First Word
Climb aboard it’s time to take off!
GPCAPT Poot. (OH-04-0194-08).
GPCAPT Edward Poot, Officer Commanding 485 Wing
The Boeing has flown! Fantastic news. After months of concerted effort the B757 is back in the air and undertaking its acceptance test and evaluation flights in Alabama.
Achievement of the first flight has only been possible through a huge team effort both in the United States and at home. There is a risk of singling out any one individual, for commendation. However, was it not for WGCDR Mark Brunton’s personal effort, commitment and leadership we would not be back in the air now. Our thanks to Mark and all of the wider team for their great work. We are really looking forward to seeing the aircraft back in New Zealand in the near future.
The milestone of the first flight for the B757 is monumental, not just for the B757 Project but for the RNZAF as a whole. This take-off marks a move from project activity solely on the ground to being airborne. When the B757 returns to New Zealand we will be quickly moving into the operational test and evaluation phase. This phase will ensure that we understand our new capabilities and their employment. It will also test the support arrangements required to enable the entry into operations of this world-class capability.
Not far behind the B757, the C-130 is also moving towards its first flight. By the time you read this I fully expect that the C-130 will be back in the air as well.
I know that some are concerned at the apparent mountain of work that lies ahead. Some are concerned that there is more than we can cope with. Others are worried that they will be expected to deliver everything that they are currently doing while also being expected to manage all that the change to new capabilities bring.
Your leadership is very aware of these concerns. Our plans have been developed to enable the introduction into service to be undertaken in phases and stages. This will enable us to undertake key elements but to “park” others until we have the capacity and opportunity to be able to complete these. There are also other activities and tasks which we can revisit, but this requires your help.
Your commanders will provide clear direction on priorities. But what is critical to our ability to manage your workloads is effective communication. Effective communication is needed up, down and across the organisation. We have a typical Kiwi “can do” attitude. None of us particularly want to say no, or to put up our hands saying we can’t do it. At times we are our own worst enemies in taking on too much.
We can manage the task if we get good advice on the art of the possible, the limitations to being able to get the job done and the opportunities for achieving the job in a better, smarter method. We also need to know what it is that we can cut, recognising that sometimes letting go of our pet project is tough. Good decisions can only be made on the basis of your good information. We need you to feed clear advice up and down and across the organisation to help us help you.
People remain the most critical part of our capability. As OC 485 Wing one of my key responsibilities is the safety and health of those in the RNZAF. It is not in our interests to burn the Air Force and its people out during the transition to new and upgraded aircraft. We want to emerge out the other side of this period of change with our people in good health, our reputation intact and our capability enhanced. Yes there is some hard work ahead, but we want to ensure we can maintain a work/life balance for our people and that serving in the RNZAF remains fun.
These are exciting times. Let’s make sure we do our communications checks. Climb aboard, its time to take-off!