Three nations. One team. One mission. 

In a 33 Squadron first, Australia has graduated a tri-nation Air Refuelling Officer Course (AROC) with aviators from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), United States Air Force (USAF) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), reinforcing relationships among allies.

Air refuelling is the process of transferring aviation fuel from a tanker aircraft to another aircraft while in flight, extending the range and flight time of the receiving aircraft. In a region where distances are enormous and security challenges are growing, the ongoing collaboration will strengthen coalition effectiveness, producing operators who can seamlessly integrate across allied tanker capabilities. 

When Australian Flying Officer Rudolph Liebenberg, American Technical Sergeant Robert Kniveton and Canadian Captain Matthew MacMillan commenced AROC, they expected to learn procedures and systems. What they did not expect was how much they would learn from each other.

Flying Officer Liebenberg described the course as a “circle of experience”, with each aviator teaching, learning and challenging the others.

Technical Sergeant Kniveton, who recently received the USAF Enlisted Tanker Tactician of the Year award, brought stories from refuelling the Thunderbirds and years of operational insight from the USAF’s top tanker squadron. For him, the value of the integration was clear. 

'As partner nations, we're stronger together.'

“It's more than just tactics, techniques and procedures that go into flying these missions,” he said. 

“I found that aircraft refuelling is pretty standardised across all of our partner nations that we integrate with.

“It’s the everyday interactions that contribute to how we come together as a multinational team. 

“As partner nations, we're stronger together.”

Captain MacMillan arrived with a mission – absorb everything he could before returning to Canada to help shape the RCAF’s future tanker capability. 

“With such a wide breadth of experience it’s been nice to be able to bounce individual ideas off everybody and see their perspectives on how they tackle problems,” he said. 

As the course wrapped up, the three aviators walked away with a deeper appreciation of the global air mobility enterprise they now help shape.

Technical Sergeant Kniveton and Captain MacMillan will continue on exchange with 33 Squadron, embedding within the unit and carrying forward the relationships built during the course.

“Being accepted to be a part of No. 33 Squadron is huge,” Technical Sergeant Kniveton said.

“It’s an immense responsibility. Knowing the calibre of USAF aviators who have embedded within No. 33 Squadron, it’s humbling to be a part of that legacy.”

In a world where air mobility underpins global operations, this collaboration is more than a training milestone, it is a glimpse into the future of how allied air forces will fly, refuel and operate together.