Our People in NSW
Kylie Gosling - Doing something real
Nowra locals Shannon and Michael Bradbury might not get to see their daughter Kylie Gosling (nee Watson) all that often but they’re certainly proud of her.
A Flying Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force, Kylie is currently onboard the USS Cleveland, an amphibious transport ship as part of a humanitarian aid mission called Pacific Partnership.
Kylie joined the Air Force in 2008 during her final year at Swinburne University where she was studying Environmental Health.
Under the Undergraduate Scheme, the Air Force paid for Kylie’s final year of study, and in return she signed up to complete three years service after graduation.
Those three years have been spent at RAAF Base Darwin as an Environmental Health Officer – responsible for looking at how the environment we work in affects our health.
Kylie has not yet had the opportunity to deploy with the Air Force and when offered the chance to go on Pacific Partnership for 10 weeks she jumped at the opportunity.
Now she is one of five Royal Australian Air Force members in the 38 member Australian Defence Force team on Pacific Partnership 2011.
In its seventh year, Pacific Partnership aims to improve the lives of people in the Pacific region, as well as improve the capacities of nations and organisations to respond to disasters through recurring opportunities for cooperation and training.
In Vanuatu, Kylie was responsible for spraying a number of areas with insecticide to prevent breeding of malarial mosquitoes.
“I wanted to do something good with my life – something real, and this job gives me that,” said Kylie.
Even though as an Air Force officer going to sea is not something she’s ever likely to do again, she certainly doesn’t feel like a fish out of water.
“I love the opportunity to meet other cultures, and network with the Americans and Canadians onboard the ship. I even enjoy being on the ship – there’s always someone to talk to and always something going on.”
Kylie is looking forward to having some of her new friends over for a BBQ when the ship arrives in Darwin.