Groundcrewman

“I originally wanted a career in the Army, so I looked online at possible jobs and stumbled across the groundcrewman trade, and thought it looked pretty interesting.

Working in and around aircraft, loading ordnance and fuelling up aircraft seemed pretty exciting,” said CPL Mahoney.

Once they’ve completed basic recruit training at Kapooka, aircraft support groundcrewman candidates undergo a rigorous training program designed to get them accustomed to working in and around aircraft in potentially hazardous conditions.

Recruits must fi rst undergo a 45 day Basic Driver Course (BDC) at Puckapunyal, before moving on to a 15 day Driver Heavy Rigid – Bulk Fuel Tanker (BFT) course at the Army Logistic Training Centre in Bandiana, Victoria. Upon successful completion of both the BDC and BFT courses, candidates are then required to undertake a nine to 12 week FARP Operator Course, which will form the mainstay of their trade training as an Army groundcrewman.

Now an instructor at the Army Aviation Training Centre (AAvnTC) based at Oakey, CPL Mahoney highlights a strong sense of maturity and being able to take the initiative as two key traits necessary to become a groundcrewman. Indeed, it is something which School of Army Aviation fl ying intructor CAPT Cameron Stephenson equally values when he discusses the groundcrewman role.

“We need guys really who are able to act fairly independently. Th ere’s still supervision of course provided for them within their own trade, and they need to have the potential to be able to progress to those supervisory roles as well. Th ey also need to be able to stick rigidly to the rules and procedures so they can get the job done and get it done quickly,” CAPT Stephenson said.

“Th ese guys have a saying – ‘without fuel, pilots are pedestrians’ – which is true. But it’s not just the fuel, it’s about having the fuel and the ammunition and any other ordnance that needs to be loaded onto the aircraft at the right place at the right time.

And then they need to turn around the aircraft very quickly and more importantly safely, because if they mess up, we burn or blow up. ”While a groundcrewman is able to undertake a wide variety of tasks related to supporting aircraft, providing hot/cold refuelling through a FARP, operating heavy vehicles and loading aircraft ordnance are clearly the main requirements in this position.

“Often that [refuelling/reloading] could be done not necessarily at a fixed base. They may jump into a loaded vehicle, independently head off into the middle of nowhere and set up a FARP, and the aircraft will arrive there at the given time. They need to be setup, process the aircraft as quickly as possible whilst maintaining their own security in that location, and then they pack up, move on and do it again somewhere else,” CAPT Stephenson explained.

“At the same time, they’re loading stuff that goes bang and stuff that burns fairly well. And we often do that rotors turning, engines burning, so they need to be able to get it right and get it done quickly so we can get back into the fight as quickly as possible. ” In such a safety critical operation involving highly explosive ordnance and materials, CAPT Stephenson also elaborated on the level of trust between pilot and groundcrewman, where both need to have complete confidence in each other’s training to get the job done.

“We literally trust them with our lives I suppose…Whenever we’ve got to fly outside the endurance of the aircraft, which for helicopters isn’t all that long, we need fuel to extend our range to keep us flying, so these guys are essential… If they aren’t there or can’t provide it or can’t do it quickly or safely, then that limits our capability significantly, because we obviously can’t go back and keep doing the job, and the ground forces suffer as a result. So these blokes are the lynchpin of enabling that to continue. ” An example of that close cooperation is when Army aviation units deploy onboard Navy ships, where groundcrewmen accompany their squadron as part of the ship’s Army Department. With the expected entry into service of the two Canberra class LHD amphibious ships with the RAN in 2014/2015, CAPT Stephenson said groundcrewmen would be in high demand in the coming years.

“That’ll require increased Army aviation groundcrewmen contingents on those ships to support our flying operations because we’ll be able to carry a lot more aircraft to a lot more places and further away,” he said.

Groundcrewmen are also currently deployed in Afghanistan, where they have been providing support to the Army CH‑47D Chinooks that have been deployed there, plus US aircraft.

When asked what he would say to someone considering becoming a groundcrewman, CPL Mahoney was quick to praise the trade.

“I’d tell them they’d love it!” he quipped.

“It’s an exciting job, I’m not sick of it.

I still get a thrill out of working in and around aircraft. It’s a bit of a jack of all trades, I mean we’re…looking after trucks, but we’re also working around aircraft and playing with ordnance and fuel, so it can be very interesting. ” CAPT Stephenson agreed, emphasising the need for teamwork as key to the job and the wider functioning of the Army Aviation Corps.

“Groundcrewmen are as essential as the aircrew or the tradesmen who fix the aircraft or anyone else. The role they play is absolutely essential to us being able to conduct our operations…Without any part of that team, we don’t function. We cannot project capability at all. We get to know each other, develop good working relationships and that way we can trust and rely on each other for the support we need. ”

“They’re loading stuff that goes bang and stuff that burns fairly well. And we often do that rotors turning, engines burning, so they need to be able to get it right and get it done quickly. ”