For most people, a first deployment is something they never forget.
For Air Specialist (Class 1) Elliot and Air Specialist (Class 1) Sam, that moment has come on Exercise Pitch Black 2026.
Less than two years into their Royal Air Force careers, the movers have travelled to Australia for their first overseas exercise, where they’re working alongside partner nations helping support one of the world’s largest multinational air combat exercises.
“It’s a great experience to come to Australia for my first exercise. As soon as I saw the opportunity to volunteer, I knew I wanted to put my name forward. People on my shift who’d been here before told me what an amazing experience it was.”
AS1 Elliot
Although both are qualified movers at RAF Brize Norton, their first days in Darwin haven’t been spent loading aircraft. Instead, they’ve been familiarising themselves with Australian vehicles, equipment and local procedures before joining the exercise.
“The vehicles are very similar to ours,” AS1 Elliot explained.
“There are small differences, so it’s about getting used to the controls, the speeds they operate at and how they work. Once you’ve learned those differences, everything starts to fall into place.”
The familiarisation extends beyond equipment.
Working alongside personnel from Australia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Canada, Spain, the Republic of Korea, India and New Zealand demonstrated that while every nation has its own way of doing things, the basics are very similar.
“There are small differences. Things like marshalling signals or some of the loading procedures vary slightly, but they’re similar enough that you can communicate, work together and get the job done.”
AS1 Sam
Working in Darwin also means adapting to weather conditions that somewhat different from a typical English summer’s day.
“Lots of sunscreen, lots of water and taking more breaks than we normally would,” AS1 Sam said.
“It’s about staying on top of your fatigue.”
When the working day ends, Australia has lots of offer.
The pair have explored Mindil Beach Markets, watched Darwin’s sunsets, swam almost every day and experienced the Northern Territory’s famous jumping crocodiles.
“My family were really excited for me,” AS1 Elliot said.
“It’s been a dream of mine to come to Australia since I was a kid.”
AS1 Sam’s family were equally delighted.
As Exercise Pitch Black gathers pace, the workload inside the movements hangar will only increase, with aircraft, equipment and personnel being dispersed across the exercise area to support coalition flying operations.
For AS1s Elliot and Sam, it also marks something more personal.
Every service person remembers their first deployment.
For these two young aviators, that story starts thousands of miles from home, in the heat of northern Australia, working alongside partners from across the Indo-Pacific and beyond, -an experience likely to shape the rest of their RAF careers.
