Ianthe’s active duty

Smiles all round as Flight Lieutenant Ianthe is reunited with her family. Photo by LAC Christine Williams

ALTHOUGH she was away from her family and friends and working long, odd shifts, Flight Lieutenant Ianthe has fond memories of her three months in Kyrgyzstan with No. 84 Wing Detachment.

A Senior Logistics Officer, Ianthe worked whenever the B707 refuellers were in the air – and that meant lots of early mornings, late nights and extremely long shifts.

But she said there were plenty of activities outside work to help keep her and her Air Force colleagues sane during their deployment.

“There was the gym, you could go into the capital, Biskek, and we even got the opportunity to go on mountain treks, hiking in the mountains, which was fantastic,” Ianthe said.

She said access to excellent communications with Australia vie e-mail and telephone made the strain of being so far from home a little easier to take.

“It was probably tougher for the guys who were married or missing boyfriends and girlfriends – but I was OK, I had a great time.”

Ianthe worked closely with Logistics Officers from the Netherlands and the United States, and used her linguistic skills to translate for the French.

And after such a demanding three months, it’s little wonder she is planning a well-deserved break.
That’s if you call taking time off to finish a university thesis much of a break..

• By Ben Caddaye

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