Alumni Profile - Adam

Adam can’t remember a time he didn’t want to be a pilot. The former Newcastle Grammar School student has achieved his childhood dream of becoming a RAAF Pilot Officer – a feat he says was made possible through opportunities he embraced at School.

“NGS set me up for the success I’ve enjoyed since leaving in 2015,” he said.

Year 12 leadership opportunities, including being a Prefect and SUO (Senior Cadet Under Officer) of the Service and Adventure Training Unit (SATU), were among the experiences that helped prepare him for a military career, said Adam (whose surname can’t be used due to his military service).

“SATU gave me a basic understanding of how the military works and made the transition to military life a little easier,” he said. “I was part of SATU from Year 7, it was probably the most significant part of my development as a teenager. I learnt leadership, bush craft, survival skills, teamwork and the friendships formed will be everlasting.”

Adam began the lengthy application process to become a pilot in the military when he was in Year 10.

After becoming an eligible candidate for Pilot training, he completed two weeks of flight screening in Tamworth, which involved flying instruction, flying the CT-4 aircraft, group and individual testing activities — all during his mid-year school holidays in Year 12.

Only 14 candidates were chosen Australian-wide to be interviewed by a panel comprising RAAF, Army and Navy officials for officer training.

While he waited for his Airforce application to be processed, Adam volunteered with Marine Rescue in Nelson Bay and deferred his offer of a Bachelor of Aviation at Swinburne University in Melbourne. He also worked on the family farm in central west NSW and in an aircraft maintenance hangar.

He received his enlistment letter just before his 19th birthday.

After six months of officer training in Victoria, Adam went on to learn the basics of flying in Tamworth, on a relatively simple aircraft before moving to Perth to learn more advanced military flying including low-level flight and formation on the PC-9 aircraft.

Following his graduation as a RAAF Pilot, Adam was selected to fly jets and trained on the advanced military trainer aircraft, the Hawk Lead-In Fighter.

He later moved back to Williamtown for more specific fighter training on the Hawk and was selected to fly the EA-18G Growler, an electronic attack aircraft.

In one of the highlights of his career so far, he was sent to complete his training in the United States with the US Navy.

While serving in the RAAF isn’t always easy, it is all Adam hoped it would be. “I’ve met so many people and have travelled extensively during my time with the RAAF,” he said. “Joining the RAAF and being part of the Australian Defence Force has been a fabulous experience, with camaraderie at its heart. For all the arduous times, there are innumerable rewards and highlights.”