Adam’s on his own

Flight Lieutenant Louise Nelson, Sergeant Richard Garforth and Flight Sergeant Adam McDonald are making important contributions to the UN mission in East Timor. Photo by LS Ollie Garside

By CPL Jonathan Garland

IF THE Australian contingent in East Timor needs something investigated, they turn to the sole representative of the Air Force police in the country.

Flight Sergeant Adam McDonald, from RAAF Base East Sale, is the service police investigator assigned to ASNCE in East Timor. His job involves responding to incidents throughout the country that require the attention of a trained investigator.

“It’s a tri-service position, which has been filled by the Army up until now,” FSGT McDonald said. “I’m the first RAAFPOL to be in the role but I understand it will be a six-month rotation between Air Force and Army from this point forward.”

He deals only with military investigations and spent his first weeks on the job travelling around the country to meet people and familiarise himself with locations.

“It’s feels quite unusual to be working as the sole investigator in such an area,” he said. “Luckily for me, there are two MPs working in ASNCE, so when I need a second person to interview someone, there are trained personnel I can call on.”

FSGT McDonald said he initially had to do some work to get used to Army acronyms and paperwork but that differences were minor and easily learned as “the principals of investigation are the same”.

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