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A Soldiers Thoughts - What does it Mean Now?
What does it mean now? Good question!
I know what it means to me, and I shouldn't try and convince you what it should mean to you. It would be great if you could enter what it means to you in the "guest book", back on the Main page.
I know Dad was changed by the war. If you read his early diary entries, you would have seen a side of him that fits nicely with him being the son of a Minister. Well, now Dad only goes to church for weddings - Mum would take us and Dad would stay home. Quite regularly the Jehovah's Witness folks would bike out and Dad would spend some time having (friendly) arguments about God and the bible (I guess - I didn't listen too much - I was a kid!), but I know he was argueing against their view. He also went through a lot medically - he still to this day has plenty of bits of that Cassino schrapnel in him. He has been in and out of a long bout of depression, and he went in and out of being addicted to the tranquilisers he was prescribed. When he retired, we honestly didn't expect him to live very long as he didn't seem very interested in life, but to all our relief, he came right and found a hobby - he began researching our Family tree. After the poems came to light and I talked to him about it, this time he talked, and talked. It was great. At the time, I guess it fitted in with the family research and the media interest in the 50 year anniversary of the conflict which helped the veterans talk about it and get it out of their systems.
Dad is still alive and well today (and long may it continue), the family tree is researched and handed on to me to continue, and Dad fits his life around raising his Begonia's (for which he is becoming known around the world for).
And what is happening now, is that the tradition continues. Following in my fathers footsteps, I served 15 years in the RNZAF, and today, Ian's grandson Andrew Cleland, is serving in the Army - currently on Peacekeeping Duty in East Timor. We all hope that the events endured by Ian and others like him, will not have to be endured again.
Andrew's Service
Andrew Joined the Army early 2000, and after Basic Training, trained in the Artillary Corps. He has now been selected for Officer training and was scheduled for Officer training early this year, but has elected to defer this until the next intake in 2002 to take up the challenge of Peacekeeping duties in East Timor. Andrew went with his Battalion in November, taking over from the Burnham (Christchurch) based 2nd Battalion who had been there since the first UN Forces had become involved.
Highlights of Andrew's career (to date) include the UN "tour of duty", and an on-screen "extra" role in The Lord of the Rings movie which was filmed all over New Zealand. Andrew's role came about as the Army made available some their Waiouru based Soldiers to make up the battle fighters in the battle for Mount Doom. NZ Army, Protectors of the Ring!
Lord of the Rings news
George's Service
Well, it wasn't any urge to follow in my fathers footsteps - the poems hadn't come to light at that stage, it was really a case of not having any great desire to go to university, not knowing what else to do(!) and thinking that the AirForce was the closest I was going to get to space (I was "mildly interested" in Sci-Fi and space). Initially I didn't think I would be co-ordinated enough to be a pilot, and instead aspired to "blow things up" as an Armourer, but was convinced to apply myself to my second choice of Avionics (Air Electronics) under the NZCE (New Zealand Certificate in Engineering) scheme.
I joined the R.N.Z.A.F. January 14th 1980 and the first year was taken up with Recruit Course, Basic Engineering and some NZCE subjects towards the end of the year. This year was spent at RNZAF Base Woodbourne near Blenheim. 1981 began with our Avionics Mechanics (junior trade training) course at RNZAF Base Wigram (Christchurch), and on completion, half way through the year, we were posted to our Bases for OJE - On the Job Experience. I was sent to RNZAF Base Ohakea and worked in the Radio and Radar Bay to work on the Skyhawk AN-APG53 nose Radar system - an ageing arrangement of vacuum tubes, magnetrons, and klystrons.
1982 was spent back at Wigram doing our senior trade training - Technicians Course. The course started in January and ended in November with a few NZCE exams thrown in to round off the year. Tech's course built on Mech's course and covered the range of theory and practical from Ohm's law, semiconductor & valve action, transistors, digital/micro-processors, and the trade discipline subjects of Electrical, Ground Radio, Airbourne Radio & Radar, and Instruments. We spent time learning how to carry out maintenance on Aircraft and also in an ATC tower. It was thorough and tough - the AirForce had high standards. I have learned since I left the AirForce, the value of the Military based training - no one else trains it's people as well. At the time, of course, it was not quite as enjoyable! Still, the group of people training with me had been together from the start and we were closer than brothers, and had many opportunities for fun! Looking back it was great times. (And I almost forgot to mention that during the late stages of Tech's course, I met, fell in love & got engaged to Heather, who due to living in Wanganui, cost us both a bit of money in travel to and from Christchurch!)
At the end of each of the four years of our NZCE training, we were sent on "Adventure Training". The first year this took the form of a four day tramp on the Heaphy track. The second year was another tramp, this time in the hills/mountains of the Main Divide. During this tramp I nearly exited this world as stepping onto a shingle slide after crossing a ridge of the main divide, I slipped on a lichen covered rock and went down the scree slope on my back feet first. With a cliff and a very large drop to the rocks below at the end of this scree slope, and me not able to slow myself down, the Officer in Charge of our party said to the NCO with us "Now we're in the sh@#t, he's got the radio in his pack!" (luckily I didn't hear about this 'til years later). I was saved by a rather solid and jagged section of the mountain sticking up through the scree and striking me on my way past, on the tail-bone! The excruciating pain of this made me arch my back in a way I hadn't managed before, digging my pack into the scree and eventually slowing me down and stopping mere metres away from the cliff. I remember after stopping, rolling onto my front and shouting up to my mates at the top of the scree slope "Don't step on that rock!" and then having to lay there alone for a few minutes while they (carefully) made their way down to me. You know who your mates are when you ask for someone to check how much damage your bum has suffered! and you know how helpful the officers can be when he makes you keep tramping after sustaining that sort of damage!
The third year was a tramp around the Nelson Lakes area, and while I didn't nearly kill myself on a shingle slide, I did nearly lose my head when a nesting Kea picked me out of the line of trampers to dive-bomb! I have a vivid memory of hearing a strange humming noise (of the air on it's wings) and ducking and looking up (to where my head had been) to see (and feel) the bright orange flash of the underside of the Kea's wings. Well, they did call it "Adventure" training! The fourth year was a much more sedate "Sail-ex" learning to sail clinker-built whaling boats around with the Navy up in Auckland. The last stage of this was sailing out to an Island and camping there, then sailing around Rangitoto Island the next day - hardly the Americas Cup, but it gave us a taste of Navy life - plenty enough for me.
At the end of the year we were "posted" to our permanent Bases. I made it back to Ohakea, and returned to the Radar Bay, this time to fix the TACAN's - a Radar frequency Navigation Aid which tells pilots their bearing and range to a ground based transmitter. 1983 was the year for our final two NZCE phases - the first third of the year was NZCE Stage 4, and the last third, NZCE Stage 5 with RNZAF Base work in between the two. During the NZCE work, we lived in the "Halls of Residence" at CIT Heretaunga (near Upper Hutt, Wellington), and we had it good! We were by and large the only ones who were being payed to be there, and had our course fees and food & accommodation paid for, as well as drawing a "meal allowance" for our lunches! Again, life was pretty good!
1984 really began our Service life in earnest with all our training out of the way. A couple of early highlights - when our NZCE results came in, everyone who passed was promoted to Corporal as part of the scheme. Also, in March, Heather & I got married and had our Honeymoon in Noumea - my first overseas trip. After this, life sort of settled down to "normal". I moved through the different aspects of the Radio and Radar Bay, also working on the Doppler system, Radar Altimeter system, and one of the UHF Radio systems.
In the winter of 1986, I was posted from the Radar Bay to No. 2 Squadron (still at Ohakea). I was less than pleased at the time, leaving the "nice warm" & regular work habits of the Bay for the Flight Line and "odd' hours of the Squadron! However, it was one of the best moves of all, and I found I really enjoyed the immediacy of the Flight Line pressures. We would alternate Hangar based work, repairing the major faults and carrying out scheduled maintenance, for Flight Line work, preparing the Skyhawk's for flight, refuelling, replenishing Liquid Oxygen, & checking systems readiness, marshalling the planes in and out, fixing any broken systems and "putting them to bed" afterwards. It was nothing for me to start at 7:30 and work solidly through to 3 o'clock before having time to break for lunch, and I loved it!
During my time on the Squadron, the RNZAF had been working on a plan to refurbish the Skyhawks and upgrade the 1950's electronics systems to more modern ones. The original plan had been to replace the Skyhawks with F16's, but the decision became financial and it was decided that for the price of 1 F16, we could upgrade the 6 Skyhawks to F16 capable electronics and the benefits of 6 planes vs one made sense. I applied for one of four slots on the upgraded Radar system training and with my background in the Radar Bay and on No. 2 Squadron, I was successful and after being security cleared to "Secret" level, in late 1987, went on a 5 week trip to the USA - the first week in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where the upgrade project contractor (Lear Seigler) was based, and the next 4 weeks in Baltimore, Maryland, with the Radar makers - Westinghouse. This gave opportunities to see Philadelphia and New York in the weekends.
Shortly after returning from this training, No. 2 Squadron closed down for a period of time while the first Skyhawks went away (to RNZAF Base Woodbourne) for Project Kahu - the upgrade project. While the planes were away, I went to AMS Aircraft Maintenance Squadron where the more involved scheduled servicings were undertaken on the Skyhawks and Strikemaster aircrafts. During this brief stint (Mar - Jul '88), I was promoted to Sergeant, and my Sergeant's qualifying course got in the way of me re-joining the reforming 2 Squadron as Project Kahu Flight Test team, until after the first few Test flights in the new system. However, the Sgts Qual course was also at Woodbourne where Flight Test started, so I was able to catch up with the rest of the team after hours occasionally. When I did rejoin them, there were many long hours to work with returning to Ohakea and our spouses for most weekends kept us out of trouble (mostly). Heather and I were scheduled to take a trip to Hong Kong and China, and I wasn't too pleased with leaving the team again (you feel like you're letting them down), when on the Thursday morning (I was scheduled for Leave from that Saturday), when preparing one of the Skyhawks for a flight, the nose section "fell off"! The screw blocks which allow the nose to be raised to access some of the Avionic systems crammed into the small airframe, stripped their threads and the whole nose section swung back to the right and almost fell right off onto the Hangar floor. Flight Test came to a halt and we all worked from that point 'til about 10pm and restarted early the next morning in order to completely strip the whole nose section off the aircraft to allow the airframe specialists to get in and repair it - we wanted to be clear so everyone could go home for the weekend. When I came back from our China trip, we had a few days at Ohakea (time to write up some of the new maintenance procedures), before heading back to Woodbourne and boresighting (aligning the aircraft weapons datum line with the electronic datum line) and then carrying on with Flight Test.
Shortly after this incident, Flight Test shifted back to Ohakea at No. 2 Squadron, and I became involved writing the new maintenance procedures in addition to the normal work of flying and prototype debugging. As more and more aircraft were converted and transferred to us, we eventually split some off to No.75 Squadron, and I went with them as the "Kahu Advisor". It was a hard change for me, as a loyal 2 Squadron guy, going to 75 Squadron was like "changing sides" almost. The pilots were "Fighter pilots" for real and not as friendly as at 2 Squadron, still, most of the time was spent with the Ground Crew rather than pilots. However, it was shortly after this shift I applied for a transfer back to Wigram as an Instructor. I had been Instructor off and on at Ohakea as I became "expert" on the TACAN, Skyhawk both pre and post Kahu, I was required to pass the knowledge on to the new guys coming along. I found I quite liked the role, and thinking back to my Tech's course and the impression my Instructor made on me, made me decide on the change. So, it was, at the tail end of 1990, I shifted down to Christchurch and became an Instructor, teaching the new Tech's electronic theory, and later (Mar '93), Digital and initial Radar theory. Later, as a follow-on to Digital, I went on to teaching Microprocessor theory (how the heart of computers work). This role was rewarding and fitted the training lifestyle I needed as I had become involved with Marathons and Multisport events which led me to 2 other adventures, both around the same time, but spread over almost a year. Adventure 1 was the Speights Coast to Coast, and Adventure 2 was my trip to Antarctica as part of an AirForce team to collect rubbish and relocate some huts. The training for these took place over the 1993 year with the Antarctic trip in November and the Coast to Coast race in early Feb 1994. Both were completed very successfully and my only regret was that Heather and my new family were not able to share either, other than the finish of the Coast to Coast, and the photo's.
After the Coast to Coast, AirForce life started to go down-hill for me. The work and the camaraderie hadn't changed, but the "politics" started to get to me - especially with the cost-cutting decision to close RNZAF Base Wigram. After the best part of the year I finally decided to leave the AirForce with 5 years still to run to the "magic 20 years" point. It was a difficult decision to make as the AirForce life had been great, and the lure of the "pot of gold" retiring after 20 years was strong, but eventually the reality of shifting from Christchurch and the likelihood of being able to walk into an equivalent paying job in 5 years time, made me do it. Having to give 3 months notice with no job to go to was a bit worrying,but the relief of "escaping" overcame that, and shortly after doing so, an ex-AirForce colleague gave me a "fill-in job" instructing at the local PolyTech, so everything fell into place for me. My last AirForce event occurred in an "overlap" with my new job, when the final Woodbourne to Wigram cycle relay - an event I had started from concept to reality, took place in late January 1995. At the post race function, the Base Commander (who had received an award in the New Years Honours list), made suitable comments, but more importantly to me, my fellow AirForce multi-sport colleagues heaped high praise on me, it was a very satisfying "high" note to end my 15 year career in the RNZAF.
And looking back, I miss the work, I miss the variety, and I miss the friendship. I don't miss the other aspects though, and it would be silly to go back, but I certainly have fond memories of all 15 of those years. Although, compared to some, I "only" got one overseas trip "on the mob", I was lucky beyond measure. I made many great friends, I was payed well for essentially learning, and I had some experiences most people never will have the chance to - I went to a place many people who could afford to pay thousands of dollars to go to, won't be able to (Antarctica), & I had no less than three great rides in a jet Fighter plane.
I haven't mentioned some of the other highlights:
Interbase Harriers competitions (including organising the "final" one for Wigram before it closed), Interbase Skiing competitions, No. 2 Squadron adventure training trip, sole charge of a UHF to VHF safety net rebroadcast station on Mount Ruapehu during exercise Triad '85, working with the foreign AirForce groundcrew during their deployments (F16's, F111's, American, Canadian, Australian, British), and numerous sporting events like Ohakea to Wellington relay, etc., the many Airshows, and stealing 75 Squadron's thunder with the flares the updated Skyhawk could eject . . .
But still the thing I miss the most is the people. When your work place is one where people occasionally shoot at you, the people you work with become more than just work colleagues, and you get to know them better than that persons father, mother, brother or sister, or even spouse. I had many great work colleagues and many life-long friends. When I look at people who actually worked together in a real war situation, I can imagine the special bonds that form. I'm glad I was never in that situation, and I hope that no-one else will have to endure that, but I know that unfortunately, some people will with conflict around the world as I write this. I wish nothing but good luck and many thanks to the people who step into the breach to defend what we all hold dear.
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