Home away from home
C-130 techos make themselves comfortable in the Middle East

By CPL Simone Liebelt
Volume 48, No. 5, April 6, 2006

LAC Scott Hunter, a life support fitter with No. 36SQN, has a bit of fun at the Aussie maintenance camp on the Coalition base where the C-130 detachment is located in the Middle East.

Photo by WOFF Dave Pang

ON a busy flightline in the Middle East, a little bit of Australiana sits amongst the sand and machinery. Brightly-painted murals and cardboard cut-outs of kangaroos and Aussie icons furnish the temporary home of the C-130 ground support crew deployed on Operation Catalyst.

More than 20 aircraft maintenance personnel from No. 36SQN have recently returned after supporting around-the-clock flying in the makeshift camp, complete with replica Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House and Luna Park face.

But it wasn’t just the props that made this little camp an Aussie domain – it was the sense of humour and larrikinism that came with the territory.

It even rubbed off on the US Air Force’s C-130 maintenance crew next door, who often joined the Aussies for a laugh and a friendly water fight after a long, tiring shift on the tarmac.

“It was great for the guys to be able to de-stress with some friendly rivalry with the other nations, because we have such a great rapport with them,” said engineering officer FLTLT Stuart Scott.

“It’s amazing how these other maintenance crews could sense what our workload was and know when the right time is to hit us with a bit of armed water combat. It was all good fun.”

For life support fitter LAC Scott Hunter, stress relief came in the form of long distance running. He spoke about his first – and last – experience in using a US treadmill during his deployment.

“I didn’t notice the treadmill was in miles, so I set it to 10 miles an hour instead of kilometres,” he said. “The thing took off like a belt sander and nearly sent me through the back wall.

“The gym was full of Americans and everyone just stopped and looked, and the guy next to me cracked up laughing. I just said ‘Don’t worry about me, I’m an Aussie’.

“It was probably the most embarrassing moment of my life – my face went red and I started sweating and got out of there as quick as I could.

“After that I started running on the road, and haven’t been back to the gym since.”

Aircraft technician CPL Dave Keightley said he couldn’t wait to get home to his new wife.

“When I found out I was getting deployed, I said to my girlfriend, ‘Hey, let’s go get married now’,” CPL Keightley said.

“We eloped to the Cook Islands and had a quick honeymoon before I was deployed. On a previous trip, I found a sticker that said ‘Air Force wife – toughest job in the Air Force’. Luckily, [my wife] knows what my job involves and understands why I have to be away so often.”

Non-destructive inspection technician, SGT Steve Mitchell, said what kept him going was his favourite dish at the mess.

“They’ve got good curries,” he said. “The Americans aren’t very keen on curries, but I am. I’d eat them every day if I had the chance. I just love the stuff.”

He also said he really enjoyed working the night shift, despite the strange fog that would suddenly appear on the flightline.

“The fog rolled in and covered everything; it just came out of nowhere,” he said.

“As soon as we saw it, we had to move the vehicles off the flightline straight away, otherwise we had to walk back, because you couldn’t see more than 20 metres ahead.”

 

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