same time, on Anzac Day, Air Force personnel on deployments around the world joined their mates in Australia and their mates from the other Services in reflection on the sacrifices of their predecessors and their own service.
On April 2, the ADF remembered the nine dead and two survivors of the Navy Sea King crash at Nias Island, Indonesia.
Changes were in the wind at RAAF Base Amberley as Stage Two of the redevelopment of the base to “superbase” status got into gear.
In operations, 79SQN Hawks made history when they deployed to Butterworth for Ex Bersama Shield, their first-ever overseas deployment.
May
THE first two Hornets to receive the full Hornet 2.2 upgrade were handed over at RAAF Base Williamtown, while several senior personnel got the chance to see a C-17 Globemaster III up close at Canberra airport. In the MEAO, AP-3Cs clocked up 8,000 hours flying in support of Ops Falconer, Catalyst and Slipper.
Air Force flew its biggest flypast when 26 PC-9s from RAAF Base Pearce flown by 2FTS QFIs saluted the latest batch of graduates from the Advanced Pilots’ course.
June
MINDEF announced that service in Timor-Leste under Op Astute was ‘non-warlike,’ but that deployed personnel would receive almost $128 a day in tax-free allowances and the ASM with clasp “Timor-Leste”.
The June 15 edition looked at Air Force values and asked several members to define what they understood they meant.
Seventeen members were recognised in the Queen’s Birthday honours list.
July
The changes alluded to by CAF in January continued to take shape when Training Command became a Force Element Group (FEG) on July 1. Coming under HQAC, the move was part of the new “Reshape and Rebalance” program.
An historic squadron was reborn when 87SQN stood up on July 1.
There was drama at RAAF Base Amberley on July 18 when an F-111 lost its port main wheel on take off. Cool heads in the air and on the ground swung into action and, while the aircraft circled for three hours, engineers on the ground modelled several possible landing options. Then, after foam was laid, the aircraft landed safely with a faultless display of a straight-in, low-level approach.
C-130s and Air Force personnel were at the spearhead of the Australian efforts to evacuate Australian nationals from southern Lebanon (Op Ramp) following an outbreak of hostilities there between the Israeli Defence Force and Hezbollah militants.
August
AIR FORCE News looked in-depth at the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which has been officially named the Lightning after a famous American fighter of WWII and an early supersonic English jet. An acquisition of up to 100 aircraft for the Air Force has been postulated.
Also announced was a pay-rise of 12.6 per cent over three years, scheduled to begin in November and a pro-rata reduction of members’ Living-In Allowance contributions.
As a part of the Air Force change program, all aircrew officers were instructed to change from their single-wing brevet to the full wing Southern Cross brevet by the end of the year. At the same time, CAF announced a range of measures to simplify the Individual Readiness processes and, while there is room to improve, the 2005 Defence Attitude Survey indicated most members were satisfied with the military way of life.
September
The lead item was Exercise Bersama Padu, the most complex Five Power Defence Agreement exercise ever held. Conducted over Malaysia and the South China Sea, it comprised 85 aircraft, including 17 from Australia.
Reshaping and rebalancing pressed on with a number of initiatives underway, including the restructure of CSG, the identification of additional billets at some bases, and movement of the Air Operations Centre from RAAF Base Glenbrook to Canberra.
A restructure of the clerk’s mustering for PAF and Reservists was announced.
An era of aerial refuelling drew towards a close with the retirement of a 33SQN B707
tanker.
ACG received its first “Look-Lock-Shoot” advanced combat helmets for the F/A-18 fleet, while successful tests of Joint Direct Attack Munitions at Woomera paved the way for a new generation of precision-guided munitions.
October
Eighty thousand aviation fans flocked to RAAF Base Richmond for the 2006 Defence Air Show and were entertained by a wide range of aerial and ground displays and activities.
At Woomera, the acquisition of ‘smart bombs’ took a major step forward after the successful testing of a range of munitions fitted with the JDAM system.
November
History was made on November 17 when 36SQN passed its C-130Hs to 37SQN and was farewelled from Richmond. The squadron has moved to Amberley and received the first of its four new C-17 aircraft, which arrived there on December 6.
The second Australian Medical Detachment rotation into Balad, Iraq, (May to September 2005) received the Meritorious Unit Citation, with 10 Air Force members receiving the award.
In operations, Air Force C-130s and a B-707 supported troop delivery and civilian evacuations from Tonga, after the island was struck by violent riots in which eight people died.
A new specialisation was announced, the Air Combat Officer (ACO), which incorporates navigators, AEOs, fighter controllers and air defence officers.
The W.T. Riggs Trophy for Best Official Photograph of the Year was re-instituted in the annual Proficiency and Leadership Awards and competition extended beyond the professional photographic mustering to the wider community. The trophy was last awarded in 1999.
As the C-17 arrived, Air Force continued to bring the C-130J to full potential with the first of a series of platform air drops.
A busy year
AIR Force has come through another busy year on all fronts – administration, acquisition, operations and exercises.
Top of the list was the rebalancing and reshaping programs, the significant restructuring of Air Force, personnel challenges and introduction of 11 new platforms over the next two decades. Included in this were the announcement of changes to some specialisations and musterings, and the introduction of new ones, including the new Air Combat Officer.
Acquisitions and upgrades
ACQUISITIONS and updates on progress were major stories. From logistic support lessons learned during recent operations and deficiencies in major equipment-carrying capabilities for new capabilities such as the Abrams tank, the government purchased four C-17 Globemaster strategic heavy lift transport aircraft. To be operated by 36SQN from RAAF Base Amberley (after the squadron handed its C-130H models to 37SQN), the first aircraft arrived in early December. 36SQN was farewelled from Richmond at a parade in November.
Potential acquisition of the Joint Strike Fighter continued with the government signing off on the First Pass in November. While a base is still to be determined, the aircraft will be regularly deployed to Tindal.
In related activity, work on the upgrade of F/A-18s under the HUG2.2 program and the introduction of new ‘smart’ munitions continued, while a UAV conducted surveillance suitability trials over the North-West Shelf, in coordination with Navy and Army units.
Pay and conditions
ON the personnel front, the year was highlighted by pay rises across the board, including a major reshape of pay and conditions for the Reserves, reductions to LIA contributions, an increase in maternity leave, a new package for members with dependents who elected to proceed on posting unaccompanied to minimise family impacts, and major changes to the equity organisation and military justice system. CDF initiated an audit of training programs and procedures to ensure there were no detrimental impacts on students, the 2005 Attitude Survey suggested most were happy in the Service, while we examined Air Force values and asked several members what they thought they meant.
International relief
INCIDENTS at home and abroad kept Air Force personnel and assets busy on operations. In the MEAO, C-130s and AP-3Cs kept up steady support of Coalition forces on the ground and in the Gulf. Renewed hostilities in the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste and an outbreak of hostilities in southern Lebanon and Tonga resulted in aircraft, health and ECSS personnel being deployed at short notice to provide evacuation and support services to Australians and approved nationals trapped in the conflict. Also, Air Force personnel were among the last to leave the disaster relief operations in northern Pakistan following the devastating earthquakes there.
On the home front
PERSONNEL supported the relief effort to Far North Queensland following Cyclone Larry, RAAF Base Tindal turned out to help Katherine flooded by local rising rivers and, at the end of the year, Air Force provided the first ADF personnel to be called out on bushfire-fighting operations in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.
Highlights:
- Air Force static aircraft and other demonstrations of airpower thrilled the crowds at RAAF Base Richmond for the 2006 Defence Air Show.
- The new Australian Defence Medal was announced.
- F-111s sank the North Korean drug smuggler ‘Pong Su’.
- Air Force celebrated its 85th birthday, 2 and 3SQNs celebrated their 90th Anniversaries, 6SQN remembered ‘absent friends’, 87SQN stood up and 36SQN moved to Amberley.
- Air Force joined the celebrations of the 40th Anniversary of the battle of Long Tan.
- Thirty five members were honoured in the Australia Day (18) and Queen’s Birthday (17) Honours Lists.
- The loss of a wheel on take-off by an F-111 at Amberley was recovered in a textbook wheels-up landing. The errant wheel destroyed a car.
- Non-pilot aircrew were ordered to replace their half-brevet with the full one.
- The new face of Air Force was launched with a new envelope for the Air Force balloon.
- Defence Minister Dr Brendan Nelson announced that Air Force would acquire four C-17 Globemasters at a cost of $A2.2 billion. The first aircraft was just delivered to Amberley.
