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I'm Flying Officer Lee Carruthers, and I'm an air
field engineer in the Air Force.
I'm Flying Officer Bryce Harris.
I'm also an air field engineer in the Air Force.
We're civil engineers.
However, we also construct and design rapid air fields for
the Air Force.
As a qualified air field an engineer, we can from start to
finish construct an air field-- not only the air field
itself, but the key infrastructure-- water, power,
sewage, to a camp that could facilitate an
expeditionary force.
As an air field engineer on these construction projects,
you will be in charge of these operators and machinery.
As such, you need to know what they do and their capabilities
to be able to deliver an efficient project.
I went to [INAUDIBLE], did the initial training there, and
then spent four years there studying civil engineering,
and then came on the regimental
officers' basic course.
I was riding to uni one day--
I was already at [INAUDIBLE]
learning civil and infrastructure engineering,
just riding my bike past the Defence Force recruiting just
in Melbourne, and they just had a big
undergrad sign out there.
Just by chance, I was looking across from there.
I just researched a little bit, and yeah--
before I knew, I was an air field engineer.
There was another service that was a possibility, but from
the perception that I was able to get in speaking to other
air field engineers, it just seemed to be a very
professional organisation, and somewhere where you could
develop into an experienced engineers at
the end of the process.
The undergraduate team means that you study at your
civilian uni in the current course that you're pursuing,
so civil and infrastructure engineering.
But while you're doing that, you're actually in the Air
Force itself.
So it's similar to how ADFA is set up-- however, there is no
specific military time during that period, so you just
continue to study as normal, except you're employed by the
Defence Force.
We were recruited by the Institute of Engineers
Australia, which is obviously a civilian recognition.
Through being in the military, you can still attain your
charter practise of engineers.
The Air Force itself wants to be able to enable its
engineers to be able to run projects, and as such, they
see the benefit in us becoming
chartered practicing engineers.
And not only that, we're able to liaise with civilian
organisations better from being able to have that basis.
Having gone from the start to the end of a project in
constructing air field, at the end, it did feel quite surreal
in the fact that, from a vacant piece of land, you've
got a plane coming in just based on your specification.
In the end, it was quite rewarding, but a little bit
stressful at the time.
Yeah, going from the initial stages and having an idea, and
then seeing that develop and then
actually function properly--
it's very appealing.
It's an interesting lifestyle.
You're always learning something new,
going to new places.
I got to go on a trip overseas to Indonesia.
We visited the Air Force academy over there.
They spent a week over here, and we went for a week over
there with them, and got to see the Indonesian Air Force,
which was interesting, and see all the different training
techniques.
And then we had such a good time, and they enjoyed us
being there, that they invited us back again six months later
for their graduation.
So we got to go there and see their graduation parade, and
meet the president of Indonesia.
It was pretty interesting.