The Hon Danna Vale MP
Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence
2002 RAAF Proficiency and Leadership Awards
______________________________________________
The Hon. Graham Edwards, Parl Sec to the Shadow
Minister for Defence
Air Marshal Angus Houston, Chief of Air Force
Air Vice Marshal Chris Spence, Deputy Chief of Air Force
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Award Recipients
----------------------------------It is a real personal privilege for me to be here today on
behalf of Senator Hill, who, as you may be aware, is
currently in Darwin, and sends his apologies.
It is a great honour for me to be able to personally pay
tribute to the men and women of the RAAF, who will be
recognised with these awards.
Proficiency and leadership are fundamental to any
organisation, and Defence is no exception.
Great skills are worthless if you cannot convince others to
follow your vision.
Some people are natural born leaders, but others are
leaders born of a confluence of circumstance and destiny
that was predicated upon commitment, hard work and
tenacity.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Royal Australian Air Force
Proficiency and Leadership Awards carry special
significance for Australia and for those RAAF members to
be publicly applauded tonight for their own pursuit of these
qualities.
Tonight’s winners, come from a long line of winners and
high achievers, born of the spirit of great Australians, past
and present, who for 81 years of the history of the RAAF
paved the way and today, continue to set new goals and
standards – at every turn.
The significance of these awards is self-evident. It is
simply about the personal pursuit of excellence within the
Royal Australian Air Force.
Air Force plays a significant role in nearly all the logistical
and critical time management needs of the Australian
Defence Force.
The ADF, and in fact, all Australians count on today’s
Royal Australian Air Force as a cohesive organisation that
is ready to respond with decisive leadership and a
proficiency rate that is second to none.
Whether it’s a Caribou on show for Centenary of
Federation Air Shows in the Outback of Queensland – or
the air space exclusion zone at the Sunshine Coast for the
recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting – or
assisting those in need off shore, the RAAF is a
centrepiece in its own right.
The combined values of professional, highly motivated
skilled people and competitive technology, keeps RAAF at
the forefront of effective, precision aerospace power.
Above all, the Air Force values its people – the very
reason we are assembled tonight.
The 2001 RAAF Leadership Awards winners – all who
competed, and all who serve with pride - are fortunate to
be part of one of the world’s finest military aviation
organisations.
And the Royal Australian Air Force is just as fortunate to
have you – practitioners of your chosen skills,
professionals in every sense, dedicated to defending
Australia and keeping Australia safe.
The importance of recognising outstanding performance,
is to pay public tribute to individual effort and that of the
winning unit.
The Proficiency Awards also acknowledge healthy
competitiveness amongst Air Force members and
recognise the teamwork of that places pride of unit, above
one’s self.
To the award recipients tonight, remember you carry on
the excellent lineage of those who proudly served before
you in the 81 years of the Royal Australian Air Force.
Be assured the Royal Australian Air Force values you
highly because it is people like you who enable the Air
Force to deliver an aerospace defence capability to
Australia.
Competition was tough during the year and the winners
should be proud that they have won over an outstanding
field of candidates in each category.
Tonight I acknowledge the proud Royal Australian Air
Force spirit, the dedication of its people, and thank all who
participated in the 2001 Proficiency and Leadership
Awards.
Congratulations to you all.
END
Photographs of the event are available at:
http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/vale/raafawards.htm