Across his 45 years of continuous service in Air Force, Wing Commander Glendan Krause has experienced as much change as he has witnessed in Air Force.
"Today's Air Force is so very different from the one I joined in 1976 - almost half the entire life span of the RAAF," Wing Commander Krause said.
"Back then, 1FTS was still flying Winjeel trainers, our fighter was the Mirage, and the Neptune and C-130A were still in service, as were the Iroquois and Chinook helicopters.
"There have also been great changes to the number and role of women in the RAAF with women now representing over 25 per cent of our numbers."
Wing Commander Krause's first ground job involved managing the production of flight manuals, aircrew checklists and aircraft maintenance manuals - which he described as interesting and rewarding.
He later contributed to force preparedness policy, future force options testing, command support system capability acquisition and development, and strategic policy development.
During two tours as a navigator on the C-130 Hercules he accrued over 3500 hours' flying time. He also looks back fondly on postings as Base Commander in Townsville and as the Assistant Air Attaché to the United States in Washington.
Other highlights of his career were helping establish an Air Force-wide communications network and email service while in the Network Operations Agency for RAAFNet, as well as involvement in the funeral of Sir Richard Williams - often referred to as the Father of the RAAF.
"Airlift may not be considered by some as the pointy end but we did a real job every day, whether that was search and rescue, moving troops and equipment for exercises across Australia, providing disaster relief to Cambodia and the Pacific Islands, medivac flights or resupplying deployed forces in the first Gulf War," Wing Commander Krause said.
He was recently presented with his second Federation Star Medal at the Russell Offices, where he is working in Joint Capabilities Group.
As he approaches the end of his career, Wing Commander Krause remains convinced that Air Force is a great career option for young Australians.
"This policy area continues to evolve and create flexibility for people, but really there is so much opportunity for changing roles and job experiences within Air Force that I passionately think it's a great place to spend an entire career."
