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38SQN

“I look at what we’ve done with so
little and we’ve always done the best
we can,” he said.
“It’s like the support we gave for
cyclone relief to Papua New Guinea
in 2006. We went up there with 15
personnel and three aircraft. We had
to hand pump them to fuel them up.
You’re talking 10 44-gallon drums
that we hand load ourselves – and we
delivered 450,000 pounds of supplies
in three weeks.
“The work was so rewarding
though, I love it up there. Papua
New Guinea is fantastic.”
But it wasn’t just PNG that
had its challenges. SQNLDR Plenty
recalled a particularly hairy situation
during a very windy day on Murray
Island in the Torres Strait back the
mid-1990s.
“It’s got a 2,000ft strip on top of
it and about 200ft up from the water
with 400ft to 500ft hills,” he started.
“There’s a hill either side of the
grass runway and I can still remember
going in, because it’s quite short and Equal to the task FLTLT Aimee Holmes, one of 38 opinion out there about the closure,”
damp so when you hit the ground you As 38 Squadron celebrates 75 years Squadron’s newest members, he said.
haven’t got great braking which means of continuous service this month, its with squadron veteran and “Having been involved in 38SQN
you slide on the grass. status as one of the RAAF’s longest former XO SQNLDR Ross Benson. for most of my career, I’m looking at
“We were going to pick up some continually serving operational michael serenc it from an organisational perspective.
51FNQR reservists and were coming squadrons will soon come to an end. In my mind, the disbandment makes
down on final with all the flap out but The squadron’s upcoming sense. We’ve got a similar fleet down
too much wind, so you’re pointing disbandment is one tinged with south. Why would you have two
sideways at the trees. You’ve got full sadness and nostalgia for the men squadrons? Let’s merge it, cut costs
rudder in and you’re outside your and women who’ve been a part of its and achieve the same job at the end of
crosswind limit at that point. 75-year history at some stage. the day.”
“But you had to stick with it until WGCDR Ward appreciated there 38SQN is personnel capability
you got into the lee of the hill, which would be mixed emotions about the officer FLTLT Aimee Holmes’ first
cuts out the wind. So you’re sitting squadron’s loss, but understood why posting, who rates the squadron
there watching it come down until the decision had been made. achieving a milestone of 30,000
you get about 200ft above the runway, “Because the squadron is so well King Air flying hours last year as one
and the wind peters out which lets the loved and a lot of people have spent 38SQN XO Matt Plenty flew on of her highlights.
aircraft straighten up to touch down. a lot of their careers in and out of the the DHC-4 Caribou for 12 years. “We’ve been managing the
“It’s entertaining because you’re squadron, there is a lot of personal michael serenc drawdown for a couple of years,” she
right at that point where you’re either said.
going to touch down or power up and “The squadron went from about a
leave. We went in there a few times hundred personnel when I posted in
and had the same issue every time.” during 2015 to 23 permanent staff in
SQNLDR Benson and former June this year. It wasn’t all at once,
squadron XO SQNLDR Vicky it was a slow process but we made it
Harrison had the privilege of flying work.
one of the last two retiring Caribous, “This is my first posting so it is a
aircraft A4-152, to RAAF Museum little emotional. It’s like a family here.”
Point Cook in late 2009. But for SQNLDR Plenty, 38SQN
Then squadron CO WGCDR Tony is the closing of a memorable chapter
Thorpe was at the controls of aircraft after 29 years with the RAAF.
A4-140. “I had 12 years on the Caribou.
“They were the first aircraft we ever Most of it was with 35 Squadron but
took delivery of and the last aircraft the first chunk of that was with 38 and
to fly in RAAF service,” SQNLDR you always love your first squadron
Benson said. more than any of the others,” he said.
“It was weird because there were “The wheels turned and I came
several hundred people at Point back here eventually in 2016, which
Cook as we taxied in. We shut the was awesome. Maybe the squadron
engines down together and I was quite will come back in some form in the
emotional.” future and that would be nice to see.”
SEPTEMBER 2018 77