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Caribou 50th Anniversary, 2014.  Continued from page 15.

At 6.30pm the flag was run up and everyone assembled in the gigantic foyer for some freebies, the Resort provided nibblies and drinks which were gratefully appreciated by all.

Back in the “good old days” Rob was a clock winder on the Caribous and did a tour of Vietnam with 35 Sqn (June 1969 to March 1970). On discharge he stayed in the electronics game and had a successful career with Comalco at Bell Bay in Tassie. His son, Josh, joined the RAAF in Jun 2003 and after Rookies went off to Wagga to do an Avionics Course – no doubt following a recommendation from his dad.

In Jan 2004, with that certificate tucked under his belt he was posted to Richmond, once again following dad’s footsteps who no doubt told him where the Fitz and Richmond RSL are situated. Josh, however, went to 36Sqn, not 38 like his dad, and worked on the C-130H’s. In 2007 he followed 36 Sqn to Amberley which by then had the C-17’s and he stayed there until 2012. In 2012, he thought if you want to get around a bit, aircrew is the way to go, so he applied for and was accepted on a Loadmaster’s course, this time with 37 Sqn on the C-130J. That course took a year from Jan – Dec 2012, after which he stayed with 37 Sqn until June 2014. In June he was posted to 35 Sqn and is now waiting for the nod to pack his bags and head to Arlington in the US for the C-27 Loady’s course. He thinks this will happen early next year.

Some highlights of his career so far include:

2007-2012 - OP SLIPPER Middle East Area of Operations, UAE

• Numerous short deployments as ground crew, (Avionics).

2011 – OP PAKISTAN ASSIST.

• Diego Garcia, Air bridge staging ground crew, (Avionics).

2012 – OP RESOLUTE.

• Port Moresby and Manus Island. (Loadmaster).

Jan 2013 – Search and Rescue Mission, Southern Ocean.

• Airdropped survival equipment to French sailor Alain Delorde (Loadmaster).

Jun 2013 – Sep 2013 – OP SLIPPER, MEAO, UAE and Afghanistan.

• Flying operations in and around Afghanistan, (Loadmaster).

Nov 2013 – OP PHILIPPINES ASSIST

• Humanitarian missions to various devastated areas affected by Hurricane Hayan, (Loadmaster).

Then it was into the Resort’s Ballroom once again, this time for the formal dinner. MC for the evening was Gp Capt “Ding” Staal who firstly paid tribute to all our departed mates then thanked one and all for making the effort and coming to the event.

Ding then passed the baton to Air Cdre Warren “Macca” McDonald. “Macca” assumed command of the RAAF’s Air Lift Group (now called the Air Mobility Group) on the 6^th December 2013 when the previous chief, Air Cdre Gary Martin, headed off to Washington.

Prior to this position, Macca (below) served as the Director General Capability Planning in Air Force Headquarters in Canberra. Air Mobility Group operates six aircraft types from three separate RAAF Bases and from Fairbairn in Canberra.

It was formed in February 1987 and is responsible for providing the ADF 's combat air mobility capability, which comprises the following roles:

It has its HQ at Richmond and controls the following aircraft:

• KC-30A tanker aircraft with 33Sqn and C-17A transport aircraft with 36Sqn, both at Amberley.

• Boeing 737 Business Jet and Bombardier Challenger 604 aircraft with 34Sqn at Fairbairn.

• C-130J aircraft with 37Sqn and 285Sqn (training) and the soon to get C-27J aircraft with 35Sqn at Richmond, and,

• Beech 350 with 38Sqn at Townsville.

Macca outlined the important role the big slow old birds of the RAAF play in the defence of Australia and told us all how great the old Caribou had been, which of course was exactly what we wanted to hear. Click HERE to read the latest Air Mobility newsletter.

Des Lovett was then handed the baton and called all the serving 35Sqn and 38Sqn people onto the stage to be introduced to the masses.

Unfortunately we didn’t get all the names but we can ID a few, on the microphone is Des Lovett, the civvy intruder is Ken Howard, then WgCdr Brad Clark, CO 35 Sqn and WgCdr Michael Burgess-Orton, CO 38 Sqn.

Ding Staal resumed command of the stage and with Ken Howard called a surprised Stew Bonett to the front, where on behalf of all present, he was presented with a plaque as a well overdue token of our appreciation for the work he and Valia had undertaken over the years in organising these events.

Ding is actually quite a film star, having starred in the ABC’s Stateline Program a few years back when the old Caribou was put to bed in Townsville. See below.

Then with the formalities out of the way, it was time to crack open the wine and enjoy the sumptuous dinner which was served on platters placed on each table. The meal included:

·       Roast pork with apple sauce and crackling

·       Roasted mustard crusted sirloin of beef

·       Chicken cordon bleu.

With

·       Roasted potatoes, caramelized onions, condiments and Diane sauce.

·       A bowl of steamed seasonal vegetables

·       A bowl of crisp garden salad.

This was followed by:

·       Pavlova with Chantilly cream and fruit

·       Assorted cheese cakes

·       Seasonal fresh fruit platters

And if you couldn’t find something nice to eat amongst that lot you weren’t trying.

Enjoying the evening were:

Stew then informed everyone that Ted McEvoy had volunteered to take part in the Scootarbor Challenge which is being organised by Jake Jacobsen, an ex-Caribou pilot. Participants will ride 50cc motor scooters across the Nullarbor from Pt Augusta to Perth and on the way raise funds for Beyond Blue.

It was decided to hold a raffle and donate all the funds to Ted to pass onto Jake to pass onto Beyond Blue. John “Sambo” Sambrooks, the Secretary of the RTFV/35Sqn association immediately tossed in, on behalf of the Association, a dozen (in some cases priceless) prizes to be won by participants. Prizes included 1 bottle of RTFV/35Sqn port (1^st prize), 3 RAAF Vietnam Veteran caps (2^nd to 4^th prize), and 8 white A4 envelopes containing, among other things, a CD of a Caribou in flight and two pics of Caribous. Wonderful prizes indeed.

The generosity of people at the function was extraordinary, in a very short time all raffle books had been sold and $975 was raised for the Charity. Then one white Knight gave Ted a donation of $25 which brought the total funds raised on the night to an even $1,000.  A huge thank you to everyone!!!

The funds were handed over to Jake on Friday the 15 August.

Waiting in anticipation of the draw, with all fingers and toes crossed and hoping to win one of the outstanding prizes are two of the members of the 1969/70 Vung Tau A-Team.

Jock is one of the well-loved patriarchs of the RAAF Caribou fraternity. He was born in Scotland back in August 1923 and when WW2 broke out in 1939 he couldn’t wait to turn 18 so he could join the RAF and “get amongst it”. He joined in September 1941 and was taught to fly the Spitfire and on the 30^th May, 1944, while over enemy territory he zigged when he should have zagged and was shot out of the air. Although his spit was a write off, he wasn’t but unfortunately he was captured and help prisoner for 11 months until the Russians came along in April 1945 and set him free.

He returned to flying with the RAF after peace broke out and spent some time as a flying instructor and then with Coastal Command flying the Sunderland.

In 1966 he was sick of England’s rotten weather so he joined the RAAF and came to Australia along with other such notables as Tommy Thompson, Marty Newman and Maurice Wells.

He joined 38 Sqn at Richmond, converted to the Caribou then was posted to 35 Sqn in Vietnam from October 1968 to August 1969 where he earned an MID. Eventually he was given a desk to fly and in 1979, at age 56 he took a discharge and left the RAAF.

He’s a lovely bloke with a lot of the rascal in him – we would love to get him a quiet corner for a few hours so we could bring you some of his adventures. We reckon it would be exciting reading.

Some of the tables:

Then, unfortunately, Sunday morning came around far too quickly, as it does, and it was time to pack the gear and head for breakfast for the last time, say your farewells and promise to be there for the next one.

Rocky, another Patriarch of the Caribou fraternity, was born in Midland Junction, a suburb of Perth in WA in October 1922. He joined the RAAF in 1942, during WW2, and in 1946, after the end of the war was discharged. He rejoined again in 1949, as a sumpie, and rose to the rank of Flight Sergeant and in 1961 applied for and was commissioned. In April 1965, as a Flight Lieutenant, he was posted to Vung Tau as the Engineering Officer with RTFV after which, in December 1965, he was posted  back to Australia as the Engo with 38 Sqn at Richmond.

In 1968 he was promoted to Squadron Leader and posted to Wagga where he stayed until 1971. As  a going away present, the Wagga troops carted a Meteor onto the parade ground for his inspection early one morning.

After Wagga, he was posted to 482 Squadron at Amberley and reached the rank of Wing Commander before taking a discharge on the 4th July 1977.

He and wife Joy now live on the north coast of NSW. We've arranged to meet up with Rocky in the near future and get his story which we'll bring to you in Vol 48.

At the final breakfast.

After which it was time load the car, pass on our thanks to Stew and Valia for the opportunity of getting together again and head for home with some wonderful memories.

Click HERE to download all the photos in the one booklet.

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