Behind
the desk
On the road in the wild west
By
Warrant Officer of the Air Force
WOFF-AF Ray Woolnough
Volume 48, No. 15, August 24, 2006
GREETINGS,
Airmen and Airwomen of the Air Force.
On July 4, I began a visit to bases along the west coast of Australia.
There are many silent achievers in the Air Force, none more so
than the personnel and their families at the bare bases, RAAF
Bases Curtin and Learmonth. I am yet to visit RAAF Base Scherger
in the north of Queensland, but I am sure this is also true of
them.
My first stop was Curtin and I must say that the team there has
the base in top shape. I spoke to FSGT Bob Gourley (Senior Caretaker),
CPL Rod Craigie (Electrician), CPL Garth Prince (GSE Fitter from
Tindal) and LAC Damien Goad (Plant Operator).
FSGT Gourley assures me that if it was not for the help of a detachment
from 1CLS, the base would not have looked as good as it did for
Exercise Pitch Black 06.
To members of that detachment – thank you for a job well
done. The modification work to the fuel farm by contractors, under
the ever watchful eye of CPL Prince, was great to see.
My thanks go to FSGT Gourley’s wife, Sharon, for a lovely
lunch, and for forwarding me the promised recipe for the fabulous
cheesecake. I also met LAC Goad’s wife Michelle and their
children Aiden, Justin and Carli.
To all, thank you for making my visit most enjoyable, and for
your efforts to date.
Next stop was RAAF Base Pearce. Again, I must say that the base
itself is in very good condition, and gives the feeling that the
place is loved by all those based there. The Base Warrant Officer,
WOFF Ian Griffiths, escorted us about. General feeling –
great!
I did notice a cheeky message left on a particular whiteboard
(no doubt left for my convenience) – ‘Check e-bay for
safety boots’. My answer – the Fire Ant Safety Boot
is for use around aircraft, and the Blundstone 184 Safety Boot,
for use in warehouses and the like, is readily available now.
It was then onto RAAF Base Learmonth. I know this is becoming
monotonous, but this base is also looking great.
FSGT Tony Gutterres (Senior Caretaker), CPL Steve Clarke (Electrician)
and CPL Mark Church (Supplier) were present while CPL Gary Rayner
(GSE Fitter) was away on a refueller refresher course.
I have visited and met FSGT Gutterres at Learmonth a few times
now and his enthusiasm is still the same as when we first met.
This has no doubt brushed off onto the others and the general
feeling is that he will be sadly missed when postings are released
later this year.
Back at HQ, the Leave Remediation Team has a very tedious but
important role in conducting a 100 per cent leave audit of the
entire Air Force.
Thankfully, they are only going as far back as July 2000. One
can only imagine the heartache if the records that needed checking
went any further back. Once all is in order, every member will
have a leave folder compatible with PMKeyS, and this folder will
be given to a member on posting.
On August 9 I had the privilege of being the Reviewing Officer
for the graduation of Recruit Courses 10 Alpha/06 and 10 Bravo/06
(36 graduates) at 1RTU, RAAF Base Edinburgh.
It was definitely one of my career highlights, having been a recruit
there, then an instructor and now a Reviewing Officer. My thanks
go to the Commanding Officer 1RTU, WGCDR David Ashworth, for making
it happen.
My congratulations go to:
the dux recipients, ACW Kubitzky and ACW Fisher; and
the Personal Qualities recipients, ACs Dennis and Thoms.
My heartfelt thanks go to the instructors for their work: FLGOFF
Taryn Smith; FSGT Mark Borchard; SGT Derek Keir; and Course NCOs,
CPLs Clint Ferdinands and Brad Traeger, and CPLs Renae Halley
and Denny Makara.
Thanks also to WOFF’s Darren Dolan (1RTU WOFF) and Graham
Farrington (1RTU TRG WOFF) for their hospitality.
Till next time, keep on smiling.
