"Airforce" E & E tonight

[turboNZ]

Well what did you think about tonight's episode?
Was interesting but after seeing documentaries on SAS E & E seemed very soft and not particulary stressful.

Mind you, viewed from the armchair perception is rather different.

TNZ

[Bruce]

:DI see we all log off at 8pm, and log back on after the programme! Yup, the airforce E&E looks kind cruisy, but I can imagine noone can afford to pay a squad of Grunts to run around chasing half a dozen flyboys.

[turboNZ]

Well they got a C-130 to do a few flybys and a SH-2G to pick them up....that must have cost a bit..

Very sad that first part where they barely bothered to light the flare from the raft....

TNZ

[Dave Homewood]

My job as a Safety and Surface Worker in the RNZAF entailed maintaining the liferafts and lifepreservers, among many other things. When the need arose we were involved in training and doing refreshers for the aircrews.

I haven't watched all of tonight's episode yet because a mate came round, so I'll watch the tape later. But I can relate how it was done in my day.

We used to do a 'Wet Drill' on all new pilots and aircrew. This meant taking them to the Wigram pool and throwing them in with life preservers on, and they had to clamber aboard the single seat rafts as carried in the Airtrainers, and then also in Skyhawks, Strikemaster, Maachi and Wasps (I think the latter, can't recall fully, they also had an MS10).

Then we'd take the aircrews to QE2 pools and make them step off a reasonably high diving board and inflate the life preserver. This was always great fun for us S&S guys, and the Physical Training Instructors who ran the survival courses.

Near the end of the pilot training, they would then do an exercise in the country or bush. I only went on one as this was highly sought after for us instructors and everyone wanted a turn.

On my trip, we trucked down to Lyttleton, boarded a Navy Reserve patrol vessel (can't recall the name) and set off for the south side of Banks Peninsular. My first time on a ship, it was awesome because a whale came up besdie us, but also most of us RNZAF guys were pretty queezy. None of us spewed though, much to the chagrin of the Navy territorials!

After a few hours we settled on our destination, off a bay in the middle of nowhere. The ten students (three of whom were long established RNZAF girls who were then training to be air stewards for the Boings) were tossed off the boat into an MS10 liferaft. They had to stay the night in that boat as it tossed in the cold, rough sea. We instructors did two hour shifts watching that it didn't sink, and in between had to sleep on the ship's floor.

In the morning, all were still intact, much to our disbelief. It had been rough and icy! The young pilots had been glad of three nice air stewards to cuddle up to I believe!

We were then all tossed off the boat into a rubber inflatable and taken ashore to this fantastic little beach. The beach would have been a kilometere wide, and on either end were bushclad hills that strecthed inland forming a tapering valley. A little up a track was an old house which was our HQ. It was a shearer's hut and the farmer allowed the RNZAF to use it when we wanted it. I don't recall seeing any livestock there at all, but there were goats in the bush that the farmer wanted killed, and we had free range on them. Except we had no weapons.

With us were a PTI officer in charge, my sergeant (S&S), a chef, a wireless operator, a medic, and perhaps one or two others, can't recall. We each had a cosy bed in the house which was very cosy once the fire was roaring.

However our students were less fortunate. They were given bivvies and had to make camp on the edge of the bushline. They stayed there for, from memory, three nights. They were given no food whatsoever (we had an abundance of course). They were takn on hikes and trained in E&E and survival but I cannot recall any large scale E&E like I saw on the tele. They had to live off the land and the guys tryed valiantly to kill a goat with their knives, but they got nowhere near! I went on one of the expeditions for a laugh and it was very steep country in the bush, and not easy to chase down a goat!

I haven't told anyone this, but two of the students were really good mates of mine. One, Jo, was one of the air stewardesses and her boyfriend worked with me. We knew each other really well, and a couple of days in when she was looking terrible, I snuck her a couple of muesli bars!! The other chap was a trainee pilot called Mike, who I'd gotten to know well as he'd gone through his course. Most trainee pilots thought they were God, despite being lower than Aircraftsmen in reality, but this bunch were all good guys (and one good girl too). Mike and I struck it off because he'd grown up here in Cambridge. At night we'd let them into the nice warm house so they could debrief and receive further orders without us getting cold!! When Mike came in on this night, I had left some chocolate and muesli bars in a prearranged spot which he picked up when he pretended to go to the toilet. He was eternally grateful, and I found out later so were his colleagues as he'd graciously shared it out.

I didn't feel bad about this cheating because it wasn't really. In the case of a downed pilot he'd improvise and steal and cadge from locals as much as what Mikey did!

The funny thing was, I found out later after the exercise that the MT Driver who was bunking in the same room had done exactly the same thing with another of the recruits on another night!!

On the last day an Iroquios arrived, with half a dozen live chooks. Their task was to kill, pluck, gut and cook them. By this time they were all "Lee Marvin" so they did, even the girls didn't hesitate. They cooked and ate the chooks, savouring every bite. Then they boarded the chopper, and there was one extra seat, so I went with them. We flew out on a drizzly, freezing winter's day, with high seas crashing forty and fifty feet up the cliffs. We flew for some time along these awesome cliffs, and eventually popped up over the top and crossed the planes for home. Once back I snuck into the No. 2 Officer's Mess (where the pilots all lived) and they teated me to quite an afternoon of beers for my efforts.

The other instructors all had to go home by truck, which an MT driver had brought down with the radio gear, etc plus all our food and mucho beero (which we'd drunk in front of the poor students!) and a few of our 'base' personnel who'd not come on the boat.

I wonder where they all are now. A great bunch.

[turboNZ]

Great story, Dave.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers
TNZ

[Dave Homewood]

No worries.

I have started watching the episode on tape. That little Navy craft that the survival instructors are on looks like the same one I went out on once. We travelled from Hobby to out past Rangitoto Island to wath an Andover drop a Wet Drill MS10 Lindholme. That was quite an experience.

A Lindholme is a piece of kit that has been used since the war. Basically it's an air-dropped life raft. The Orions carry them for sea rescues, and the Andovers used to to. The raft is packed into a tube about five foot long (much harder than packing into the standard emergency pack, which were rectangular!)

Attached by rope to the raft tube were two smaller tubes, about 3 foot long, full of survival gear. If you are bobbing about at sea and need rescue, and Orion dropping a Lindholme would be a Godsend!

Getting back to the show, that bit where the Herc flies over is a bit of a crock. Yes, the students didn't wave their space blankets or light the flare as soon as the plane was heard, but honestly, if that Herc didn't see the raft from many Km's off, they must be blind. It was very low and flying straight at it. I suspect a little bit of the filmmaker's take on things there too.

[Bruce]

Filmakers being less than accurate - c'mon Dave, you know this would never happen!

[turboNZ]

Maybe the Herk was on autopilot and the crew were in the back having a cuppa.... ;D

As Bruce said, filmakers ALWAYS get it right !!!!

TNZ

[Dave Homewood]

Bruce