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Royal
Brunei Air Force Commander Colonel Haji Mahmud bin Haji
Saidin, right, and other dignitaries watch the graduation
ceremony.
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Former
Warrant Officer David Field congratulates his son, Pilot
Officer Steve Field.
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Air
Commodore Rodney Luke reviews the graduates on parade.
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Graduating
officer Chris O’Donoghue with, from left, his brother
Kieron, girlfriend Kate Dwyer, mother Angela, gradfather
Tim, sister Anne, aunt Simonette, brother Martin and father
Squadron Leader Ray O’Donoghue.
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By Peter
Johnson
Members
of the Royal Brunei Air Force have completed initial officer training
with the Royal Australian Air Force for the first time.
Officer
Cadets Farisan Metassan and Khairum Sulaiman graduated from RAAF
Officers’ Training School No. 7/2002 Initial Officer Course
earlier this year.
The
occasion also was notable for strengthening the Air Force family,
with the sons of one serving officer and one former warrant officer
among the graduates.
Royal
Brunei Air Force Commander Colonel Haji Mahmud bin Haji Saidin
attended the graduation at RAAF Williams Point Cook Base.
He
was accompanied by Defence Adviser to Singapore and Brunei Group
Captain Ian Pearson.
For
Reviewing Officer Air Commodore Rodney Luke, it was his first
official ceremonial duty as Commander Training Command - Air Force.
AIRCDRE
Luke welcomed the Royal Brunei Air Force commander, and said he
was delighted to see that two members of the Royal Brunei Air
Force had graduated from RAAF Initial Officer Course for the first
time.
He
thanked the families of OTS graduates and said, “The greatest
strength and asset of this Air Force is its people.” He described
them as a broad range of fine individuals, and urged the graduates
to set the highest possible example for their subordinates.
New
members of the Air Force family included Officer Cadet Chris O’Donoghue
and Pilot Officer Steve Field. Their fathers already are long-standing
members of that fraternity.
OFFCDT
O’Donoghue’s father is Squadron Leader Ray O’Donoghue,
Executive Officer of No 1 Radar Surveillance Unit, RAAF Base Edinburgh.
PLTOFF Field’s father is David Field, who joined in 1966
and retired in 1996 as a warrant officer engineer.
Chris O’Donoghue is the third generation of his family to
join the Air Force, following Ray and grandfather Tim who was
an airframe mechanic in the Royal Air Force just as World War
II ended.
His
grandfather and aunt Simonette – both visiting from Britain
– were there to see him graduate, as were his mother Angela,
girlfriend Kate, brothers Martin and Kieron, and sister Anne.
OFFCDT
O’Donoghue said his father’s involvement in the Air
Force had been an influence in his factor to join. “I had
been interested in applying since I was young,” he said.
Not
surprisingly, he is going into Air Defence.
PLTOFF
Field was a GSE technician, and during a posting to Butterworth
worked for an Air Force engineer who gave him the idea of applying
for a commission and undertaking an electrical engineering degree.
“Then
a message came out, and I thought you beauty, a free degree and
a commission,” he said. “The officers encouraged me
to do it and I applied. I was a Corporal and was promoted to Sergeant,
but I didn’t get to put them up. It’ll now be four years
at ADFA.”
