A CAREER IN

BY PREETI KANNAN

Rigorous training, good mentoring

Flight Lieutenant Satish Ayyalasomayajula

26 years, Communications Engineer with No 1 Combat Communications Squadron at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base, Richmond

A strong sense of duty and burning desire to serve the nation was what inspired Flt Lt Satish Ayyalasomayajula to take up a career with the RAAF. Born in Visakhapatnam, India and brought up almost entirely in Australia, his family migrated to Australia in 1991 when Satish was barely six years old. After his schooling in Melbourne, he went on to do his Bachelors at the Overnewtown Anglican Community College. He then pursued a Communication Engineering Degree at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).

It was as a student in RMIT that Satish had his first insight into the Armed Forces, when advertisements on joining the Air Force in local gazettes caught his eye. He attended a career recruitment drive at RMIT, and Satish recalls, “We had a brief at the university on what working in the Air Force entailed. The work profile was in line with my studies as a communication engineer and the offer was lucrative, so I decided to take it up.”

Once he had made up his mind to work with the Air Force, Satish underwent a four stage interview which included an IQ Test, a psychological evaluation, an intensive interview with a senior psychologist and a medical test. The toughest part, Satish admits, was the initial training that all officers had to undergo after spending 17 weeks at the Officers Training School (OTS).

“The training was quite elaborate and rigorous, and initially, it felt quite hard. I guess it was also because of cultural differences and I was not used to the physical aspects of training. Even mentally it was quite exhausting and there were both, low and high times during training. However, I had had good mentoring by the staff at the OTS and spoke to them for assistance,” he says.

The training, however, prepared Satish to take on leadership roles, which is extremely crucial when working in the Air Force. In his past six years of service, he has been on a lot of military exercises, pre-work ups and real time operations. “It gives us a good insight into management and leadership. It is a great opportunity,” he notes, adding that he is extremely keen to take up overseas assignments. “I look forward to going overseas. The fact that we have the opportunity to lead people is extremely exciting. We are here to serve the nation and the people; this knowledge keeps me going and continues to motivate me. If a few guys are working for me, it is my duty to make sure they are happy,” says Flt Lt Ayyalasomayajula.

Being Indian by birth, Satish maintains strong cultural ties with the subcontinent by keeping in touch with his native language and of course, Bollywood. “Obviously, my parents influence my Indian cultural values and we speak Telugu at home, in which I am fluent. I also understand Hindi and watch Bollywood films to keep in touch with my heritage,” he says. “Since my parents also brought me up with the view that I am Australian, I have also adopted the ways of Western society,” he adds, remarking that that they were fully supportive of his decision when he decided to join the Air Force.

This young officer says, “There is a lot of multiculturalism in the service. It is a diverse and equitable service. I encourage more people of Indian descent to join, but they have to be prepared for the Australian way of business. They should join because of their desire to support the country, and they should be prepared for that,” he cautions.