Leading Aircraftman Rhys Ryan

Please tell us who you are and what you do?

My name is LAC Rhys Ryan. I'm a communication electronics technician in the Royal Australian Air Force. As a communication electronics technician we do a wide variety of tasks everything from simple radio circuits out in a tactical field environment right through to setting up IT networks with email back to home and setting up full scale air surveillance radars in Afghanistan.

Have you served overseas?

Whilst in the Air Force I've been deployed to the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Butterworth, East Timor and the Middle East.

What were the most challenging aspects of that overseas service?

The most challenging aspect was definitely being away from my family, being isolated and in a foreign culture.

What is the best thing about your job?

The best things about being in the Military are definitely getting to serve your country overseas and all the benefits associated with service, all the physical training that you get to do.

What does the Spirit of ANZAC mean when you are overseas?

The Spirit of ANZAC is definitely alive and well overseas. While serving overseas you regularly get repatriation ceremonies of coalition forces' bodies being returned; you go out and do a ramp ceremony. And we are deployed over there with New Zealand Air Force and Army members and whilst I was away we did a Remembrance Day with the Kiwis by our sides so it was very touching.

Where would you like to be in ten years time?

In 10 years I will definitely still be in the military, probably won't be at the Federation Guard anymore, I'll be back doing an operational role again.