Learning leadership skills and dedication

Aircraftsman Kalyan Murthy Rachakatla

27 years, attached to 44 Wing Detachment at RAAF Amberley

Dedication, enthusiasm and youthfulness are traids that best describe Aircraftsman Rachakatla – an Electrical Engineer from Satyabama University in Chennai, who first came to Australia in 2006 to pursue his Masters at the Queensland University o Technology. After finishing his education, Kalyan opted to apply for his Permanent Residency as he had come to like Australia. was keen on finding a good job here. When I looked up opportunities in the Australian Forces, I liked what was offered. Though had the opportunity to join the Army or the Navy, I wanted to join the Air Force as I like working with aircraft,” he says.

In the past two years, this young officer has been working on radars, Instrument Landing System (ILS), Air Defence and Air Traffic System (ADATS), Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) and coordinates with air traffic controllers to ensure the efficient functioning of electrical equipment that facilitates aircraft landing and take-off.

Kalyan underwent basic training for over 10 weeks in Wagga Wagga, before starting his work.

“The training, which included bushwalks, march-pasts, drills, weapon handling, shooting, using fire equipment and first aid courses, was quite tough. It also taught me leadership skills and dedication,” says this young man who originally hails from Hyderabad. The Air Force officer was trained in filling sandbags and leopard crawling as part of the bush training that all officers undergo.

“We have to be prepared for everything and be physically very fit. The 10-week training tests your abilities physically and psychologically,” he says.

Remembering his rigorous training Kalyan adds, “It was getting tougher with each day and towards the end, I told my corporal that I wanted to give up. However, he motivated and encouraged me, which helped me push myself to complete the training.”

On his initial days at the Air Force he says he was worried about taking on leadership roles. “But after the training I was given, my fears disappeared and I am now very comfortable leading a team,” he says.

Kalyan says he enjoys it all – the hard work, team spirit and camaraderie among the officers. Though as an engineer his focus is on the well-oiled functioning of aircraft equipment, like a true Australian, he lives up to the Aussie motto – work hard, play harder and that is reflected in the team building exercises, the physical training and the different sports he plays every day. In fact, Kalyan is hoping to work in combat zones like Afghanistan or Iraq and has in fact put in the ‘Individual readiness’ application, which signals an officer’s willingness to be deployed in war zones.

“I want to work in challenging environments and gain experience,” he claims confidently.

The Australian Air Force, according to him, is extremely diverse with people from different backgrounds, besides Indians, working together to serve Australia. An example of diversity, he notes, is the cooking of different ethnic dishes in the officers’ mess.

“There may be curries and at least one Indian dish. This reflects the growing number of Indians in the Air Force,” he says.

Despite his love for his adopted nation, Kalyan maintains a strong connection with India, his country of origin, and the famous Hyderabadi Biryani.

“I go home ever year to visit my family and love eating Indian dishes. My family will soon be visiting me here,” says the recently wedded officer.

In fact, when he decided to join the Australian Air Force, his family asked, why not the Indian Air Force?

And what was his response?

“I really like Australia and this is now my country. I feel at home here,” he smiles.

Reginald Armstrong

47 years, Air Traffic Control Supervisor, defence civilian located at Oakey in Queensland

If it is possible to don many hats in a lifetime, one has to si the long and illustrious career of Reginald Armstrong, or Reg as he is fondly called, since the last three decades. Armed with a sense of humour and an uncanny desire to serve the nation, Reg holds the distinction of having served both the Army and the Air Force since he joined the Australian Defence Forces in 1981. His family moved to Australia from Mumbai, which he still prefers to call ‘Bombay’.

“I was eleven when we moved here. When I go back to India, I realise it has definitely changed. We used to ride bikes in Colaba when I was a kid. Now, it would be risky to try that,” he jokes.

Reg was recruited in the Army as a cartographer, where he helped study and make maps for about six years. “Before you had Google Earth, we had to take aerial surveys and put up photos. We created three-dimensional images of the earth’s surface and drew contours,” he says. During this time, he was deployed on Operations on four occasions – three times to different parts of Indonesia and once to the Marshall Island South Pacific. His time as a Corporal in Kapooka as a Recruit Instructor were some of the best years of his life, reminisces Reg.

“I worked long hours, starting between 5 and 5:30am and finished after 10pm, seven days a week whilst training recruits, for app 12 weeks. The reward was seeing the recruits march out of Kapoo to a long career within Defence,” he says proudly.

After resigning from the ADF after 22 years at the rank of Flight Lieutenant (Captain), he now works as an Air Traffic Controller with the RAAF. In his long years, he has never served in a combat zone, unlike his younger brother, who was a Major in the Army and served in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“I just missed out on the combat zone. But, I have seen my brother serve there and it was quite difficult for him as he was married and had two children,” he says. Thinking back on the days when he first joined the Army, Reg refers to himself as quite ‘unique’ because of the fact that not many non-white Australians were part of

“Despite the differences, you are accepted for who you are in the ADF as they are concerned about work ethics. I have never felt out of place and that is why I have been here this long. The level of professionalism is more important and people do not pick on you for being non-Australian,” he says.

Recalling the time when he felt stumped as he was asked to specify his nationality, he remembered approaching his Australian supervisor who told him amicably, “You are a bloody Australian, mate!” He asserts that he has never missed out on promotions or felt any racial vilification – a question that is often posed by Reg’s friends.

“I am now seeing a lot of diversity in the ADF because it has been more proactive and has always targetted people from different backgrounds,” says Reg, who is also a grandfather with two step children – a role which he loves dearly.

“I would always encourage more Indian Australians to join the Defence, if they are interested. I don’t think you should stop yourself because you are Indian. But it’s good to research the lifestyle and the travel that it entails. Joining the ADF is a very big change in life and lifestyle that does require some sacrifice, but in the end the reward of a challenging and exciting career outweighs these small sacrifices. The individual needs to join for the right reason and not as a means to an end. Being in the ADF is more than a job, it is vocation,” he maintains, adding “The ADF is like your extended family, and it is the people who make the Defence what it is.”

Reg has thought about returning to India many times, but the Australian lifestyle has always held him back and he hopes to continue serving for the next 13 years, until his retirement.