Airforce News Magazine

HERCULES ON DISPLAY! Exercise KIWI FLAG at Whenuapai

- Queen’s Colour Parade in Auckland - Iroquois on Exercise - Remembering Bomber Command Issue 137

June 2012 | Royal New Zealand Air Force

Air Force News

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Contents

Our mission To carry out military air operations to advance New Zealand’s security interests with professionalism, integrity and teamwork.

Air Force News is the official magazine of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) —established to inform, educate, and entertain its personnel and friends.

Published by Defence Communications Group HQ NZ Defence Force Wellington, New Zealand Editor Richard Jackson Pn 04-496-0289 Fax 04-496-0290 Email; airforcenews@nzdf.mil.nz Design and Layout Defence Communications Group Printed by Bluestar Private Bag 39996, Wellington

04 Auckland Parade

Distribution Email: airforcenews@nzdf.mil.nz Air Force News is governed by an Editorial Board. Views expressed in the Air Force News are not necessarily those of the RNZAF or the New Zealand Defence Force. Defence regulations over-ride all content in the Air Force News. Editorial contributions and ideas are welcomed. They can be emailed directly to the Editor and do not need to be forwarded through normal command chains.

09 Exercise KIWI FLAG

15 Iroquois at work

07 Hobsonville Memorial

26 Remembering Bomber Command

09 The Anzac Relationship

27 Ian Sutherland, Bomber Pilot

12 P-3K2 Milestone

32 Kessel Memorial

13 Exercise BERSAMA SHIELD

34 ATC National Gliding Course

18 Interview: ADM Stavridis

35 Paralympians Visit

20 Anzac Day 2012

36 Sport

22 Exercise WISE OWL

38 Farewells

24 Jump Start

39 Lancaster poster

26 New TV Campaign 27 Book Reviews

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Air Force News

Contributions need to include • writer’s name, rank and unit • photos provided separate from the text – at least 300dpi.

Contribution deadline for the July Issue Tuesday 05 June 2012 Contribution deadline for the August Issue Tuesday 03 July 2012 Contribution deadline for the September Issue Monday 06 August 2012 Air Force News will hold the copyright for submitted articles or photographs it publishes. Articles and photographs published in Air Force News cannot be published elsewhere without permission.

ISSN 1175-2327 Cover image A c-130 of No 40 Sqn fires it’s defensive flares as it approaches Wanaka Airfield during the Warbirds over wanaka air display in April. No 40 Sqn hosted Exercise KIWI FLAG, see story on p 9.

Photo: Rod McKenzie, Base Auckland Photo Flight

First Word

Celebrating 75 Years of service to New Zealand

Self responsibility and self management are key aspects for ensuring a strong safety culture.

Each of us is responsible for ensuring safety by identifying and reporting hazards in our workplace and everyday life.

First Word

By Air Vice-Marshal Peter Stockwell AFC Chief of Air Force.

Mission First, Safety Always

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afety can be an emotive topic. You often hear statements such as ‘safety is paramount’ or ‘safety first’, especially after a major accident. In military air operations a balanced view is required in which safety does not dominate to the extent that it essentially prevents effective operations. Safety for the RNZAF is not about avoiding doing something because it might be dangerous; it is about ensuring that risks have been identified and mitigated as far as possible so that tasks can be undertaken safely.

We cannot eliminate all risk and guarantee a risk-free environment. Perfect safety is rare, particularly in military aviation. The RNZAF must accept some level of risk for operational benefit but we must also ensure that all steps are taken to reduce risk whenever possible. Safety management requires having a consistent approach to potential causes of harm and targeting effort where it will have the most benefit.

This is why we are developing a more comprehensive Safety

Management System (SMS) that will ensure policy objectives link with risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion. A fully integrated SMS, that can help us manage risk into the future and which has consistency across the three Services, is a key objective.

Serious accidents with major consequences, such as the tragic loss of personnel or aircraft, hit home the consequences of a failure in our safety mechanisms at the ‘sharp end’. I can assure you that the lessons we learn from these sorts of accidents continue to shape the way we operate today. The establishment of 488 Wing at Ohakea and other changes to our operating airworthiness and safety systems are testament to that. High profile accidents generate considerable attention, but the less dramatic slips, falls and minor accidents while at work or playing sport continue to take a significant toll on our personnel and therefore our productivity. So risk assessment and mitigation is not just for commanders, it affects us all, directly or indirectly.

Over time, the focus on safety has increased. Health and Safety legislation has been created to prevent the occurrence of avoidable accidents in order to save life and improve productivity. Knowledge about what causes harm has also improved over time, so many substances and practices which were previously considered safe are now recognised as damaging. Some excellent examples of these include smoking, noise exposure and asbestos.

Although DASH [Directorate of Air Force Safety & Health] administers safety policy and practice, safety is everyone’s responsibility. Self responsibility and self management are key aspects for ensuring a strong safety culture. Each of us is responsible for ensuring safety by identifying and reporting hazards in our workplace and everyday life.

To achieve this, an organisation must promote an open reporting culture and an atmosphere in which individuals are not unduly punished or blamed for their mistakes. A ‘just culture’ is essential to promoting a free flow of information that encourages an open reporting culture. Promoting active reporting and learning from unusual experiences allows us to actively protect our people, equipment and the environment.

So as one of our safety slogans says: ‘Mission First, Safety Always.’

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RNZAF 75th Anniversary Charter Parade in Auckland 4

Air Force News

Celebrating 75 Years of service to New Zealand

The parade marches up Queen Street The Queen’s Colour Bearer, FGOFF Thomas Hayes.

OPPOSITE: A Hercules of No.40 Sqn flies past as the Queen’s Colour is paraded in Auckland

Mayor Len Brown, with AVM Stockwell, inspects the parade

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o commemorate our Air Force’s 75th Anniversary, RNZAF Base Auckland conducted a Charter Parade in the centre of Auckland on 28 April. The Queen’s Colour of the RNZAF and the No. 5 and No. 40 Squadron Standards were paraded before His Worship the Mayor, Len Brown, and the Chief of Air Force.

Because this was the first Charter Parade since the amalgamation of various local governments into one city council and the formation of the new ‘super-city’, the Mayor of Auckland presented GPCAPT Tony Davies, OC 485 Wing, with a new Charter. The Charter grants Base Auckland the freedom of the city—the right to parade through the streets of Auckland with swords drawn, bayonets fixed, flags flying and bands playing.

The Parade escorted the Queen’s Colour and two Squadron Standards from Greys Avenue along Mayoral Drive onto Queen Street and came to a halt outside the Town Hall. There, Ngati Whatua and the Chaplain blessed the event, the Mayor inspected the Parade, and the scroll with the Charter was formally presented. A flypast took place with aircraft from No. 5 and No. 40 Squadrons.

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Celebrating 75 Years of service to New Zealand

The Base Auckland Band leading the parade

LAC Tama Eramiha on parade

The City Charter displayed by (l to r): SGT Blake Northover, FGOFF Shane McGregor, SGT Peter Barrass, Len Brown (Mayor), WGCDR Mike Lefebvre (CO, Operational Support Wing, RNZAF Base Auckland), Councillor Sandra Coney (Waitakere Ward) & George Wood (North Shore Ward).

After the ceremony, the Parade marched down Queen Street, wheeled about to return past the Town Hall, where formal military compliments were paid to the reviewing officers and the VIP party.

A reception for all parade personnel was held in the Owens Foyer of the Aotea Centre, after which all personnel returned to Base.

After the event, the Parade Commander, WGCDR Lefebvre, was proud to tell all those involved that he had had “excellent feed back and messages of congratulations from His Worship the Mayor, the Councillors, guests at the parade and the senior 6

Air Force News

The Scroll Bearer FGOFF Shane McGregor escorted by SGT Blake Northover (left) and SGT Peter Barrass (r)

officers from all three services who were present.

“Many other personnel contributed to the success of the parade, including the two Squadrons with their well-timed flypast, the Air Display Director, the staff from the Armoury, Photographic, the Force Protection personnel who both rehearsed us and were there on the day to keep us on track.

“The success of the event and your contributions reflected very well on RNZAF Base Auckland; your efforts ensured that the Air Force 75th Anniversary celebrations ended on a high note.”

Celebrating 75 Years of service to New Zealand The nearly 75 years of wartime and peacetime service of RNZAF and other NZDF personnel based at Hobsonville Air Force Base is now recognised with a new memorial.

The Hobsonville Memorial with Chris Aiken from Hobsonville Land Company, AVM Peter Stockwell and Ian Roberts, Chairman of the Hobsonville Old Boys’ Association

HOBSONVILLE MEMORIAL The Memorial was unveiled by the Chief of Air Force, Air ViceMarshal Peter Stockwell, at Hobsonville Point on Saturday afternoon, 28 April 2012.

The Memorial commemorates the wartime and peacetime service of New Zealand and overseas personnel at Hobsonville.

The base was built for the fledging NZ Permanent Air Force in 1928 and over the years has served flying boat, land ‘plane and helicopter operations, as well as Army units and Defence communications activities until 2002.

Planned and built for The Hobsonville Old Boys’ Association, the RNZAF and the Hobsonville Land Company Ltd, the Memorial was designed by Architectus, and construction was

by Original Stone Company Ltd. Landscaping was carried out by The Landscaping Company of Kumeu, and the original Hobsonville flag pole was refurbished by the NZ Traditional Boatbuilding School based at Hobsonville Point.

Some 150 Hobsonville Old Boys and guests attended the ceremony, and they were joined in their parade by No.30 (Hobsonville) Squadron of the Air Training Corps. The parade was led by the RNZAF Base Auckland Band and No.6 Sqn RNZAF conducted a flypast during the ceremony.

The flypast by a No. 6 Sqn Seasprite

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Interoperability

Enhancing Interoperability:

Getting the most from the ANZAC relationship

By WGCDR Lorena Thomas, Air Staff

If you look up ‘interoperability’ in The Foundations of New Zealand Military Doctrine (NZDDP-D), you will find it defined as ‘The ability of systems, units or forces to provide the services to, and accept services from other systems, units or forces and to use the services so exchanged to enable them to operate effectively together.’ We generally assume that we work closely with the Australian Defence Force, but how well are we really doing?

In July 2011, our two Ministers of Defence received the ‘Joint Report of the Australia-New Zealand Defence Relationship’, following which the two VCDFs were tasked to conduct an audit to examine the depth and breadth of interoperability between our two Defence Forces. Since then, work has been ongoing with a small ad hoc team from the NZDF working with their Australian counterparts, determining just how interoperable we are and also where we can enhance interoperability with our closest neighbour.

By following a robust, transparent and repeatable audit methodology, the teams determined that there are areas where interoperability is extremely effective, largely due to the use of similar systems, learning culture, lessons and experiences shaped by strategic and geographical similarities and military history. The level of interoperability is perpetuated through combined operations and collective training, the embedding of personnel and shared doctrine. The audit concluded that interoperability is a unique operational capability and should be managed accordingly.

So what does this mean in practice for the RNZAF? It means that through a network of working groups, bilateral and multilateral fora and service-to-service talks, opportunities to enhance both air forces’ capabilities are being actively explored.

The biannual ‘Airman to Airman’ talks between our two Air Forces were held in Canberra in late February, led by 8

Air Force News

AVM Leo Davies (DCAF, RAAF) and AIRCDRE Kevin Short (DCAF, RNZAF) in Canberra

the respective Deputy Chiefs of Air Force, AVM Gavin (Leo) Davies and AIRCDRE Kevin Short. They noted the closeness of the Anzac relationship, the ease of interaction and the many activities that had progressed well. [For example, see AFN 134 for mention of the RAAF personnel participating in Op ANTARCTICA.] They noted that both Air Forces will face financial pressures in the future and will focus on reinvestment and management of assets.

Despite these constraints, the meeting identified many areas where the ‘provision of services’ between the two Air Forces could be developed. These range from research regarding the accreditation of Air Load Teams, provision of Joint Tactical Air Control training, collaboration regarding the introduction of new and upgraded aircraft fleets, sharing information regarding force structure reviews and management models for the Services’ museums.

This though, is just one piece in the interoperability jigsaw.

Working groups under the Australia New Zealand Defence Coordinating Group, and multinational fora such as the Air and Space Interoperability Council, along with many other initiatives developed through effective working relationships with our Australian counterparts, all assist to position both Air Forces well to maximise interoperability opportunities.

The key outcome remains continued engagement at all levels. In that regard, both DCAFs look forward to working closely together to enhance interoperability and get the most from our Anzac relationship.

Interoperability

EXERCISE KIWI FLAG

By FLTLT Bradley Scott, No. 40 Squadron

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xercise KIWI FLAG was conducted from RNZAF Base Auckland during 26 March – 04 April this year.

Crews and support staff came from the United States Air Force (with one crew from Alaska and another from Hawaii) operating a C-17, the French Armed Forces New Caledonia (FANC) with a CASA CN-235, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) operating a C-130H, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) operating a C-130J, and the United States Marine Corps (USMC) operating a KC-130J. For the Marines, this was their first visit to New Zealand and their first active participation in an RNZAF-led exercise in decades. The USMC crew flew from

their base in Japan to attend the exercise. The exercise aircraft and support crews also provided support for the RNZAF 75th anniversary Air Show in Ohakea.

No 40 Sqn Hercules Flight hosted the visiting crews and the exercise was conducted by staff from 485 Wing. We provided the Mission Liaison Officers for each flight during the exercise. The aim of KIWI FLAG was to provide training in the tactical flying environment, replicating the style of flying utilised in current operational theatres. This included load dropping, day low-level flying, night low-level flying, mountain flying, tactical air landing and air-to-air refuelling. As well, the exercise provided the opportunity for foreign crews to operate together in an unfamiliar environment, ultimately enhancing Air Force News

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The Flight line with a French CN 235 in front and the USAF C-17 in the background Previous Page: The view from the ramp of a USAF C-17 during the exercise.

SGT Bobby Hun (5Mov Coy) and SGT Dave Wood (centre) talk with CAPT Rebecca Heyse USAF

The RAAF C-130J is loaded by 5 Movements Coy

The aim of KIWI FLAG was to provide training in the tactical flying environment, replicating the style of flying utilised in current operational theatres. This included load dropping, day low-level flying, night low-level flying, mountain flying, tactical air landing and air-to-air refuelling interoperability between all the participating forces.

For most of the crews it was their first time operating in New Zealand allowing them the opportunity to experience New Zealand’s unique air space: a water-locked land area dotted with small domestic and private airstrips, a large number of light agricultural and recreational aircraft, and changeable weather systems.

Mission routes and objectives were planned by RNZAF personnel. Then the flying crews, each with their RNZAF Mission Liaison Officer, were able to conduct airspace and target study during pre-flight planning. This opportunity not only provided a good insight into how other nations operate their aircraft during both tactical and route flying, but also helped ensure the foreign crews were receiving the required level of support from the RNZAF whilst operating in unfamiliar areas.

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Air Force News

The exercise gave an NZ Army unit and the RNZAF Parachute Training and Support Unit (PTSU) the opportunity to operate with foreign nations. The Army unit, 5 Movements Company Royal New Zealand Army Logistics Regiment, was utilised to rig and load air drop loads into a number of different aircraft providing great training and consolidation for the unit.

PTSU staff took the opportunity to jump with foreign jumpers and out of foreign aircraft during the exercise, providing a good platform to test and evaluate their procedures. A highlight for PTSU was jumping from the USAF C-17.

This exercise was the first time an international tactical airlift exercise has been hosted by the RNZAF since Exercise SKYTRAIN 2007 and has created a good platform for the future. All international players were extremely happy with the training they completed here, and they look forward to returning and operating with Kiwis again!

Inside the C-17, US jumpers at left and PTSU staff (in blue) prepare for their parachute drop The Republic of Singapore Air Force C-130H taxi-ing for take off.

RNZAF Mission Liaison Officer SQNLDR LG Wilson in the cockpit of the C-17

The C-17 banks hard at a turning point during a low level mission

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Operational Capability

P-3K2 PROJECT MILESTONE

Two ‘legacy’ P-3 aircrews from No.5 Squadron began training on 24 April with the P-3K2 mission systems at the newly equipped Squadron Training Centre. The Squadron Training Centre contains classrooms equipped with networked SWAN terminals which allow the instructors and Test and Evaluation Crew to access P-3K2 system software applications and deliver training.

Group Captain Kevin McEvoy, leading the Joint Project Office (JPO) at Whenuapai, said that the beginning of training for No.5 Sqn crews was a significant milestone in the P-3K2 Introduction Into Service process.

“This has been a major team effort”, GPCAPT McEvoy explained. “The Training Development Team, led by A/WGCDR Glen Graham, has worked exceptionally hard for the provision of a state-of-the-art classroom training facility. We had the Radar Trainer delivered by BECA some time ago and it has already proven its value as a quality training system. A/WGCDR Graham’s team ensured the successful delivery and setting to work of the Radar Trainer; they have now followed that with the new classroom training facility.” The Flight Deck Trainer is also in place and functional.

The start of crew training has been further enabled by the Ministry of Defence delivering the Systems Integration and Testing Laboratory (SITL) and associated sub-systems to No.230 Squadron. In addition to its role in software testing and development, the SITL is to be used for mission crew training.

Along with the Flight Deck Trainer, this will form the backbone of synthetic training for the P-3 crews.

Mr Steve Smyth, Manager Air Introduction Into Service, of Capability Branch, said he was delighted for the IIS team led 12

Air Force News

CPL Reece Tamariki at the Squadron Training Centre ABOVE: The P-3K2 Flight Deck Trainer being viewed by the Minister of Defence and the Chief of Air Force

by SQNLDR Bill Rowling at the JPO. “The level of cooperation by the huge number of stakeholders across the MoD, NZDF, RNZAF, DTA and civilian contractors to get to this point has been superb. I would also like to highlight the outstanding support given by 485 Wing and No. 5 Squadron, given that they are still delivering operational outputs from the legacy aircraft” [ie the unmodified P-3K aircraft].

Mr Smyth commented that “This remains a complex and challenging multi-faceted project and it will require continued effort from all the elements of the JPO to deliver strongly over the next eighteen months to achieve our capability goals.

Nevertheless, 24 April was really important as it marked the start of ‘operationalising’ the P-3K2 system.“ Of note two upgraded Orions, NZ4201 and NZ4204, are undertaking test and evaluation tasks at Whenuapai. Two others are being upgraded at Woodbourne, while the remaining two ‘legacy’ aircraft are undertaking exercise deployments, EEZ patrols and other operational tasks with No.5 Squadron.

Interoperability For three weeks in April a number of RNZAF personnel led

by A/WGCDR Glen Graham deployed to Penang, Malaysia, to undertake mission support duties in the Combined Joint Operations Centre in the Headquarters Integrated Area Defence System (HQIADS) for Exercise BERSAMA SHIELD. He describes his role…

A/SQNLDR Justin Young discusses tanker support with the Senior Air Defence Officer (SADO) from Singapore

EXERCISE BERSAMA SHIELD

MULTI-NATIONAL REGIONAL SECURITY

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s Chief Combat Plans (CCP) in the Combined Joint Operations Centre (CJOC) I took charge of the 26 ‘Plans’ personnel responsible for the safe and effective tasking of the participating aircraft from the five FPDA nations—Australia, Malaysia, NZ, Singapore and the UK. My team included Ground Based Air Defence, Air Traffic Control and naval liaison personnel, fighter controllers and aircrew Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from squadrons representing 20 different aircraft types! Contemporary FPDA exercises include an impressive range of modern and highly sophisticated aircraft [see sidebar] as well as helicopters of various types and roles.

Also supporting me in the CJOC was FLTLT Rud Andrew (P-3 SME), whose role was to task missions for both the RAAF AP-3Cs and RNZAF P-3K. A/SQNLDR Justin Young was deployed as the Combat Support Officer in the CJOC Ops Room, responsible to provide contingency planning and control of Tanker, Maritime Patrol and Airborne Early Warning aircraft in the event of uncontrollable factors (such as weather or aircraft unserviceability) affecting scheduled training events.

LAC Sam Blackmore worked alongside other communications personnel in the COMMCEN tasked with ensuring the smooth handling of signals between the HQ and the various squadrons and also the naval units at sea. FLTLT Air Force News

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Interoperability Sean McKeogh operated out of Singapore with NZ(DSU) personnel providing exercise logistics support.

The leadership challenges in a multi-national, multiethnic and tri-service HQ, which had been brought together rapidly, were distinctive, as we planned this intensive period of flying activity. Diplomacy, cultural sensitivity, patience and adaptability are essential attributes for success, as well as an awareness of regional geo-political sensitivities and understanding that other nations often have a different perspective of the best way to conduct business.

For RNZAF officers, FPDA exercises represent a rare opportunity to step out of the comfort zone and take lead roles in HQ component planning activities involving a wide range of air, naval and land assets. Returning home at 35000 feet in one of our Boeing 757s, I reflected on my achievements and adventures in those three weeks deployed to Exercise Bersama Shield.

I commend and encourage participation in such activities to any aircrew officers—not just P-3 aircrew— as a highly

beneficial professional development opportunity. It was a period with both challenges and opportunities; an example of what makes life in the RNZAF so rewarding and stimulating. But if no-one else steps up I’ll happily deploy again next year!

SEARCH AND RESCUE SUCCESS IN STRAITS OF MALACCA A sailor washed overboard from his ship, 600 nautical miles north-west of Singapore, was successfully located on 23 April by an RNZAF P-3K Orion. SQNLDR Geoff Pierce of HQ Joint Forces NZ, stated that the New Zealand Orion was deployed to Malaysia to participate in annual FPDA exercises, when it received a ‘Mayday’ call from a merchant vessel, reporting the man lost overboard.

Leaving its training route, the aircraft flew quickly to the last known location of the sailor and spotted a red flashing beacon within the search area. The ship which had lost the crewman was directed to the location and the missing sailor was found with the beacon. The man was rescued and he is well.

Among the many cultural highlights experienced by our NZDF team on this deployment was an invitation to run with the Penang International Hash Hounds. Typically their Hash started late afternoon after work and involved a 1-2 hour run following paper trails through the jungle in the hills above the city. Slow movers often finished the course walking out in total darkness!

Unlike the NZ bush the Malaysian jungle is often impenetrable and inhabited by the full range of flora and fauna hazards, including deadly King Cobras, pythons, wild boar, angry bees, aggressive monkeys and itchy plants!

The highlight of the Hash events was a 14km point-to-point trek over Penang Hill (800m) and across the jungle trails to a beach park.

Most participants took 3-4 hours to complete the route, but FLTLT Rud Andrew placed third (and was ‘fined’ for not taking the time to enjoy the view!)

Exercise Bersama Shield—participating aircraft

The Singaporean frigate RSS Supreme Photo: RAN An RNZAF P-3K Orion

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An RAAF F/A-18 Photo: RAN

Fighters F-5 Tiger, RMAF & RSAF F-15SG Eagle, RSAF F-16 Falcon, RSAF F/A-18A Hornet, RAAF F/A-18D Hornet, RMAF MIG-29, RMAF SU-30, RMAF Airborne Early Warning & Control B737 ‘Wedgetail’ Gulfstream G-550 Air-to-Air Refuelling Tankers KC-130 RSAF KC-135R, RSAF Maritime Patrol P-3K, RNZAF AP-3C RAAF F-50, RSAF B200T, RMAF

The Iroquois helicopters of No. 3 Squadron continue to provide direct support to deployed Army and other NZDF units. In the first few months of the year Iroquois detachments have worked with Army and Navy units in a variety of settings; as this issue of Air Force News goes to print a three-ship Iroquois detachment is working in Samoa on Exercise TROPIC ASTRA. Air Force News highlights some of No.3 Sqn’s recent commitments…

Interoperability

Still Going Strong—

Iroquois at work

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Iroquois NZ 3808 hovers above the tussock during Ex ALAM HALFA

No. 3 Squadron on Exercise

By FLTLT Simon Isemonger In April the mighty ‘Fighting Third’ deployed for Exercise ALAM HALFA. With the committed effort of our Squadron’s regular support providers, four Hueys with maintenance personnel, Safety & Surface technicians and aircrew were deployed into the field. Throughout the course of the exercise the detachment would relocate from Hastings, to Rangitikei, and finally to Waiouru, in support of 1(NZ) Brigade.

Before the exercise the Squadron had work to do, absorbing lessons learned from previous detachments; FLTLT Chris Hall did the hard yards as No. 3 Sqn’s Live In Liaison Officer (LILO).

During the build-up, the ‘sound of freedom’ [the distinctive ‘whop-whop’ of the Huey] reverberated about Linton, as we conducted helicopter rappelling training for the troops, amongst various other tasks.

The Squadron helped kick off the exercise by inserting Recon teams in darkness ‘behind enemy lines’. By the time the deployment to Hastings came, operations were well and truly underway. As the exercise progressed Forward Operating Bases were established, the final one next to Waiouru airfield where our detachment set up camp alongside the runway.

Hot showers and warm rooms were left behind in favour of dome tents and ‘rat packs’. Stepping out of one’s comfort zone is what it’s all about and it was great to see the RNZAF getting on with it. Despite the odd grizzle about frozen tents in the -4ºC frosts it was inspiring to experience warm smiles and positive attitudes about the camp! The profusion of personal tents earned the nick name ‘slug city’.

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Our four Iroquois were consistently busy, inserting patrols, conducting reconnaissance and flying resupply missions. The tasks rolled in every day of the exercise until the final phase when the big takedown of enemy leadership was to occur.

The Minister of Defence Hon. Dr Jonathan Coleman was able to get a close-up view of the combined effect of airborne and ground troops assaulting the ‘insurgent facility’ at the recently opened Urban Container Village in Waiouru. For the set-piece attack in front of VIPs, senior officers and the news media, our four helicopters inserted an assault force by swarm roping, then provided suppressive fire with the MAG-58 door guns.

It was an exciting opportunity to participate in a full demonstration with explosions, armoured vehicles and airborne machine gun fire. With many exciting bangs and flashes, not to mention the heart lifting ‘sound of freedom’ from four helos in close proximity, the event was promptly named ‘Operation Wollywood’!

In fact the assault exercise was valuable training which was enjoyable for the participants and stirring to witness. The end result was a punchy demonstration of joint Air/Army capability that we were proud of.

The overall exercise was rounded off with a combined arms, live field firing involving a formation of Hueys inserting troops into a ‘hot pad’, while laying down suppressive fire during approach and egress. Careful planning and evaluation, full crew briefs, rehearsals and methodical processes were all put into play to ensure the safety of all involved. It’s not every day a soldier will lie on his stomach with live machine gun fire from only six feet above his heels! ‘Good job’ to our Helicopter Crewmen, even the Army gave their accuracy with the door guns the nod of approval.

This may have been the last live fire combined arms exercise the Hueys will take part in, but until the NH90s come on line, we will continue to support the Army in whatever way we can.

Interoperability

Working with mates on the side of a mountain*

The Iroquois in action above Tasman Glacier

By PTE Luca Godinich, 3 Transport Company

On 17 February SGT Peter Van der Vlerk (5 Movements Coy) and I deployed to Mt Cook Village. Our task, in conjunction with No.3 Squadron RNZAF, Department of Conservation (DOC) and the NZ Alpine Club, was to remove the derelict De La Beche hut by building under-slung loads to be lifted out by the Iroquois helicopter.

The De La Beche hut was located 1600 metres above sea level, beside Tasman Glacier in Mt Cook National Park. It was built in 1979 in tribute to those who perished in a thunderstorm on 19 January 1930. It has been used over the years by climbers as they explored the National Park.

We flew to the hut accompanied by two DOC personnel on the afternoon of 19 February; we started load rigging immediately as we only had a two-day window of clear weather.

After a memorable night in a rock bivouac, we were back rigging early that Sunday morning to finish the under-slung loads. The rigging was challenging due to the amount of debris and to the limited area in which to build loads. In total 12 loads were lifted from the hut site, with only the orange frame left at the site for a potential new hut.

The task ran smoothly throughout and highlighted the excellent interoperability between 5 Movements Company and No. 3 Squadron, RNZAF.

‘3/6 Battalion’— Army Reserve trains with No.3 * Squadron

LT Daniel Eb, a 3 Auckland North platoon commander, cannot hide his excitement with having the door seat as he is ‘choppered’ into action

Two Reserve Battalions, 3 Auckland North and 6 Hauraki Battalion, conducted combined field training in Waiouru during February. Two UH-1H helicopters from No.3 Squadron swooped in, low and fast, to support the Reserve soldiers.

Against the backdrop of a cloud-shrouded Mount Ruapehu, the soldiers were familiarised with seating arrangements, safety procedures and then practised their 10 and 2 o’clock approach and exit drills.

Upon receiving thumbs up from the crew, the Command Post gave the command for the patrols to mount for an air-mobile start to the field exercise. The rapid deployment was assisted by the soldiers having received their orders and completing battle preparation the night before.

The buzz and thrill of the helo insertion was short lived. As soon as the helos landed at the forward landing point it started to rain—which settled in for the next couple of days! * With thanks to Army News.

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International

Adm James Stavridis, * SACEUR ADM James G Stavridis with LTGEN Rhys Jones

Interview with Richard Jackson, Defence Communications Group

Thank you Admiral for the interview opportunity; I have two themes: the NATO – NZDF relationship, and your reflections on leadership. You are widely known for your book about your time as a destroyer Captain. As you transitioned from command of a ship to your present theatre and international role, what leadership lessons translate to the higher command levels?

All leadership translates upwards; leadership is a journey not a destination, you are always building on lessons and moving forward. From my experience in the USS BARRY (DDG 52) I developed the idea of the Captain as servant—that is as the ship’s captain I was in fact serving all of my crew. The more you operationalise that principle the more you are successful. As leader you aim to do things together with your crew [whether undertaking a replenishment at sea, or having a successful port visit].

Empowering my crew was one of the signal achievements [while in command]. In the BARRY we gained commissions for some 20 crew members. A leader should be working hard to advance people—advancement is the ‘economy’ of a ship or unit. If you help your people move upwards they value that.

You bring your people into [more senior positions] by getting behind them. The Captain is servant to all; this is true in a destroyer or at NATO Headquarters.

In NATO there are three million under arms across 28 nations; as SACEUR I am their leader. But not directly, I see it as three layers: there are those on active service with NATO, some 140,000 personnel in the Balkans, on counter-piracy tasks, involved with Libya…etc. So I have a core group of Flag and General officers to influence, in total some 350 senior officers. And then there are each member nation’s Chiefs of Defence—28 Chiefs. My role is as their ‘operations officer’, not leading but informing them and helping them make their decisions.

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Air Force News

New Zealand is one of 50 troop contributing nations in Afghanistan and it is my interaction with the senior officers of those nations that is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. I can now see how international the task of leadership is, whether in Mongolia, Colombia, the US or in New Zealand.

Did you have mentors or role models who helped you prepare for leadership; who are your heroes?

That’s a perceptive question… we need to slow down and reflect on the people who influence our approach to leadership—it’s a good exercise.

For me the first is my father, a US Marine Corps Colonel who served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He taught me how to balance my profession and my family—that balance is important if you are to sustain a career.

From history, I look up to Theodore Roosevelt, who displayed an enormous enthusiasm towards life in all its dimensions. He was a Medal of Honor winner and also won the Nobel Peace Prize. He was an author, naturalist, explorer, soldier, the Secretary of the Navy and President—an extraordinary achievement. The range of his enthusiasms was wide; as it says in Tennyson’s Ulysses— to drink it all in! [ADM Stavridis recommends Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morris.]

Another hero is Arthur Ashe, the tennis champion [Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open] who was the US Army tennis coach at West Point. His determination is what inspires me; he faced the challenge of being an AfricanAmerican in the 1970s when race was more of an issue—but he also overcame his own physical attributes. His achievements as an athlete were due to his determination. He had hereditary heart disease and his heart aliment led to his early death in 1993 aged only 50.

Madeline Albright is another I admire. She was born in Europe and came with her family to the USA before the Holocaust struck at European Jewish families. That immigrant experience is very admirable, she rose from being a poor migrant to becoming Secretary of State. She showed her

International

“leadership is a journey not a destination” courage in undertaking and persisting with the international engagement in the Balkans during the 1990s; she is a determined internationalist.

Those four have character and attributes that I try to emulate. But it’s not always famous or prominent people; you can find heroes every day; people who are doing good hard work, or good works in hard places…they are heroes.

In 1998 you were awarded the John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational Leadership - can you tell me what that honour means for you? What qualities does it highlight?

The John Paul Jones Award was awarded [to me] for command of a Destroyer Squadron, it recognised individual leadership command of a squadron of eight destroyers in the Gulf including one Canadian destroyer.

It was presented by the Navy League of the US—a national organisation. They take nominations from all Services and make about 12 awards annually to recognise high performance at all levels of leadership, officers and enlisted.

Your extensive writing, including your book Destroyer Command—isn’t that a bit unusual for a senior officer?

It’s important that we share our ideas—but where do I find the time? Life is one big conversation, simply get into it!

If you are afraid to publish then you don’t stand behind your ideas; [I admit] there has been some career risk for me, but I always advise young officers to read, to think, to write and to publish [see sidebar]. We are in a profession; medicine and the law are professions built around a core of ideas. But you only improve them if you challenge the core ideas—that challenge improves the profession. We must nail our whispers to the wall.

Sixty years ago New Zealand was accepted as a ‘secondary’ supporter of NATO through our nation’s links to the UK and with Canada, but now NATO is an actor in a more complicated world... why has NATO endured since the Cold War ended in 1990?

Take a look at the NATO Treaty, which talks of nations standing together with shared principles, for mutual defence and cooperation and engagement—if we take a look at the world since the fall of the [Berlin] Wall, the Treaty still stands up well. It is just 28 sentences, very elegant prose that speaks for itself. The Treaty didn’t depend on the USSR or the existence of a specific communist threat….

The NATO strategic concept, agreed at the Lisbon summit of two years ago gives a compelling case why NATO is a force for good in the world, eg: Libya, the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq…. In the Balkans NATO helped resolve that conflict under an appropriate international mandate. In Afghanistan NATO is active there and New Zealand is among the contributing nations.

NATO is 62 years old, but still has a relevant role to play. If we were to hypothesise the opposite, that NATO had faded away at the end of the Cold War, then who would have taken on the challenges we faced; who would have provided the command structures?

NATO endures; NATO is now a major element in global security. In responding to crises we take a comprehensive approach, synergising the talents and abilities of the military and civilian, foreign and domestic, public and private sectors.

Security requires complex and coordinated responses.

In contrast, South East Asia has strong bilateral relations and localised arrangements like FPDA [Five Power Defence Arrangements] but no collective security arrangement. But it’s clear that the US is engaged appropriately [with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines].

What are the things that keep you awake at night?

Cyber; that’s the greatest gap between the level of threat and our degree of preparations… Piracy, ballistic missiles, terrorism - we are reasonably (militarily) prepared for such incidents but our financial infrastructure, transport, water supplies—the underpinnings of our society—are all dependent on fibre optics and a cyber backbone. We need to do more work in that area. NATO has established a Cyber Centre of Excellence in Estonia, but there is a huge civilian side that needs to be protected. But where is the division between military and civilian response? If we defend our banking system against air attack, then who is to defend the system against cyber attack? Is a cyber attack seen as just criminal? When does it deserve a military response? We are still wrestling with this.

* SACEUR: Supreme Allied Commander Europe

Think, Read, Write!

In a 2011 speech at the US National War College, ADM Stavridis gave this advice to the officer students: “In three words: read, think, write…you have to be willing to do the brain work—the 21st Century is about brain-onbrain warfare. Your reading should include not only history, politics, diplomacy, economics and so forth, but also great fiction, books from distant cultures and perhaps a little poetry.

“Reading is the rock on which you will build the rest of your career; your intellectual capital. As military professionals, we must think our way to success through incredibly complex scenarios, aggressive ideologies, demographics, the globalised economy, environmental concerns, trans-national crime and trafficking, weapons proliferation and the ‘cyber sea’.

“After reading and thinking you must write; writing is essential for communicating what we have learned, for allowing others to challenge our views and thus make them stronger.”

Air Force News

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SQNLDR Mike Cunningham stands beside WWII and Korean War veteran, Mr Peter Godfrey with Amanda Valentine ( the wife of the NZ Defence Attache) at the Rolls of Honour commemorating those Anzacs killed during the Korean War, at the National War Memorial Museum, Seoul, South Korea

Defence Force personnel and members of the public turned out in force to commemorate Anzac Day across New Zealand and throughout the world. Services were held and wreathes laid in countries ranging from Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan to Solomon Islands, Malaysia and Australia.

Our CDF, LTGEN Rhys Jones, said Anzac Day was about remembering the role Defence personnel played and still play in our country’s history. “We should be proud of the heritage the New Zealand military has, from our first forming as a nation, to the First World War, the Second World War and on, to this day.

“To me, Anzac Day is a higher profile national day than any others because Anzac Day commemorates our real sacrifice and loss as a country and as individuals. Every town and community and almost every family in the First World War and the Second World War had some kind of loss.

“We as a military force can feel proud about what our predecessors have done; about the role that New Zealand’s military has played in guaranteeing New Zealand’s place in the world, and particularly the ethics, values and morals of our country and how we’ve stood up for those.”

The Minister of Defence Dr Jonathan Coleman, who recently visited NZDF troops in Afghanistan, said Anzac Day commemorations acknowledge the courage and sacrifices forged by New Zealand and Australian Defence personnel stretching from Gallipoli 97 years ago to the present day.

“The determination of those original ANZACs in the face of such adversity is quite rightly a source of on-going pride for New Zealanders and Australians. Anzac Day is really about the values we hold dear as a nation, ideals like courage, loyalty and service. These qualities are alive and well in the New Zealand Defence Force today,” he said.

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Air Force News

ATC and Army Cadets march at the Feilding Dawn Parade

SQNLDR ‘Bubba’ Hallinan RNZAF and SQNLDR Ben Sweeney RAAF salute during the dawn service at CENTCOM, Florida

SQNLDR Alex Cox on parade in Russell, Bay of Islands, with his son, Benjamin at left

Three Australians, in NZ for Ex KIWI FLAG, were part of the combined RNZAF/RAAF flight on parade at the Auckland Dawn Service

The New Zealand and Turkish flags fly at the Turkish Memorial, Gallipoli

RA Jack Steer, VCDF, led the NZ delegation to Gallipoli this year

LAC Mikayla Paora stands with others from the NZDF party and a Turkish cultural troup after the services at Gallipoli

The Korea Veterans group at the Anzac War Memorial at Kapyeong on 24 April, with SQNLDR Mike Cunningham (in the back row)

SQN LDR Dwight Westen lays the Air Force wreath at Palmerston North

Under Officer Sam Owen ATC carries the New Zealand Flag at the Upper Hutt service

An Officer and Cadet from No.2 Sqn ATC salute during the wreath laying at Petone’s Bracken Street war memorial.

Photo: Carol Cudby

Air Force News

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An Instructor and student make final checks as they step into the cockpit of an Airtrainer

PLTOFF Tom McDowell talks with his hands to PLTOFF Richard Raven

The Fire and Rescue team practise their skills.

PLTOFF Aaron Quinn with a visitor during the Wise Owl open day

By FLTLT Rob Cato, Pilot Training Squadron

Exercise WISE OWL 95 was run from 12-22 March this year, based out of Alexandra. The primary aim of the Exercise is to give each Wings course the experience of operating out of a tented camp in an unfamiliar location—in this instance, unfamiliar to not only the students but instructors too, as despite being planned for numerous times, we had not deployed to Alexandra before.

A fortnight of glorious Central Otago weather enabled a very busy programme of flying, ensuring that all nine students on 11/2 course completed their formation phase. We flew over the Southern Alps and into Milford Sound, as well as all round 22

Air Force News

Alexandra and over the lake. A kind ‘thank you’ to Exercise SKY TRAIN personnel who drew out all the bad weather in the weeks before our arrival!

The other purpose of WISE OWL is to exercise the deployed operations capability of the RNZAF. To this end, No. 209 Squadron stepped up admirably, establishing an extremely comfortable camp that could happily be inhabited for any duration you care to name. Many thanks to the Chefs of 3 Supply Company for the amazing meals they put on three times a day (at least!), no need for rice bubbles for breakfast!

Other sections also tested their skills in the field, with

FGOFF Penny Khull (l) and FGOFF Matthew West in front of a King Air

NEW WINGS!

By FGOFF Matthew West, No 42 Squadron

The Red Checkers perform over Alexandra airfield

Force Protection Dog Handlers AC JD Hines (standing) with Military Working Dog Dax, and CPL Jerry Drummond (seated) with Military Working Dog Caesar

Rescue Fire Section ‘saving’ the occupants of their command vehicle, and camp personnel and ATC cadets alike who saw first hand that the Military Working Dogs were to be taken seriously.

The Alexandra community was most welcoming to the RNZAF, and large numbers took the opportunity to visit the camp on Saturday’s open day. It’s always good to be reminded how fascinating the average person on the street finds even the basic running of a tented camp.

The Red Checkers drew the expected ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’, but many of our visitors were just as interested by how the camp was plumbed and what sort of generators we used. And of course many future recruits were sized up for safety clothing (but give them a couple more years’ growth…!)

WISE OWL 95 was very successful by all measures. Pilot Training Squadron and 11/2 Wings Course would like to thank all supporting units and the people of Alexandra for making it so successful.

On the afternoon of 20 April, two new pilots graduated with their Wings Brevets at RNZAF Base Ohakea. That day was the culmination for us of over two years of work since starting the Initial Officer Training Course (IOTC) in RNZAF Base Woodbourne in February 2010.

Flying Officer Penny Khull and I began our RNZAF careers on the RNZAF Undergraduate Scheme, completing university degrees. I am from Napier and I graduated with a Bachelor of Science majoring in Physics from Canterbury University; FGOFF Khull, from Tauranga, gained a Bachelor of Management Studies with First Class Honours—she majored in Finance and Strategic Management. Our university studies were followed by the six month Initial Officer Training Course at Woodbourne, then the posting to Ohakea to begin our Wings course.

The course began at the Pilot Training Squadron with approximately 9 months of ground school in which we undertook 14 ground school exams in subjects such as aircraft technical knowledge, aerodynamic theory, navigation techniques, meteorology and rules of the air. We began learning to fly on the CT-4E Airtrainer, completing roughly 130 hours of flying time. On successful completion of this course we moved to No. 42 Squadron, where we completed another month of ground school training, before flying the B200 King Air for approximately 80 hours. The course has taught us General Aircraft and Emergency Handling, Instrument Flying, Night Flying Close Formation Flying, Aerobatics, Visual Navigation and Mission Flying. We had started with five on the course; inevitably not everyone gets through.

The Reviewing Officer for our Graduation Parade was AIRCDRE Short, Deputy Chief of Air Force. AIRCDRE Short commented on the significance of what we graduates had achieved in passing this course, and that we can now look forward to beginning our flying careers at an exciting time, with new and upgraded aircraft being introduced into service across the RNZAF fleet along with new, modern, training systems.

FGOFF Khull has been posted to the Helicopter Transition Unit at Ohakea where she will begin flying the RNZAF’s newest helicopters, starting on the A109 later this year.

I will remain at No. 42 Sqn to continue Multi-Engine Fixed Wing training on the King Air before ultimately moving to Whenuapai to fly the C-130LEP, P-3K2 or Boeing 757 aircraft.

We both look forward to fulfilling flying careers with our Air Force.

FGOFF Matthew West was awarded the De Lange Trophy for the student graduating with the top overall flying marks.

FGOFF Penny Khull was awarded the Wigram Trophy as the graduate with the top academic marks from the ground school phases of the course.

Air Force News

23

Community Support

JUMP START CANTEEN GET A KICK OUT OF PARACHUTING WITH THE AIR FORCE

On Saturday 05 May fifty teenagers from CanTeen and Project K jumped from a No.40 Sqn Hercules over Auckland.

For six years now, the RNZAF has lent a ‘community hand’ to Jump Start, a charity event that gives teenagers from CanTeen and Project K (a youth development programme), the opportunity to complete a tandem skydive with civilian sport skydivers out of an RNZAF C-130 Hercules. The event not only provides many positive benefits for the first time jumpers, but raises money for the charities.

Aimed at young people with life-threatening illness, the premise of Jump Start is ‘the experience of being alive’. Since 2007, when the event first took place at Matamata, with RNZAF support, the organisers know that the jump gives the participating teenagers the experience of facing fear and discovering inner strength, placing trust in others, finding mutual support and team identity, gaining confidence and experiencing elation and a sense of accomplishment.

The Air Force has supported Jump Start from its inception.

Support for the event involves various sections of the RNZAF at Whenuapai including No. 40 Squadron (Hercules Flight),

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Air Force News

Base Medical, the Base caterers, Maintenance Support Wing and Maintenance Wing’s S&S personnel who undertook the parachute packing. PTSU was the lead unit.

The civilian working crews—Tandem Masters, camera flyers and parachute packers—all donate their time to the Jump Start event. They are considered the ‘Angels’ of the Jump Start event. Safety is paramount; the civilian tandem jumpers and camera flyers are all very experienced, while PTSU staff oversee the event and conduct the briefings.

The day began at 0630 and by the time the fifth sortie was flown with 10 tandem pairs per sortie, it was 1900 when the certificates were presented to the proud first-time jumpers.

Including the sponsoring skydivers and working camera flyers, 200 descents were completed.

Tim Fastnedge, the Jump Start event director, said “The support from the Defence Force, and in particular the RNZAF, is outstanding. We are all helping to make a difference in the lives of our ‘at risk’ youth and we can all be very proud.”

SQNLDR Simon Van Rijs of PTSU remarked, “It’s an amazing experience for the teenagers undertaking the jump and we are continually delighted by seeing the positive impact of the jump. It’s one example of how the Air Force partners with New Zealand organisations to give back to the community”.

A tandem pair come into land OPPOSITE: A Tandem Jumper with one of the teens in harness (centre) leaps out of the Hercules accompanied by two camera flyers

Loadmaster SGT Karen Adams meets jumpers boarding the Hercules The view in the cockpit with one of the Tandem Masters watching proceedings

Exhilaration mixed with relief as a tandem pair complete their landing

The jumpers on board, as the aircraft gains height The smiles are a little less certain as the jumpers queue for the open ramp

Air Force News

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Defence Careers

CHECK OUT OUR

The RNZAF has a new TV recruiting advertisement, which will be screening this month. The TV campaign began on 03 June and is supported by extensive on-line experience including new content on the Defence Careers website, a revamped Facebook page and on-line advertising to drive people to our site to find more about careers with the Air Force...

NEW TV CAMPAIGN!

Director of Air Force Recruiting, SQNLDR Kavae Tamariki explains, “This Air Force Recruiting campaign is mutlidimensional. We have worked hard with a new creative team at Saatchi & Saatchi to show them the real Air Force, the variety of trade options, our modern aircraft and, most importantly, the people who make it all work.

“The first dimension of the campaign is our TV commercial, it’s the scene setter which we hope will reach out to young Kiwis and make them want to explore a career with us. Other dimensions of the campaign include the new look Air Force careers website, banners, improved mission challenges and the revamped Facebook site—all of which are more interactive, user-friendly and engaging.

“It’s a competitive employment environment in NZ but we think this campaign will give us an edge.”

Filming for the new advertisement took place at Whenuapai over two days in early May. Areas of Base Auckland became film sets with support from Numbers 5, 40, 6 and 209 Squadrons and many Base personnel. The Helicopter Transition Unit sent an NH90 to take part—and also allow Base personnel to view our latest asset.

Project Support Officer, FLTLT Kylie Upton said “I was brought into the Project Team with only two weeks to get the tactical level support organised on Base. We were really flat out organising and coordinating but it was also really exciting being involved. Everyone was really supportive!”

The story behind the new advert focuses on one central character, who—through transitions in scenarios and uniforms—reveals the variety of roles that someone can take on in the Air Force.

The new advertisement is a result of research which revealed that there is a lack of understanding of the number of careers available (other than as a pilot). That research also 26

Air Force News

showed that the Air Force, flying aircraft and being a pilot, is ‘cool’ for our target audience [teenagers and young adults].

The goal with the new campaign is to bring that ‘cool factor’ to the other trades within the service.

The on-line Air Force Challenge introduced last year [see AF News 128, August 11] will now be available through the Defence Careers site as well as through YouTube.

The Challenge itself is being updated. It will be available 24/7 where previously it was available only during the day and evening. The scenarios now include mini-missions to bring to life more aspects of what the Air Force does. The new missions also give the opportunity to highlight how trades within the Air Force work alongside each other to help in tasks like search and rescue. We have also simplified instructions and made the game results easy to share on Facebook.

Along with all that, we are creating a new Air Force home page on the Defence Careers website www.defencecareers. mil.nz/air-force. The new campaign page will show the advert, promote the Challenge, and show new video diaries, along with a tool to help people find out what career might suit them in the Air Force.

The video diaries highlight five key trades we are recruiting for now; they give real insight into both the work and lifestyle aspects of these trades.

We are also revamping the Air Force Facebook page. We are using the timeline feature to proudly show the last 75 years of service. This will inform our audiences about the value of the RNZAF to New Zealand, as well as share our proud heritage.

These recruiting initiatives are intended to showcase all the possibilities within an Air Force career; we show that the Air Force can help someone shine. The challenge to our target audience is: ‘Step Up—and see what you can be’!

Book Reviews

A Systems Approach Review article, by the Editor

Stephen Bungay is a director of the Ashridge Strategic Management Centre in London and has worked widely in executive education and modern management practice. He draws on his interest in military history to flavour his thinking about corporate management and leadership.

Bungay’s interest in military history led to the publication of The Most Dangerous Enemy in 2000, a fresh study of the Battle of Britain. The book was re-published in an illustrated edition in 2010 for the 70 th anniversary of the Battle.

In his book, the reader can see Bungay’s systems approach; he assesses the British air defence system and stresses that it had been under development and was exercised over many years from 1918. The Battle of Britain was won, he points out, by the focused professionals who had spent many years preparing for the air defence of England. In contrast, it was the hasty improvisers, the Luftwaffe, who mounted the poorly thought-out attacks that, in Bungay’s analysis, could never have won the battle for the Germans.

Bungay marshals impressive detail and deft analysis to explain both sides’ problems, creating a compelling overview of the battle that, he says, was instrumental to the survival of the modern western world. (The unpleasant alternatives in 1940 were the triumph of Nazi-ism or, because Hitler was always going to attack the USSR, a subsequent overwhelming victory for communism. Either result would have been catastrophic for western civilisation.)

In his next book, Alamein, Bungay again takes the corporate perspective, but laces the text with individual and personal details which ensure the reader absorbs the reality of living and fighting in the desert. An early and important statistic the author highlights is the sickness rates; the desert was simply

not a healthy place for either side.

Bungay starts with a strategic overview and he correctly emphasises the role of Malta and its striking forces in limiting Rommel’s re-supply. He also places due weight on the achievements of the Desert Air Force—from the fall of Tobruk (20 June 1942) until the 8th Army reached the Alamein position, the Desert Air Force prevented the British retreat from being turned into a rout, by successfully holding off the Luftwaffe.

And in a refreshing view of General Montgomery, Bungay underlines Montgomery’s achievement in re-training the 8th Army, even those desert veterans who assumed they knew it all. In New Zealand, where we can rightly be proud of 2(NZ) Div, we too often forget to take the wider view of the imperial effort and the theatre-wide strategies. Bungay’s book is a refreshing antidote to the nationalistic view often taken in this country.

Two military histories are an unusual lead into a new corporate management book, but The Art of Action reflects Bungay’s thinking that business is highly competitive, complex, fast-paced and risky—the same attributes as combat.

The author, who has studied and worked in Germany, takes note of the writings of Clausewitz and the experiences of von Moltke and the concept of mission command. He applies this to modern organisations and develops the concept of three types of leadership corresponding with the three levels of tactics, operations and strategy: • the leader; committed, passionate and determined, • the manager; engaged, realistic and pragmatic, • the director; detached, calculating and flexible.

Of course these are not three independent styles, but overlap according to an individual’s role.

The challenge in an organisation is to prevent the gaps opening between these levels. Bungay places great importance on the ‘back brief’, the need for a subordinate to brief his command on his current and planned activities. In my observation, this is an aspect often neglected by managers.

At a time when the NZDF is undertaking corporate restructuring and striving for ambitious goals despite continuing financial stringency, Bungay offers compelling insights that are very relevant to our organisation.

The Most Dangerous Enemy

By Stephen Bungay; Arum Press, London. 2000 (Illustrated edition, 2010) Alamein

By Stephen Bungay Aurum Press, London. 2002 The Art of Action. How Leaders Close the Gaps between Plans, Actions and Results.

By Stephen Bungay Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London & Boston. 2011 Air Force News

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Our Heritage

Remembering Bomber Command, 1939-45.

In the dark years of WWII Bomber Command of the RAF provided the only means of taking the offensive against Nazi Germany. In January 1943 the Allied leaders authorised the Combined Bomber Offensive as the primary Allied assault on the Nazi war economy. By 1944 the two commands, Bomber Command by night and the 8th Air Force of the USAAF by day, had developed a grimly efficient means of attack that was steadily crippling the German war machine and had opened ‘the Second Front’ in the air.

Each RAF heavy bomber squadron had over 20 aircraft, with nearly 200 aircrew on each squadron. There were about 8 ground crew and station staff for every air crewman, over 2,500 staff per bomber station of two squadrons. Three stations were administered as a Base, the equivalent of an Army brigade; three bases made up a Group. Bomber Command had Nos 1, 4, 5 and 6 Groups, with No 8 Group as the Pathfinders. (No 2 Group flying light bombers was transferred from Bomber Command into 2nd Tactical Air Force before the Normandy invasion.)

The cost of the Bomber Offensive to the RAF was 55,573 airmen killed, of whom 45% were from the Dominions and the wider British empire. Over 6000 New Zealanders served in 28

Air Force News

Bomber Command—1851 of them never came home.

Bomber Command’s war effort was coloured by controversy and often denigrated in the post-war years.

Seventy years later, a clearer understanding of the Nazi war economy has allowed us to gain a better perspective of the achievements of the bombers. This month in London a war memorial is being dedicated to commemorate all those lost airmen.

Their’s was a demanding war: years of training—largely in Canada—led them to a cold airfield somewhere in England’s eastern counties, they lived in hastily built Nissen huts sharing the rationing imposed across the UK; then night after night they flew over Germany meeting flak and fighters as they sought to find and bomb their targets. But their ‘press on’ determination has shaped the culture of the RAF and Commonwealth air forces which endures today. Two of New Zealand’s three air VCs were awarded to Bomber Command air crew.

This year many Bomber Command veterans will commemorate the Combined Bomber offensive of WWII and remember their lost comrades, when on 28 June the Bomber Command Memorial is dedicated in London.

In this issue, Air Force News remembers our bomber crews.

‘Bombs gone,’ a stick of 1000 pound (454kg) bombs falls towards the overcast as a Lancaster passes below the bombing aircraft during a daylight mission. The bombs would have been aimed by radar and electronic aids to navigation.

Photo: Air Force Museum of NZ

FLT LT Ian Sutherland (standing, centre) and his crew (l to r): Frank Clow (NZ) Wireless Operator, Jack Petersen (Rhodesia) Mid-upper gunner, Ian (pilot), Hugo Merola (Malta) Rear Gunner, Ike Jensen (NZ) Navigator; crouching: Len Burton (England) Flight Engineer & Stan White (NZ) Bomb aimer.

Photo: Ian Sutherland collection

Our Heritage

Bomber Pilot—

Flight Lieutenant Ian Sutherland DFC, RNZAF I

an was born in Masterton in 1923. “I volunteered for the Air Force about 1941, at 17½ years of age and with my parents’ consent. I suppose I was a boy racer of my day! I started a correspondence course, including the theory of flight, air navigation, algebra, trigonometry etc. That completed, I was called up and posted to Rongotai before being sent to Ashburton for training on Tiger Moths.

“Then to Canada for Harvard training; I got my Wings there.

In England they looked after us so well—they regarded us in Air Force uniform as the ones who stopped the invasion; they treated us as heroes. Patriotism was high and at home they worked hard for us too. Our families (in NZ) sent us food parcels, all sewn up in hessian.”

“The RAF needed bomber pilots. This was a disappointment to me because I’d set my heart on flying Spitfires! We were converted onto Oxfords, then Wellingtons and on to Stirlings.

[At No 1654 Conversion Unit in 1944].

“The Stirling was a pig to fly. I was never graded as a good pilot, simply as average, but luck was on my side. I was graded as ‘above average’ in night vision and map reading. I had three New Zealanders in my crew with one Englishman, one Maltese

and one Rhodesian.”

[Crewing Up occurred at the Operational Conversion Unit.]

“There was a great concourse of airmen, all trades, and I knew a bomb aimer Stan White (from Rotorua on Course 35) I saw him in the crowd and he said, ‘Look, I’ve got a friend here—how about him for navigator?’

“That was Aarge Jensen—Ike we called him—from Hawera.

Our Navigator was the key to our survival. He was wounded on one trip, but carried on. He won the Distinguished Flying Cross—not many Navs did so.

“Stan, the bomb aimer was from Picton; we found the wireless operator, Frank Clow, from New Plymouth. Our first Flight Engineer was a Geordie, but he was quite incompetent for operations. So the CO said he’d get us the best engineer who was available; that was Len Burton.

“The mid-upper gunner, Jack Peterson, was from Rhodesia.

He’d flown in North Africa and had a lot of experience. We were lucky to have him. Hugo Merola, the rear gunner [from Malta] was short and fat; we had to help him into all his gear and by the time he squeezed into the turret he was perspiring and when he plugged into the heating system he would get electric shocks!

Air Force News

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Our Heritage

Bombing up; a Lancaster is refuelled while the bombs are loaded. The big cylindrical bomb is a 4000lbs ‘cookie’.

Photo: Air Force Museum of NZ

Ian and his crew then converted to Lancasters. “My posting was to No. 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron, 5 Group. It was August 1944, three years since I first joined up, three years of training. We would have been very likely to have been sent to No. 75 (New Zealand) Squadron, because we had four New Zealanders, but because we had one Rhodesian, and they were rare, we were sent to the Rhodesian Squadron. The Rhodesian Government was contributing to it financially.

“Once on ops life was very good. No parades, no bull, good food …. There was only one pilot in a Lancaster. Ten hours in the air was tiring, but in those days we pressed on.

“Our crew was thrown in at the deep end. Our first trip was by day to bomb the German Navy at the French port of Brest.”

[02 September, 1944—the Germans were intending to block French ports; the targets were ships to be sunk before they could be used as block ships.]

“We continued on to complete 36 ops. We were a lucky crew—we had many excitements, but we were always lucky. We bombed synthetic oil plants by various methods; 5 Group had the skill and our own Pathfinders [target marking aircraft].

“I can’t understand how we survived [after some hits]. Our aircraft was always being patched and how I got away with it I’ll never know. We would arrive back in the dark and they’d send a truck out to pick us up, and the headlights would swing around and there’d be light on the fuselage for a moment. You could see all the bloody holes!

“I made the crew polish and work on the aircraft so that everything was dead right, no oil in the turrets for example.

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Air Force News

We cleaned all the Perspex to be spotless, no smudges. [They depended on visual contact of enemy aircraft.] After VE Day, one of the crew said: ‘Skipper I used to think sometimes that you were a bastard, but now I see it was all for us; you got us through.’

“We used bicycles on the airfield, and would cycle out to check the aircraft after it was fuelled and prepared for the mission. We would pass the refuellers; ‘What’s for lunch?’ they would ask; ‘How full are the tanks?’ we wanted to know—full tanks (2,154 gallons) meant a long trip that night.”

“The aircraft were parked on concrete hard stands known as dumbbells, and we always parked into wind. That way we could board, run up the motors then turn to move onto the perimeter track to get to the runway. In a great queue of bombers you had to be on time and precise. One night we turned and the tail gunner reported a ‘bumping noise’ [over the sound of the four Merlin engines].”

Ian had the mid-upper gunner jump out and take a look.

He saw one of the rudders part torn off and dragging on the ground. Ian aborted the take off, but faced immediate criticism (the RAF was always wary of ‘lack of moral fibre’).

The was an enquiry; two of the bomb carts had been left too close to the dumbbell so as the aircraft turned the tail fin had struck the carts. If they had taken off the fin and rudder would have come off and they would have crashed. The crew were exonerated and the armourers ‘rev’ed up’.

“On one occasion (11 October) we got thoroughly smacked about by flak going into the target [and a hit] split the hydraulic

Our Heritage

A Lancaster of No.75 (NZ) Sqn Photo: Air Force Museum of NZ

Target photo of the coast defences of Walcheren taken from Ian’s aircraft. Photo data is on the bottom margin; bomb craters can be seen at mid-left of the image; the aiming point is at dead centre of the photo.

Photo: Ian Sutherland Collection

A reconnaissance photo of the Dortmund-Ems Canal; the aqueduct has been holed and the canal has drained.

Photo: Ian Sutherland Collection

tank open, so we used the emergency air bottle to blow the wheels down and open the bomb doors. It worked okay for the wheels, but didn’t open the bomb doors. So we had to fly on through the target with our bombs still on board.

“When we got back to England we told Base what the situation was but they didn’t want us because we had the bombs on board! We went to Woodbridge, a special ‘prang’ aerodrome. I came in at a higher speed because of the heavier load and no flaps (the flaps were operated by hydraulics). She was so damaged, they towed her away to the scrap heap. Luck again!

“At Walcheren Island [the German fortifications] were holding up Montgomery’s supply line; they couldn’t bring the ships into port. [On 29 October] they put us in at about 3000 feet, which is very low for a Lancaster, and we used 1000 pound bombs so all our bombs had delays.

“There were many near misses—we flew through flak and got peppered with shrapnel, but no one got killed and we got home each time. One night the Navigator, Ike, got hit in the backside and was in great pain. He refused morphine because he still had to navigate, and he had to stand for the remainder of the trip.

“The casualties were constant; I was sent on a ‘beam approach’ course [a radio aid to landing] with about 12 blokes, and I’m the only survivor from that course. You got home tired and you wanted to sleep but in the morning an officer was there with a military policeman helping him gather up all your room mate’s gear and putting it into a bag and snapping a bloody

We used the Swiss Alps so the German radar couldn’t plot us.

That’s why a good navigator was so important. padlock onto it. That was the worst part of it.

“You were always hoping that they would have been diverted and had gone to another aerodrome. We’d stay at the operations room for quite a while hoping that we’d get word that they were somewhere safe and sound.

Our 18th op [21/22 November] was to the Dortmund-Ems canal.” [The canal carried millions of tons of industrial raw materials; the target was an aqueduct where a breech would drain the canal.] “Our 30 th op was to the same target; there was more flak each time!

“Munich was our 20 th op [26-27 November]. It was an awful long way away.

We used the Swiss Alps so the German radar couldn’t plot us. That’s why a good navigator was so important. If you got outside that cover, or lost the benefit of coverage of ‘Window’ [aluminium foil that saturated the German radar] that was being dropped, and got off track you were on your own and they could pick you up.

“At Munich we put 270 aircraft over the aiming point in nine minutes. Even on a moon-lit night it was difficult to see the other bombers, but you could feel their slipstream.”

On 16 March 1945 Ian and his crew flew an 8 hour mission to Wurzburg; this was their last operation. Ian and his navigator were awarded the DFC in 1945. As the war in Europe came to an end, the plan was to build up a British bomber force to strike at Japan.

“I was supposed to be going to Okinawa, flying the big Lincoln that superseded the Lancaster. But I’d had enough, so I said I had no embarrassment in going home.”

Air Force News

31

Our Heritage

The official party for the unveiling of the memorial plaque; two Dutch Air Force servicemen stand either side of the wreaths

Don and Shirley Davidson unveil the plaque by lifting the RAF ensign

A Memorial Plaque at Kessel, the Netherlands

By Barrie Davies* 20 July 1944; German night fighters intercepted Lancaster HK 569, coded AA-Q, one of seven aircraft from No 75 (NZ) Sqn lost that night.

The aircraft, with its bombs still on board, crashed at the village of Kessel, in the Netherlands. One of the crew, the bomb aimer, managed to bale out (becoming a POW) while the rear gunner was fatally injured when the tail snapped off the aircraft just moments before the crash. The bomb load exploded as the aircraft impacted; the explosion took out one third of the village (by a miracle no Dutch were killed) but nothing of the five air crew still on board was ever found.

The rear gunner, F/S Henry Hiscox, survived the initial crash, but died of his injuries. Sef Willems, a resistance fighter, put his life at risk by making sure the Germans treated Henry’s body with respect and F/S Hiscox was buried in Kessel Cemetery.

But the Nazis threatened to shoot anyone who tended or put flowers on his grave—they even placed an armed guard to deter the townsfolk from honouring the airman. After the war, and for over 45 years, Mrs Tini Claessen has looked after F/S 32

Air Force News

Hiscox’s grave; her efforts have been formally recognised by the RAF. However, the rest of the crew were not remembered at the crash site (their names are commemorated on the Runnymeade Memorial in England)—in 2006 Charles Walbran, living in the Netherlands, set out to change that.

Supporting Charles, I told the tale widely; the Kessel City Council donated €500 and within two months, local people had donated the remainder. After a meeting with the Mayoress of Kessel, a work group was formed. We were helped immensely

by CPL Denise Boneham RAF (an associate member of the Friends of 75 (NZ) Sqn Association in the UK) to find the families of four more of the crew. CPL Boneham works at RAF Honington; she now helps the Squadron Association with contacts and research in the UK. The family of SGT Corris are living in Australia and couldn’t come to Holland, but three families had relatives in the UK who wanted to come over.

The pilot, Neil Davidson, came from the Hawke’s Bay town of Porangahau. His brothers and sisters now live in Waipukurau and Hastings. SGT Glen Turner found Neil’s youngest brother—Don— who then contacted the rest of the family and they decided that Don and his wife, and sister Shirley and

Our Heritage

Mrs Tini Claessen and SGT Glen Turner stand at the grave of F/S Hiscox

Barrie Davies (the author) at left with Don Davidson, the pilot’s brother (r) and SGT Glen Turner (centre). Barrie is holding the cross with F/S Davidson’s name on it

Lancaster 1, HK569 AA-Q Pilot: F/S N D Davidson RNZAF Navigator: SGT A E J Goddard (UK) Air Bomber: SGT T G Little (UK) POW Wireless Operator: SGT D Corris (UK) Flight Engineer: SGT R G Sloman (UK) Mid Upper Gunner: SGT R S Lang (UK) Rear Gunner: F/S H J Hiscox (UK) There are at the least forty No. 75(NZ) Squadron aircraft crash sites in the Netherlands.

her husband would make the trip to the ceremony in Holland.

Incidentally Don’s grandson, FLTLT Jimmy Davidson, is a pilot in today’s RNZAF. Tommy Little, the POW and only survivor from the crew, had died in 1990 and has no family left alive.

We were unable to find any family of SGT Lang, the Mid-Upper gunner.

While all this organising was going on, Charles Walbran was very ill; sadly, on 10 July 2011 Charles died in Rotterdam, just six days before the unveiling of the memorial he had conceived.

The day before the ceremony [21 July 2011] the pilot’s brother Don asked me what had happened to the aircraft. I described its path and pointed to the spot, about 50 yards away from the plaque where we were standing. Don burst into tears, sobbing for 10 minutes—he told me that it had been caged up inside him for 67 years, but now he knew how and where his brother had died, it had all come out. For me, that moment of release of Don’s long pent-up grief for his brother made it all worth-while.

For the unveiling of the plaque we had representatives from the New Zealand Embassy, the British Embassy and the RAF. The local priest officiated and school children and others attended. SGT Turner, who had been on leave in the UK,

represented the RNZAF. The Royal Dutch Air Force sent an Air Commodore, an Honour Guard and a Bugler; they made a much appreciated contribution. A Scottish Bagpiper played a Lament and in a special gesture of conciliation the Mayoress of the German town of Grevenbroich, twinned with Kessel, also came to our ceremony. So, with representatives of four of the crew’s families: Davidson, Sloman, Goddard and Hiscox, the ceremony made a remarkable day of remembrance.

With the help of two local school children, Don and Shirley from New Zealand unveiled the plaque, then Shirley made a brief speech on behalf of the pilot’s family.

We began scattering handfuls of flowers onto the river when all of a sudden there was a rolling clap of thunder; there were clouds but no storm—it made the hair stand on end! Then CPL Boneham and SGT Turner scattered small wooden crosses with poppies on into the river, each one with the name of a crew member. As they dropped into the water, the crosses bobbed away. When Glen dropped the last one it sank straight down… all the crosses were made of the same wood, the only difference was that this one had the name of the pilot on it.

Truly, a day to remember! *Barrie Davies was a pilot in the British Army Air Corps who moved to the Netherlands after retiring.

Air Force News

33

AIR TRAINING CORPS

CDTCPL Basham (No.17 Sqn ATC) looks out of the cockpit as he banks the glider into a turn.

Photo: FLTLT Craig Walecki NZCF attached a GoPro camera to the nose of the glider.

National Gliding Course, Matamata Fourteen selected cadets attended the National Gliding Camp at Matamata during April, here are some of their impressions…

Cadet Henri Raaijen, 1 Sqn Wellington: A few months ago my Flight Sergeant mentioned the National Gliding Course.

A month later I was on my way to Matamata, one of the best places to glide in the North Island.

LAC Baxi Tanay, 3 Sqn Auckland: All 14 cadets were put into small groups with an instructor each. We had aero tow launches and I nearly completed my solo syllabus in that week.

LAC Scott Brechin, 18 Sqn Avonhead Christchurch: Day 1: I was first in my syndicate to go up, with an instructor we met just minutes before. Over the next four days the intense training taught us all the many things required to go solo.

Cadet Kenji Taylor, 40 Sqn Auckland: On the second day, I found out that I had to be 15 years or older to do solo, but it was all good because I may come back next year!

CPL Ben Copland, 12 Sqn Invercargill: Being a ‘southern man’ from Southland, I thought gliding would be very different; I now know how challenging it really is to keep a glider in the air.

LAC Edward Ring, 6 Sqn North Shore: On the course we have been taught not only how to fly the aircraft but how to clean and look after them, how to launch and retrieve them and many other skills that will help when I choose to continue gliding.

Cadet Yatharth Mitra, 40 Sqn Auckland: I’ve learnt new aviation skills that go towards my goal of becoming a pilot of the RNZAF The staff were really nice and friendly; the instructors were good and experienced, so I learned pretty quickly.

CPL Bradley Basham, 17 Sqn City of Christchurch: I began 34

Air Force News

to take more responsibilities in the glider, such as pre-take off checks, radio calls, and the responsibilities as a pilot in command.

Cadet Foster Newman, 6 Sqn North Shore: When you get in the glider for the first time it is a bit nerve-wracking but once you get in the sky it is just awesome. I have learnt so much in this week—the best experience I have had!

Cadet Martha Lees, 3 Sqn Auckland: We started as 14 strangers and left as 14 friends. Everyday started at 6.30am, going straight into Daily Inspection after breakfast. Then we flew until 4.30pm, stopping for the occasional break. I now plan to finish my Gliding A Certificate at my local gliding club.

LAC Jacob Williams , 16 Sqn Tauranga: I can now successfully complete a full circuit in a glider in the air, and am working towards a solo flight.

LAC Thomas Stiven, 5 Sqn Rodney: But it was not only the flying, but the friends I have made; this course has bonded us in a way like two years of friendship.

LAC Julien Dovale, 2 Sqn Wellington: Gliding takes a lot of focus, skill and accuracy. But it’s fun, I got to experience new events, meet new people, make new friends and further my experience towards my career.

CPL Basham went solo on the final day of course and gained his ‘A’ Certificate. As well, he was awarded the John Borman Memorial Trophy for best all-round cadet on the course.

CPL Copland and LAC Brechin went solo on the final day of course and gained their ‘A’ Certificates in gliding.

LAC Poole was awarded the National Gliding award for dedication and endeavour.

Community Support

Paralympians visit RNZAF Base Auckland

By SGT Matthew Pitts, STC

When RNZAF Base Auckland held its annual Sports Personality of the Year awards (in February) the guest speaker was (following the tradition) a sportsperson who is a peak performer in their particular sporting code.

This years’ guest speaker was Mike Johnson MNZN, a New Zealand Paralympic rifle shooter who became disabled at the age of 22 from a car accident. At the time of his accident Mike was going to join the Police Force. ‘Finding something else to do’ was vital to him. Mike set about trying different sports and testing the boundaries of his physical capabilities and in 1998 completed the New York Marathon (7 hours 40 minutes) a milestone for Mike both physically and mentally.

Mike started shooting in 2002 and his first international competition was Oceania 2002; he placed fourth. Funding for his next competition, the Athens Summer Paralympics, was limited so Mike’s partner Michelle Oswald sold her car in order to fund Mike’s effort. Her gamble paid off as Mike shot a perfect 600 out of 600 points equalling the world record and taking the Paralympic Gold medal.

Mike spoke about his life, mentioning particular highlights and low points and his story of his journey was truly inspirational. With his limited knowledge of the RNZAF, he concentrated on the theme of “high performance”, as he strongly believed that whatever the discipline or profession and regardless of the physical capabilities of the individual, the peak performer finds methods to deal with the challenges they face.

To enhance Mike’s awareness of the RNZAF we gave Mike and Grant Sharman (a fellow member of the Paralympian organisation) a base tour. They visited No.5 Sqn, No.6 Sqn, No.40 Sqn, the Armourers, Safety and Surface, Parachute Training Support Unit, Fire Section and the Survival Training Centre. The tour also allowed our personnel the opportunity to find out more about the NZ Paralympic team and the sacrifices they make to represent New Zealand at the Paralympics.

After concentrating his speech on high performance, Mike said after the tour that “All of the personnel that I’ve talked to today conduct their roles with humble professionalism.” Mike and Grant want to thank all personnel who were involved in their base visit.

We would like to wish Mike and Grant all the best for London 2012. To learn more about the NZ Paralympian team go to www.nzparalympian.org.nz or www.london2012.com/paralympicssport

FGOFF Deborah Haines of No.5 Sqn stands with Mike Johnson (l) and Grant Sharman (r)

Grant Sharman and Mike Johnson talk with SGT John Hickman about the Seasprite

Mike Johnson’s Record 2002 Oceania Comepetition Fourth 2004 Athens Summer Paralympics Gold 2006 Sargan World Championship Gold 2008 Beijing Summer Paralympics Bronze 2010 Zagreb World Championship:

Air rifle standing event Bronze R9 prone position Gold

World Champion and new world record for the

mixed R9 50m .22 prone.

2011 Queen’s Birthday Honours

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for

services to Paralympic sports.

Air Force News

35

Sport

Tour of New Zealand 2012

By FLTLT Craig Kenny

T

he concept of riding from Cape Reinga to Wellington over a week is not to be taken too lightly. This was the challenge for a group of six Ohakea-based riders who participated in the inaugural Tour of New Zealand.

The Tour saw competitors start simultaneously from Bluff and Cape Reinga, riding towards Wellington and culminating in a Criterium race at Parliament. The Tour provided an opportunity to fundraise along the way, with the Air Force team supporting the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

After applying RNZAF 75th Anniversary livery to the Ohakea campervan, loading our six bikes and a small mountain of gear, we set off for the Cape. Registration at Kaitaia provided the first opportunity to size up the competition—at least one solo rider, one on crutches and a travelling masseuse…

At Cape Reinga the following morning, we were welcomed with a Powhiri, had a group photo then were sent off in small groups to the sound of waiata. The relentless headwind, hills and a puncture provided plenty of challenges before the day’s finish at Kaitaia. Our team had a goal to complete each stage as a group; the first stage went convincingly our way, coming in 14 minutes ahead of the next team.

At the de-brief we agreed that we would continue to stick together and work as a team. This tactic resulted in some gut-busting battles with rival teams, but it ultimately led to the success of the Air Force team on and off the road.

The following six days saw us starting legs at Opononi, Dargaville, Tuakau, Waitomo, National Park, Pipiriki and Pahiatua, riding between 80 –120kms each day.

The organisers mixed up the starting order to keep it interesting. One particularly cold morning at National Park, we were given a two-minute head start on the competition, who had the services of ex-Olympian Gary Anderson to pull them along. Our Air Force team screamed into Pipiriki after 1hr 48mins and waited nervously—only 2 minutes 8 seconds later, 36

Air Force News

Gary and the Smokin’ Arrows crossed the line! It was our best moment as we had finished as a group of five and we’d been kept ahead of the cycling champion.

We tried countless strategies to shake off other riders throughout the week, even resorting to the codeword “cucumber” to indicate that we were going to make a break.

In Masterton, we took it upon ourselves to organise an un-official prize-giving and awarded a range of prizes which were all sponsored by No.3 Squadron (thank you!) We had won all eight stages of the North Island and would come up against Christchurch Boys High School the next morning in a sprint race for the overall title—every man (or schoolboy) for his own.

The CBHS team was young, serious and had a coach; we had great support from the sideline and our top four riders were going to give it everything they had.

It was a one horse race from the starter’s whistle—by the end of the ten lap race CBHS’s Anton Cooper was ahead by half a lap. The Air Force team performed extremely well and kept with the other riders throughout the race, however the first to cross the line won the race.

We had secured second place in the inaugural Tour of New Zealand and we were the North Island’s winning team. It was an achievement that our team is proud of and the support throughout the Tour, at the Criterium and during prize-giving was truly humbling.

Thank you: to the many Sections and individuals who made our participation in the tour possible; the support from DCAF, OSC and OIC RNZAF Sports; the generosity of the Ohakea BWF Committee; we appreciated all your support.

When the Tour of New Zealand comes around next time, hopefully the challenge will be taken up by the Army and Navy to bring some healthy inter-Service competition to the event!

If you would like to make a donation towards our charity, please check out our Racebook page at: www.tourofnewzealand.co.nz/rb.php?team=116.

Sport

Ohakea: 3 Hour Mountain Bike Relay

By Ash Foote,

Physical Trainer RNZAF Base Ohakea On 02 May, 60 keen mountain bikers, including nine women, entered the 2012 Ohakea 3 hour mountain bike relay. The race was held at Santoft Forest on a track with a mixture of fastpaced straights, tight corners and even a jump for the brave.

Most competitors were in the 17 teams (of three) but we also had a handful of people who completed the whole three hours solo. The aim was to complete the most laps in the three hours.

The race got off to a great start with Steve from Crank It Cycles blitzing the first lap in just over five minutes. Other teams had a slower start when certain competitors got lost in the first half hour! The team transition area provided the most entertainment, with a mixture of perfect changes, some near misses and a couple of spectacular falls. Out on the track we also had a few bike vs. tree incidents, but others made some great air on the jump.

By the half-way mark the competitors were starting to tire, but with a combination of SGT Warren Mant’s jokes over the PA system and the delicious smell of the sizzling sausages, they were motivated to push on to the finish. At the end of the race there were a few sore backsides, a couple of broken bikes and a few grazes to show for their efforts.

CPL Damelza Cook was the only individual female competitor and she finished with an awesome 20 laps. Steve Pedley from Crank It Cycles in Palmerston North was the first individual male with 28 laps. Also finishing with 28 laps was the winning team ‘Totes McGoats’. The Wooden Spoon went to Any Volunteers with a still respectable 20 laps.

A big thank you goes out to all the competitors and helpers who made the race a success.

Results Individual Female: Damelza Cook Individual Male: Steve Pedley

Kane Thornburrow Nigel Crockett

Baz Bennett

20 laps 28 laps 24 laps 22 laps 19 laps

Teams: Totes McGoats

Are we too late to enter?

Catalina wine mixer Wooden Spoon: Any Volunteers?

28 laps 26 laps 26 laps 20 laps

CPL Damelza Cook, an individual competitor, in action AC John Glanville and LAC Nick Johnston from winning team ‘Totes McGoats’.

Air Force News

37

Notices

Farewells The RNZAF bids a fond farewell to the following since February.

Base Auckland SQNLDR S.E Iremonger, Pilot SQNLDR B.J Johnston,Medical Officer SQNLDR S.J Williams, Engineer FLTLT B.C Akurangi, Engineer FLTLT M.A Beccard, Psychologist FLTLT R.G Coburn, Engineer FLTLT G.S Iremonger, General Service Officer FLTLT M.P.W Raffills,Pilot FGOFF J.K Smith, Supply Officer W/O D.R Mccorkindale, Senior Intelligence Specialist F/S S.W Gilbert, Force Protection Specialist F/S J.M Palmer, Logistics Specialist SGT B.M Seymour, Aircraft Technician SGT T.W Claffey, Aircraft Technician SGT J.S Francis, Air Engineer SGT G.J Spiers, Aircraft Technician CPL J.S Goodlad, Ground Support Equipment Technician CPL J.N Tepania, Safety and Surface Technician CPL R.B Bouverie, Aircraft Technician CPL L.K.T Tiraa, Aircraft Technician CPL A Law, Logistics Specialist CPL C.W Hughes, Avionics Technician CPL C.M Fitzgibbon, Avionics Technician CPL S.J Donnelly, Avionics Technician CPL T.J Ramsay, Safety and Surface Technician CPL N.L Davies, Medic LAC R.K Teasdale, Logistics Specialist LAC B.C Whyte, Aircraft Technician LAC S.J Henderson, Aircraft Technician LAC E.J.B Tan, Logistics Specialist AC S.R Wickett, Aircraft Mechanic AC A.M Fox, Avionics Mechanic AC S.I Ruddell, Avionics Mechanic AC K.J Brown, Intelligence Specialist AC M Bourdiec, Safety and Surface Mechanic AC R.W Ransfield, Logistics Operator AC J.H Mccutcheon, CIS Mechanic AC K.J Couch, Logistics Operator

Base Ohakea SQNLDR J.P Church, Pilot 38

Air Force News

PLTOFF B.L Vujcich, Pilot u/t W/O D.R Arnst, Composites Technician W/O R.E Hemmingson, Logistics Specialist F/S R.R Tahi-Martin, Helicopter Crewman SGT R.M Larman, Aircraft Technician SGT S.L Smith, CIS Technician CPL E.M.K Morice, Logistics Specialist CPL J.H Hargreaves, Senior Medic CPL P.C Church, Logistics Specialist LAC B.K Mclean, CIS Technician LAC K.E King, Aviation Refueller LAC B.J Gardiner, Aircraft Technician AC J.A Davie-Martin, Logistics Operator AC A.W Bettle, Avionics Mechanic

Base Woodbourne F/S D.R.N Chee, General Service Airman SGT SGT G.J Hitchcock, Aircraft Technician LAC S.K Areli, Force Protection Specialist AC S.B Lindsay, Aircraft Mechanic u/t AC D.P Merry, Aircraft Mechanic u/t AC N.B McEvoy, Armament Mechanic u/t AC D.R Sillars, Aircraft Mechanic u/t

Christchurch CPL M.C Clapham, Aviation Refueller LAC R.W Hosegood, Aviation Refueller

Wellington WGCDR E Davis, Psychologist SQNLDR G.R Davis, Physical Fitness Officer SGT J.G Martin, Logistics Specialist SGT D.J Southey, Logistics Specialist SGT A.R Maliko, Logistics Specialist

The Avro Lancaster The most famous and successful heavy bomber in RAF service during WWII, the Lancaster resulted from the failure of the twin-engined Avro Manchester. When the unreliable Rolls Royce Vulture engines of the Manchester led to a high loss rate, Avro redesigned the wing to take four Merlin engines. The prototype Lancaster flew in January 1941, the first production aircraft were delivered to No. 44 Sqn before the end of the year and the type began operations in March 1942.

The Lancaster was an immediate success and ultimately 62 squadrons of Bomber Command were equipped with the type. No 75 (NZ) Sqn was issued with Lancasters only in March 1944, a source of some bitterness to the Kiwi aircrew who had to keep flying the Short Stirling long after most other bomber squadrons had converted to the ‘Lanc’.

The Lancaster did not serve with the RNZAF in New Zealand, but the French Navy operated the type in the Pacific after the war, for maritime reconnaissance. One of their machines was presented to the NZ Museum of Transport and Technology where it is on display in Auckland in Bomber Command colours.

Tech Specs.

Welcome Back!

Crew:

7

Wingspan

102 ft

Length

69’ 6”

Base Auckland

Power Plant

4 x RR Merlin XX or XXII, 1280hp each.

Base Ohakea

Speed:

287 mph

SGT P.P Mudgway, Helicopter Crewman u/t

Ceiling:

24,500 ft

Range

1,660 miles, with 14,000lb bomb load

Armament:

14,000 lbs bombs (Mk 1 Special: 22,000 lb ‘Grand Slam’ bomb)

8 x 0.303 MG in three turrets.

Loaded weight: 68,000 lbs

OCDT B Blackstock, Pilot u/t AC B.K Ryan, Firefighter

Wellington SQNLDR B.G Morgan, Engineer FLTLT R.W Bexley, CIS Officer

Base Woodbourne FLTLT R Black, Chaplain AC L.S Palmer, Firefighter u/t

Three Lancasters of No 207 Sqn RAF. Photo: Air Force Museum of New Zealand

Air Force News

39

DEFENCECAREERS.MIL.NZ/AIR-FORCE 40

Air Force News