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| Bye-bye to vets By Rachel Irving Volume 49, No. 5, April 05, 2007 |
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Now enjoying Civvy Street are WOFF Ian Griffiths and GPCAPT Ian Petkoff. WOFF Griffiths’ Service adventures included being a young cook who enjoyed sport, a PTI, living in Norway and Sweden, and serving in Iraq as a WOD. “Now it’s all about family – that’s what life holds for me now,” WOFF Griffiths said as the curtain closed last month on his 26-year career. “I’d had enough of school so dad told me to ‘get a trade’,” WOFF Griffiths said. “Dad was Air Force for 32 years, a WOFF, and a Japan, South Korean and Vietnam Veteran.” In 16 years as a PTI, WOFF Griffiths travelled the world and completed an Exercise Long Look exchange to the UK. “Interesting, varied and most enjoyable” was GPCAPT Petkoff’s summing up of his 31-years of service on retirement on February 5 at a ceremony at RAAF Base Pearce, where he served as Base Commander since 2005. GPCAPT Petkoff said it would be hard to go past his navigator graduation as his career highlight. “Having my (navigator) wings pinned on in 1976 by the then-Defence Minister, the late Sir Jim Killen, was my first major achievement in the Air Force and really got me going.” GPCAPT Petkoff said two of his more recent postings, at Townsville and later at Pearce, proved rewarding, as did his appointment as Defence Attaché to the Republic of Korea and senior liaison officer to the United Nations Command. “Being part of the United Nations mission in South Korea was unique, challenging and very different,” he said. He joined the Air Force in 1975 and graduated from No. 49 Navigator’s Course in 1976. WGCDR Tony Thorpe has since taken over as RAAF Base Pearce Base Commander. |
