A ceremonial parade to consecrate the Squadron Standard for No 86 Wing was attended by His Excellency General, the Honourable David Hurley (Retd), Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. 86 Wing was formed in 1945 to undertake ground attack missions in the South-West Pacific. The Wing reformed at RAAF Base Richmond in 1987 and in January 2012 relocated to RAAF Base Amberley, currently comprising Nos 33, 34 and 36 Squadrons.Volunteer firefighters board a C-17A at the Richmond Air Base. The ADF is working with Emergency Management Australia to support the firefighting efforts in New South Wales and Queensland. Defence has placed liaison officers in the State Disaster Coordination Centre (SDCC) and with New South Wales Rural Fire Service Headquarters. Additionally, the ADF is providing transport support to the firefighting effort and is postured to provide other capabilities such as aviation, logistics, engineering and accommodation support. In November, No 33 Squadron prepared five of its KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transports for launch at the same time, demonstrating the Squadron’s ability to surge to meet Australia’s strategic air mobility requirements. At RAAF Base Amberley, the five KC-30As conducted an ‘elephant walk’ – the traditional name given to a group of aircraft taxiing together – before four of these aircraft took off on missions that included air-to-air refuelling training, a flight test activity, and airlift support to rural firefighters in New South Wales.
