What you might not know about the Air Force — according to an Air Force Aeronautical Engineer

Aeronautical Engineer, Flight Lieutenant Dominic would like to set the record straight. He says, “joining the Air Force does not mean becoming a pilot and taking to the skies in fighter jets everyday.”

While Dominic’s role in the Air Force is predominantly land-based, his time in the service has broadened his horizons in more ways than one.

“It’s surprising how varied the roles can be. No two roles are the same and no two days in any given role are the same.”

“It’s really not like what you see in film and TV. For instance I regularly work in offices, but they’re a lot like what you’d expect outside of Defence, except I wear a uniform and call my bosses Sir or Ma’am, not Fred or Sally.”

However, that’s not to say he’s hiding in an office all day. Dominic has a number of impressive field experiences under his belt, including one of the Pacific’s major multinational training exercises.

Supplied: ADF Careers (personnel not pictured)

“Being in the Air Force has provided me with a variety of different opportunities that I would never have imagined before I joined. Travelling and moving around is always a great opportunity to meet new people and experience new things,” Dominic says.

“Last year I went on a military exercise called Exercise Pacific Sentry and was placed into a planning team. While I had learned a little about the military planning cycle, I really hadn’t used it much, so I had a few days to quickly figure it all out so that I could meaningfully contribute to the team.”

While learning new skills and adapting quickly may deter some, Dominic says it’s actually a positive.

“Going on deployments definitely requires you to quickly adapt. Sometimes you might get deployed doing what you normally do, but other times you can be given the opportunity to adapt and expand into further areas of your role that you haven’t had much chance to yet.”

The way Defence prioritises teamwork has been a key factor in making these short deployments highly valuable for him.

“Thankfully I had a great team [during Exercise Pacific Sentry] and we were all there to learn from each other and become better.”

It’s not all training exercises and deployments either. Over the course of his time in the Air Force, Dominic has been able to pay it forward to the next gen of engineering officers.

“One of the things I like to get involved with is STEM community engagement,” says Dominic.

“As engineering officers, we are [able] to engage with students to give them some insight into STEM careers within Defence. I find it very rewarding to work with these young people and see the spark [as they] form an interest in a future career that could see them in, or supporting [the] Air Force.”

Dominic also explains that he’s been given opportunities to interact with the general public to support diversity within the workforce. One that stands out to him was his first time marching in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade in uniform.

“This experience brought together two very significant parts of my identity and was also my first experience marching in the parade at all; it was very surreal.”

Dominic’s story is a testament to how a career with the Air Force can be both challenging and rewarding — offering unique opportunities for personal and professional growth. Explore the opportunities within the Australian Defence Force today, and see where your journey can take you.