LAC Scott Woodward says goodbye to several locals who made their way to Aropa Airfield to farewell the outgoing members of the PMG.

The PMG recently farewelled the final 33 personnel from rotation 10B when they flew out of Aropa airfield after four-months' service in Bougainville.

The airmen and soliders, who arrived in Bougainville in November last year, have spent their tour ensuring Bougainville continues on its path of peace.

Leading Aircraftman Scott Woodward, 323 CSS, enjoyed his time on the island but was looking forward to getting home. 'I had a strange job within the PMG in that the RAAF has outsourced the work I was doing on the island,' LAC Woodward said. 'I haven't actually done the technical linesmen work before so it was a good chance to build up some new skills.'

He said most of his day-to-day work involved running, checking and repairing the phone and data lines that thread their way through Loloho.

He also supported the team site and accommodation buildings in Arawa and described the large cable that joined Loloho and the island's capital as a continual source of work. 'Between the moisture, heat, humidity and the locals something was always going astray so my fault-finding skills got quite a work out.'

LAC Woodward said it took some time to get into the PMG way of doing things.
'Despite it being tri-Service and multinational, the PMG is still very army dominated.
'It took a bit of adjustment at the start to fit into the groove but it has been excellent working with all of these different people.'

When he wasn't working, LAC Woodward spent many hours with his 'old mate', the blue guitar, and even joined with AAB-Sydney when they completed their Christmas concert tour.

LAC Scott Woodward says goodbye to several locals who made their way to Aropa Airfield to farewell the outgoing members of the PMG.