Raba Nona
Argan and Taipathigi
Leading Aircraftwoman
Royal Australian Air Force
Medals
National Emergency Medal
Australian Defence Medal
My Father was born in Bedfordshire in England and immigrated to Australia back in the 1950’s. My mother was born on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait and grew up on our Homeland on Badu Island. In 1993 I was born in Brisbane and grew up between Brisbane and Cairns. I consider myself lucky to have both my parents to support me whilst growing up.
During High School, I successfully completed an Indigenous School Based Traineeship with National Australia Bank. After completing Year 12, I continued to work at the bank for a few years until one day my roommate at the time came back from her Recruitment Training within the Army. After she shared all her experiences, I questioned myself why I haven’t pursued this opportunity as well. There and then, I decided to enlist in the RAAF. Several years later, which included some late nights of studying, I found myself successfully completing the Avionics Aeroskills Cert IV. If you asked me when I first joined what I envisioned for my future profession, I could not have imagined half the things I’ve been able to experience in the short time I’ve been serving.
My role in the RAAF is to Maintain Aircraft Avionic systems as well as on board mission systems, which includes but not limited to Instruments, Communications, Navigations, Surveillance and Power Generation Systems. My daily tasks can vastly vary from troubleshooting complex systems to lending a hand in unloading cargo for Humanitarian aid in Foreign Countries. My first initial posting was to 35SQN which I had the joys of maintaining the C-27J Aircraft. I’ve travelled to multiple countries within the South Pacific from countries like Samoa to all the way to Papua New Guinea. The highlight of my Career so far was I had the opportunity of flying the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and Indigenous Basketball Association (IBA) to Horn Island in the Torres Strait via a C-27J. This event was about connecting with the Local community and highlighting career opportunities to the younger generation that a lot remote communities miss out on. The fact that my Technical trade has allowed me to be involved with my own community and re-connecting with family has made me more proud of being an Indigenous Serving RAAF Member. I am now posted to 37SQN where I will carry on with my Career progression and will continue to advocate for young members within our community.