Grati-Tuesday 6th September 2022

Written by ahq_admin

6 September 2022

Happy Tuesday Friends!

Hope everyone has had a fantastic start to their week. 
So grab a cuppa, sit back, relax and enjoy the 
following gratitude letters and photos. 

Hi Bel. I redacted the below letter but could not get the photos from the the letter. You know more about these things than I do so I have left it for this weeks blog. I will call to explain as well.

 

 

Hi Cathy!

So despite the fact I had the chance to meet you in person and have the amazing opportunity to have you present the quilt you made for me in person, I have still been intending to send you a letter to formally thank you. 

Where to start? Well firstly, I must again thank you so much.
The time and care which you put in to produce something so
wonderful and meaningful is so incredibly appreciated. I feel
so lucky to have had someone like yourself who was willing
to spend their time creating the quilt and laundry bag which
will forever make me think of both my first deployment, the fact that my work does actually mean something to someone, and will make me think back to my first (and hopefully not the last) exposure to Aussie Hero Quilts.

I loved reading through your letter and gaining an insight in to your life, and I look forward to crossing paths with you again sometime in the future. Hope, Zoe and Aloha look to be wonderful companions and I loved their photos. From reading the stories you shared it sounds like they are amazing animals to have as your family, and to see impact the lives of others around you (Hope in particular).

Your time with Aussie Hero’s sounds like it has been amazing. To think of the number of people you have brought a smile to? It is just amazing! I loved listening to the stories of how Aussie Hero Quilts came to exist, and to think you have presented quilts to everyone from the Navy, to Invictus Games Athletes is just amazing. I guess you can now tick off an Air Force Air Traffic Controller who is also a Navy Diver!

The stories of your students are lovely. I am excited that one of your subjects is food tech- I love cooking! (Although I don’t get much time to cook in my current job given how often I am away!). I think it is so kind that you have facilitated the creation and delivery of laundry bags from your school, those on deployment would have been so grateful (I hope that some replies came back, obviously while overseas at times we barely get reliable internet, so it would be a challenge at times for them to properly show their appreciation).

I hope the Aussie Hero’s dinner coming up goes well. I would love to one day come along and to represent/ work with you all to help what you do. Now that COVID is a part of our daily lives it is great that we are all returning to a sense of normality.

As I mentioned when I was with you in person, every little detail of my quilt and laundry bag has blown me away. The stitching, the embroidery, the aircraft designs and the F35 print… Not to

mention all of the lovely shades of blue! My favourite colour! It is just amazing. I have now taken my quilt and laundry bag on to HMAS Adelaide where it will live on my bed for the next 18 months, so that while I am away I am reminded of our lovely dinner and of the kindness of those around me.

I love the brevet and embroided message. It will serve as a prompt for my story as I share it with friends and family long in to the future.

Know that this quilt will be with me every day of my future deployments on board HMAS Adelaide. You cannot underestimate how much it will mean when I have been away from everyone who I love for months and am feeling rubbish and alone and I get to lie there and wrap myself in the symbol of someone’s kindness and care. It is just so incredibly special!

So what about myself? I was born in NSW but from the age of 2 grew up in a small village in the North East of England. After my parents separated I returned to Australia aged 16 with my mum. I have a sister, who is 23, as well as a half brother and sister, who are 11 and 7 respectively.

I work as an Air Force Air Traffic Controller. I trained as an officer through the Australian Defence Force Academy and then spent 4 years training as an Air Traffic Controller and then working in the tower as a qualified controller. During my career I have worked as controller facilitating military and civilian flying operations, as well as emergency flying operations during the 2019-20 bush fires. I have trained other people to be controllers and have worked on exercise in the field from our deployed tower.

Last year I was employed on exercises managing the integration of flying operations and military fires during Amphibious operations. What that basically means is it was my job to make sure the ship and artillery gunnery fires were de-conflicted with all of the aircraft flying in the battle space. This is now something I can be called upon for as needed.

At the start of this year I posted on to HMAS Adelaide as an ATC, controlling all of the helicopter operations launching from, and operating around our ship. It is a very interesting job mixing aircraft from a number of ships, but also acting as a liaison with Australian and international agencies to arrange flying approvals as well as brief during operational planning meetings and cycles.

When I am home, I love having the opportunity to spend time with my siblings, I have a new partner, and I love going out and finding fun places to travel to or new experiences to enjoy with the extensive network of friends you gain from being an ADF member. I currently live in NSW. 

My lifestyle and work doesn’t really facilitate pets, but I would love to have one in the future. Otherwise, my remaining time is normally spent doing exercise (I love triathlons).

I really hope that this letter finds you well and in great spirits. I look forward to one day catching up again in person. 

Thank you for the amazing quilt and laundry bag you made for me. I look forward to seeing you again sometime soon.

 

Good evening team AHQ,

I am delighted to let you know I presented this amazing quilt last night.

Many thanks,

(To say he looks pleased is a bit of an understatement. It is always a privilege seeing the joy on a recipients face when they receive a quilt.)



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