A
show of compassion
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Candles
are lit for victims of the Sea King crash.
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Photo
by Steve Dent
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MY
NAME is LAC Scott Nichols and I am one of the two survivors from
the Sea King Shark 02 crash on Nias Island on April 2 this year.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude
and thanks to all personnel in the ADF for their support and assistance
after the accident.
Throughout this trying time there is one thing that has stood
out, that is how all three Services can work together to achieve
a common goal. From the CDF to the lowest rank in each Service,
I have experienced nothing but professionalism and sincerity from
all involved.
Even though we lost nine of our mates in the accident and no words
can express that loss, I can honestly say that I could not be
more proud of them and the fact that we were a part of such a
professional organisation.
Although we slang off each other with banter for being in different
branches of the Services, when it comes down to it, the response
from everyone involved proves that in the end we are all one,
wearing the same uniform.
After experiencing this professionalism and unity first hand,
I would like to say how proud and grateful I am to work beside
you all and on behalf of myself and my family I would like to
say a heartfelt thank you for all the support we have received.
LAC
Scott Nichols
2ATHS
RAAF Base Williamtown
Thanks
for the kind support
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Leading
Aircraftman Bruce Lewin Brown
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TO
ALL the staff at Air Force newspaper and Service personnel –
Army, Navy and Air Force – thank you for your kind thoughts,
consideration and presence at the funeral of my beloved husband
and a loving father, Leading Aircraftman Bruce Lewin Brown a year
ago.
Thank you for your appreciation of Bruce and publishing his work
in Air Force newspaper. This was a new venture for him.
The Service personnel at RAAF Base East Sale, especially School
of Air Navigation, Photo Section and the Roulettes team, continue
to be family to us, which has eased the pain considerably. Thank
you.
Kathryn
Brown Timothy,
Felicity, Ronnie, Stephanie and Jeremy
Make
study a team effort
By
Wing Commander Margaret Hine
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HAVE
you ever thought of applying for a CAF Fellowship so that you
can spend a year studying a subject that you will enjoy researching
and will contribute to the development of air power?
You might think that you do not have anything to contribute, but
you’re probably wrong. Finding a topic for study may be easier
than you think. Let me share with you my journey to my Fellowship
year.
I remember sitting in an air power conference one year listening
to Air Vice-Marshal Peter Nicholson talk about space and the future.
As he spoke, my mind wandered off and I began to think about how
health support might look if this was going to be the way of the
future. I remember thinking that this would make a good study.
Perhaps I could even have a go somewhere down the track at trying
for a CAF Fellowship. Would health be an appropriate subject to
research for a fellowship? It had never been done before, but
that didn’t mean it wasn’t an appropriate subject.
Over time, I discussed my ideas and other philosophical issues
with a couple of my Air Force colleagues. One of these encouraged
me to apply for a CAF Fellowship.
My first step was to obtain a sponsor, someone who would take
an active interest in my progress and later give me an opportunity
to implement the outcomes of the finished work. I approached two
of my superiors with an idea. One of them agreed to be my sponsor
and gave me my topic – Expeditionary Health Support for the
Air Force.
You may also find, as I did, that your sponsor has a topic aligned
with your original research proposal that they wish you to study.
Sometimes they have a different topic that they need to have researched.
My advice is that you need to be open to suggestions for changes
to your area of research to meet your sponsor’s requirements.
I had passed the first hurdle. Next, I prepared and submitted
my research proposal to the Air Power Development Centre and waited
to see if it would be accepted for the final hurdle – the
interview.
My research proposal was accepted and interview day arrived. I
sat before the selection panel and faced the friendly but thorough
questions on my research proposal and its application to air power.
Finally, there was the wait to see if I had been successful. When
the news arrived that I been granted a CAF Fellowship, my initial
elation was quickly followed by wondering what I had let myself
in for.
I certainly hadn’t let myself in for a quiet, relaxing time.
I love the reading, but I constantly remember that I have to produce
a written thesis at the end of this time. The work is constant,
but is feeding an appetite whetted when I undertook my Master
of Defence Studies at ADFA – to take health out of the pure
clinical and relate it to the strategic and operational air power
environment, to explain just where health fits within air power.
During the fellowship, I can study history and the role it plays
in understanding the past, present and future. I have a great
opportunity to think about and examine Air Force health support
as a whole, how we operate and where we will go in the future.
I hope to pave the way for debate in thinking about health support
in the present and into the future. This is the pay-off for fellowships
– we make a valuable contribution to the future development
of the Air Force and to the future development of air power.
Wing
Commander Margaret Hine is currently completing a CAF Fellowship
at the Air Power Development Centre.
Watching
out for WOFF's pay rates
By
Graham Howatt
THE
Remuneration Reform Program (RRP) has highlighted the need for
a much-belated pay review for warrant officers.
Block 5 of the RRP Phase 3 was presented to the Defence Force
Remuneration Tribunal (DFRT) on May 24. It sought to address pay
for warrant officers and whether that should be in conjunction
with the new, banded structure proposed for officers, remain at
the top of the other ranks pay structure or stand alone.
It became clear during proceedings that before the warrant officer
pay rates can be properly dealt with, a detailed study must be
done for the ADF to consider developing a differential pay structure
for warrant officers and move away from the “common scale”
approach.
The Armed Forces Federation of Australia gave support to the study
and to the development of a differential pay structure for warrant
officers, which more appropriately recognises the work value of
such a diverse employment group. To do otherwise would not be
consistent with the intent of the RRP or the Other Ranks structure
and continue to deny warrant officers wage justice.
The Federation does not see any need to place the warrant officer
rank under the banded pay structure for officers before the completion
of the RRP, unless it’s the only mechanism to provide a differential
pay structure.
We also encouraged the ADF to seek the views of all warrant officers
before determining the best way ahead and it’s most pleasing
to note that a dedicated working group has been established.
They were given a very short timeframe to gain members’ views
before returning to the DFRT and have been vigorously consulting
to achieve this.
Having personally witnessed a road show in Canberra, it seems
that ADF management may have underestimated the magnitude of the
exercise and the complexity of the task.
The warrant officer rank received very little attention when the
OR pay structure review was conducted in the early-to-mid-1990s.
Now that the RRP has brought them to the forefront, they should
be given all the time and attention they so rightly deserve to
provide them with a better pay deal.
Graham
Howatt is the industrial officer of the Armed Forces Federation
of Australia.
