By
Lieutenant Simone Heyer
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A
79SQN Hawk passes over the Kakadu wetlands in the Northern
Territory during Exercise Kakadu.
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Photo by LAC Allan Cooper
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SKIES
over Darwin have been aloud with the roar of No. 79 Squadron’s
Hawks during July and August.
The squadron deployed to the Top End for Exercise Kakadu and to
support of Navy.
Ninety personnel supported the 10 aircraft from RAAF Base Pearce;
some had driven from Western Australia and others flown by 707.
The Executive Officer No. 79 Squadron, Squadron Leader Steve O’Halloran,
said their primary role was to support ADF missions.
“We flew fleet support missions during the Principal Warfare
Officers’ (PWO) Sea Week, July 18 to 24,” he said.
“Though we don’t have any personal interaction with
the Navy during this time, we have a debriefing session at the
end of PWO Sea Week.
“We can adjust our support packages to accommodate who ever
we’re flying for.
“From July 25 to August 2, we focused on operational flying,
operational conversion missions, and conducted strike missions
for B Flight aircrew.
“A Flight flew sorties as part of conversion training over
the whole deployment.”
Squadron Leader O’Halloran said that from August 2, the squadron
supported No. 75 Squadron doing red and blue missions using fighter
escorts.
To complete the tri-service equation, No 79 Squadron also worked
with Darwin-based 161 Recce Squadron, one of the Army’s Kiowa
squadrons.
“We tried to drum up extra business while we were here, and
did some close air support with 161 Recce Squadron,” Squadron
Leader O’Halloran said.
“It’s always good to work with other Services.”
He said it was important for the squadron to deploy as often as
possible.
“We need to be able to deploy effectively and not lose operational
effectiveness,” he said.
“It’s also important to learn to live in a communal
area as we’ve done during this exercise. Everybody is on
the same playing field.
“The young guys get good exposure of an exercise environment
too, and find it challenging at times.”
Corporal Jarrod Whitwell, an Aviation Technician, said that working
in the Northern Territory was different than Western Australia.
“With dispersed ops there is more responsibility put on the
guys,” he said.
“We run three different shifts to ensure 24-hour manning.
“The exercise environment is a different aspect of the job.
We operate over different distances at home.
“In an exercise like this, communication is a big thing.
People have to get it right the first time.”
The Deputy Senior Engineer-Operation, Pilot Officer Paul Martinovich,
said all personnel worked well and enjoyed their time on the exercise.
“Thanks to the good work of the guys, we’ve had 100
per cent aircraft serviceability,” he said.
“We’ve had the chance to get the guys out on trips during
the weekend to visit the local area. It’s a good time of
unit cohesion.”
Admin Officer Flight Lieutenant Basil Bradford said the training
during Exercise Kakadu ensured the squadron was well on its way
to achieving its goal of becoming the best squadron in the Air
Force.
