The first class of recruits to graduate from 1 Recruit Training Unit (1RTU) in 2026 left RAAF Base Wagga, NSW, this month. 

They received the rank of aircraftman or aircraftwoman at a ceremony on February 27 before visiting the Australian War Memorial to participate in a Last Post ceremony. 

Behind every recruit is a military skills instructor (MSI) – those responsible for turning civilians into military aviators. 

“By the end, they are completely different people,” MSI Corporal Byron Oakley said. 

“It makes you think, we've done something right here.” 

But it isn’t just recruits who experience transformation. 

MSIs grow along with the recruits they train. 

Corporal Oakley said it was a tough job, one he had reservations about taking. 

The former chef and carpenter found a sense of achievement along with some unexpected benefits. 

“I’ve grown as a person. It’s helped my relationships with my family and children,” Corporal Oakley said.

“Becoming a military skills instructor is the best career decision I’ve made. I wish I came here earlier.”

It is a sentiment echoed by his peers. 

'You've got to think on your feet. There's a lot of problem solving, all day, every day.'

By facilitating the development of recruits, MSIs gain unique attributes shared with only a handful in Defence. 

Class One Course Director Sergeant Jesse Maslen oversees a group of about 60 recruits and a team of four instructors. 

The air surveillance operator came to 1RTU for the opportunity to learn management skills in a dynamic environment. 

“You've got to think on your feet. There's a lot of problem solving, all day, every day,” Sergeant Maslen said. 

“You’ve got to provide a lot of discipline – if you come to 1RTU lacking discipline and management experience, you will be all over it by the time you leave,” he said. 

Sergeant Maslen said the best thing about the job was guiding the next generation of aviators into service. 

The course director and his MSIs were there at the start; they presented the recruits with their rank; and they stood at attention beside them at the Australian War Memorial on one of their last days of training. 

People from the community who had come to the memorial for the Last Post ceremony did not see recruits – they saw aviators wearing the uniform of the Royal Australian Air Force. 

In their eyes, there were more similarities between the instructors and recruits than differences.