The best of British luck

Off to England ... SGT Matt Vernon, of Airmen Leadership Flight (posted to RAF Halton), FSGT Duncan Winton, of DLSE (posted to RAF Wyton) and SGT Evelyn Vickery, of No. 2 Air Transportable Health Squadron (posted to RAF Centre for Aviation Medicine at RAF Henlow). Photo by CPL Sean Burton

CPL Sean Burton
NINETEEN Air Force members are participating in Exercise Long Look, the annual four-month exchange with the RAF.

They are among 110 ADF personnel who will swap places with their English opposites.

Contingent commander Major Gregory Walker said Exercise Long Look’s objectives were to develop rapport between the two nations and to expose personnel to the equipment and expertise of their host nation.

“We hope they can bring back fresh ideas from their experiences, which will be of great benefit to their units,” he said.

Flight Sergeant Duncan Winton, of the Directorate of Logistics Support and Engineering (DLSE), said it would be a good experience professionally and personally.

“I will be doing a lot of work for my home unit when I’m over there. I will be trying to organise NATO standards,” he said.

“I hope to open some doors for my bosses for when they go over so they will speak to the right people.
“Our objective is to standardise business when we purchase aircraft and other equipment.”

FSGT Winton said his unit was prepared to release him for the exercise because of the trade off.

“Most units can’t afford to lose the expertise but my unit saw the extra doors it would open in the future so they will cover for me,” he said.

After opening doors for DLSE, FSGT Duncan said he hoped to watch the Isle of Man TT Races and play some Aussie rules or Gaelic football.

“I’ve got my ball with me, it’s flattened down in my bag. I’ve got a pump so it’s ready to go whenever I get the chance,” he said.

A vital cog in the success of Exercise Long Look will be the attention to detail by contingent administrator Sergeant Patricia Firth who said that participating in the exercise was a professional highlight for her.

“During my 10 years of service I’ve worked very hard so to be given this opportunity is right up there as a highlight in my career, and I hope is an acknowledgment from Air Force,” she said.

MAJ Walker said a personal highlight of the trip would be to visit his ancestral home in Whitby Yorkshire, where his direct ancestors taught young men how to sail.

“The Walkers of Whitby taught a young man called James Cook how to sail and the rest, as they say, is history,” he said.

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