23 June 2025
Gunner Thomas Hayes reckons he got a better deal than his mates.
The soldier from Benalla, Victoria, signed up for the gap-year program along with two high-school friends.
They ended up in Townsville working in logistics, but Gunner Hayes had his sights set on artillery.
“Before I joined I thought artillery was just big howitzers,” Gunner Hayes said.
“It wasn’t until the last couple of weeks of Kapooka [recruit training] that we found out about NASAMS.
“I’m pretty happy where I am.”
Almost two years ago, Gunner Hayes was one of more than 40 gap-year soldiers who joined 16th Regiment to help Army launch one the most high-profile capability acquisitions in recent times.
The National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) protects high-value targets, such as airfields, against enemy missiles, drones or aircraft.
It’s operated by ground-based air defence specialists from 16th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery.
Gunner Hayes and cohort joined the Regiment’s 111 Battery, which was kitted out with NASAMS to train both itself and the rest of the Regiment after 110 Battery raised the capability the year before.
With 111 Battery at almost half strength before the gap-years came on board, it was the biggest influx of soldiers to the regiment in a long time, according to 111 Battery Commander Major Fernando Tula Recinos.
Major Tula Recinos said the battery’s lieutenants and bombardiers went from managing small teams on the RBS-70 portable air defence system to training big groups of new soldiers on new kit and managing administration.
“It was an incredible leadership challenge, especially since we’d just asked them to become technically proficient with a brand-new system,” he said.
Most of Lieutenant Luke Radford’s troop were gap-year soldiers who signed full-time contracts.
'Being at the forefront of a new capability is very exciting for a lot of these new gunners.'
Only about 10 out of the whole battery transferred trades or left.
He believed “buzz-factor” was a reason many stayed on.
“Being at the forefront of a new capability is very exciting for a lot of these new gunners,” Lieutenant Radford said.
It's a sentiment shared by Gunner Elizabeth Hayne.
Like Gunner Hayes, Gunner Hayne maintains and operates the High-Mobility Launcher in Lieutenant Radford’s troop.
“It feels like we’re stepping up a little with our air defence,” Gunner Hayne said.
“There’s a general excitement at the unit now we have better capacity and relevant equipment because the legacy equipment we used before was quite old.”
With a new capability, new soldiers and soon-to-be new lines at RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia, Major Tula Recinos said it was a chance for the battery’s soldiers to build a culture around NASAMS.
“We’ve been really eager for the junior non-commissioned officers to develop the culture from day one,” he said.
“We’ve asked them to offer the type of leadership they would have liked to have had as young soldiers and also provide guidance and mentoring to the guys and girls who’ve just come into the regiment.”
