Issue 329: Boom Times

Geoff Brown’s passion for gliding is well known, and after four years as Chief he now has the time to once again fully indulge in that passion. Brown started flying gliders before joining the Air Force, remains a keen competitive glider pilot, and has overseen significant investment in new gliders for the Australian Air Force Cadets.

But besides gliding it is hard to see Brown sitting still for too long.

“You need to find something that you’re passionate about. I can’t see it on the horizon at the moment, but that doesn’t mean it’s not out there,” he says.

Clearly Brown has been passionate about the Air Force he led as Chief for four years and served in for 34. Passion for what they are doing is one of the hallmarks of the high achiever, and Brown’s passion for flying, passion for competition, and passion for the Air Force shine through in a career that saw him fly Chinook helicopters, lead the Roulettes aerobatic team, command a Hornet squadron and and the F-111 wing and then take on a range of increasingly senior roles before becoming Deputy Chief and then Chief of Air Force.

For his role as Commander of the Australian Air Element Headquarters during the 2003 Iraq war he was awarded the US Legion of Merit. “His vision, stellar leadership, professionalism and precise application of airpower doctrine directly contributed to successful combat operations against the Iraqi regime,” the citation reads.

Reading that citation it is not hard to see how Brown would later become the architect of the RAAF’s visionary ‘Plan Jericho’ – the plan to fully exploit the data-rich sensors of platforms such as the Wedgetail and F-35 to become an integrated and networked force.

But the citation also gives insight into how Brown has been highly regarded as a leader.

A few months ago Brown gave a speech on leadership to the Defence Senior Leadership Group.

“Any leader worth their salt should be engaged in a lifelong learning exercise. The day you think that you have no more to learn is probably the day to walk away because you will have been complacent and forgotten

You are not the root of all wisdom.

how much you can learn from your people,” Brown said in a speech that reveals much about his leadership approach.

“I have learned a lot from people I have led over the years by asking one question: ‘What do you think?’ You stop asking that question when you think you already have all the answers. ” That gives a great insight into Brown’s success as a leader, and effective leadership gets results. Brown’s results, building on the success of CAFs before him like Mark Binskin and Angus Houston, include overseeing the Air Force gaining approval for major acquisitions like the F-35 and Growler, launching Plan Jericho, and instigating the New Horizons cultural change program (with its genuine commitment to diversity in the Air Force).

Today’s Air Force is the best-equipped and trained it has been at any time in its postwar history, and has been, and will continue to be under Leo Davies, as well led as at any time in its history. And those two facts are inextricably linked.

“Right through my flying career, my life was literally in the hands of junior airmen and airwomen whose skills were essential to the safety of aircrew. The bonds of trust and respect forged by that mutual reliance were very special,” Brown said in the speech.

“I think it is the most distinctive feature of leadership of Air Force teams that defines our unique culture. It taught me to value every individual not by what was on their sleeve but by their ability to do their job. That gives you the humility to seek advice and teaches you early that you are not the root of all wisdom. It is a really formative lesson for young leaders. ”

Getting out of a squeeze

I made an error in Notam last issue talking about 787 economy class configurations. The 17in-wide economy class seat is set at nine-abreast in the 787, not eight-abreast as I wrote. Apologies for the brain fade.