By W/O Rob Service
Change is on the way for The Royal New Zealand Air Force Aviation Refueller (AVRFLR) trade. Established on 31 March 2003—following the disestablishment of the Mechanical Transport trade, which was made obsolete—the AVRFLR trade is a ‘new’ trade that has spent the last six years embedding itself into the RNZAF organisation.
The current function of the AVRFLR trade is to:
- maintain airworthiness standards in the delivery of aviation fuel
- deliver aviation fuel into-plane in supported and non-supported environments, and
- provide specialist driver-training expertise within the RNZAF.
While these functions will remain in place, there are a number of RNZAF and NZDF Reviews that have the potential to affect the AVRFLR trade. These are:
Driving Training Rationalisation
Initiated by Air Staff, this is a driving training solution that is just a concept at present. The aim being to provide driving training without drawing current, qualified refuellers away from their primary refuelling role.
This may result in a different NZDF driving training model to meet single service requirements and the deployed needs of Headquarters, Joint Forces New Zealand.
The RNZAF Shared Services Review
Sponsored by Deputy Chief of Air Force, Air Commodore Gavin Howse; and Commander, Joint Logistics Service Organisation (JLSO), Air Commodore Stewart Baillie; this review aims to:
Fuel sample check
- deliver support services to the RNZAF more efficiently by reducing costs, while ensuring operational effectiveness is not compromised, and
- enable the RNZAF to employ military personnel in more operationally focused areas.
Currently, Aviation Refuellers are used to deliver domestic driving support. A possible change might be the shifting of domestic driving support to the JLSO so that qualified, uniformed AVRFLR personnel can be released to perform their operational role of delivering fuel services.
RNZAF Employment Profile Project
Sponsored by Chief of Air Force, Air Vice-Marshal Graham Lintott, this project aims to:
- compile an Employment Profile (EP) for each RNZAF Trade or Employment Group (EG)
- establish alignment between the outputs of the AVRFLR trade to the RNZAF mission, and
- collate relevant information that can inform decision making for each EG.
The AVRFLR Trade has completed an EP workshop and the results have been circulated amongst the trade.
NZDF Joint Fuels Review
Sponsored by Director Logistic Development, Captain Eric Riordan, this review is part of the Defence Transformation Project.
The purpose of the review is to provide a set of recommendations to streamline fuel-related issues across the NZDF, by critically examining all NZDF:
- fuel process
- procedures
- training
- contracts, and
- policy.
RNZAF Support Trades Rationalisation Review
The RNZAF has also introduced this review, which is sponsored by Assistant Chief of Air Force Personnel, Group Captain Kevin McEvoy. It aims to look at a number of RNZAF support trades and is designed to undertake a functional and competency-based review of the support trades. The review aims to develop sustainable Trade structures that will best support military air operations during deployments.
Summary
The effects of the reviews combine to provide a degree of focus on the AVRFLR trade that is unprecedented in recent history. These reviews are on-going and no decisions have been made, to date. All Aviation Refuellers have been briefed on the various reviews during a series of Base briefings during August.
All of the reviews are looking at the best way of doing business in the future. Until then, it’s business as usual!