The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) has won top honours in the military section of the Aerospace Maintenance Competition held in Miami Beach, Florida, between 13-16 April.
The competition consists of 20 separate skill challenges, two of which the RNZAF team won outright – the electrical distribution and the fibre optic fault finding tests. Each challenge is scored on accuracy of task and time to complete with time penalties awarded for errors or missed procedures. During the event the RNZAF team set several new records for tasks.
The team comprised of Flight Sergeant (F/S) Brad Watson, Sergeant (SGT) Brad Mead and Corporals (CPL) Kerry Walter, Tom Poole and Dave Willetts, beat 38 other teams from eight nations including the 128 Aviation Brigade of the US Army and the Clearwater Air Station US Coast Guard, to take out first place. This is the first time an RNZAF team has competed.
Chief of Air Force Air Vice-Marshal (AVM) Mike Yardley said he is proud of the team’s efforts.
“The team thoroughly deserve first place and the win shows the team’s skills are first class on the international stage.”
Feedback from the judges showed they were impressed with the professionalism and skill strength of the RNZAF team.
“This was an excellent opportunity for us to benchmark our training alongside our international counterparts. The Defence Force is extremely proud of what this team has achieved,” said AVM Yardley.
Source / Author: RNZAF
Photo: RNZAF