MEET OUR NEW SAR CADETS

Adam, Jackie, Sonny and Micah were officially welcomed into the PHI family with a celebration at PHI International’s Broome base in Western Australia in March.

INTRODUCING ‘THE FANTASTIC FOUR’ – PHI’S NEW SEARCH AND RESCUE CREWPERSON CADETS

In the last HomeBase, we shared the story of our hunt for talent in Broome, Western Australia, to join our Search and Rescue Crewperson (SAR RCP) cadetship. The selection process was no easy feat, with candidates put through their paces in a week-long assessment involving fitness and medical tests, water confidence trials and teambuilding exercises. We are excited to introduce the fantastic four who made it through rigorous training and challenging interviews to earn a place on the programme. Meet our new SAR RCP cadets and discover what drew them to the SAR life.

SONNY DANN

Sonny never imagined being in a job where being winched out of a helicopter is just one of the many exhilarating tasks typical of his role.

Before taking the plunge and applying for a cadetship with PHI, Sonny was an education assistant for seven years..

My brother saw the job ad in the paper and told me about it,” Sonny said. “I read the description, and essentially just bit the bullet to see what would happen.

The whole process has been an entirely new experience for Sonny – right from taking a leap to apply to taking his first ride in a helicopter.

I will admit it was a tough process, from applying and then flying to Perth, and then going through the training to see if we were fit and able.

There were moments where I was thinking, far out, am I going to be able to complete this? We were given a lot of confidence by the team who ran the whole process, which was awesome. We were pushed through barriers, and I developed the mindset where I thought…maybe I can actually do this.

The toughest moment for Sonny was the Helicopter Underwater Evacuation Training (HUET) where a simulator helicopter plunges into water and tips upside down.

I think we were all afraid and anxious of what was going to happen, but getting through it gave us a new sense of confidence.

Sonny said the experience has been life-changing, taking him in a completely different direction to his previous role in education. He has already attended call outs as part of the cadetship.

Before the cadetship, I was quite afraid of heights, so to be up there in a helicopter for the first-time training was something I would never have dreamed of doing.

I’m most looking forward to being the person who will be there to help people when they need it the most. I definitely feel a combination of nerves, anxiety and excitement waiting for that first job to come through.

Sonny has been able to bring across valuable skills from his time as an education assistant. Something that stood out to him when going through the training was his ability to provide direct and clear instructions in any situation.

I know with this role it’s important to provide firm direction in a friendly manner when its needed,” Sonny said. “I’ll be able to utilise this to help people keep calm and to control the situation as best I can.

Sonny said before the cadetship he hadn’t heard of PHI and has enjoyed getting to know what we do.

Having now got to know the team and seeing how the business works, it’s very exciting for me to be here and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in,” he said. “It’s great to be part of PHI, and the crew I’m working with have been so welcoming.

ADAM MORROW

Before joining PHI, Adam was a pearl diver. Working on a fortnightly schedule, he would spend up to 60-80 hours over one week underwater in the ocean – that’s right, underwater!

Every dive there was always something different. The sea life and the things we saw were pretty incredible,” Adam said. “I knew this role would be an extension of the skills that I had previously learnt and used.

Adam’s extensive underwater and commercial diving experience earnt him the title of marine industry expert, which has meant he is used to being in situations where a lot of things are out of human control, such as weather changes.

He told HomeBase he often worked overtime with his crew to build his understanding of these challenges and introduced safety systems and training for the team.

Safety is an integral part of the way everyone works at PHI, and Adam is confident he can bring these skills across to his new role.

In water and above water are definitely different, but I believe the knowledge will be transferrable.

And even though he is now on the cadetship, he says he will continue to dive in his spare time as he loves it.

During the recruitment process for the cadetship, Adam observed some of the training exercises and was impressed with the level of professionalism PHI’s training crew demonstrated.

It showed me that the role is extremely serious, and you must be professional and confident in how you approach your work.

Something that has been most surprising to me is the team’s ability to remain focused when at the edge of a helicopter ready to be winched out. To put all the adrenaline aside and realise it’s possible to stay focused on a task (instead of yahooing!) is quite incredible.

When it came to what others found to be the toughest parts of the training – the HUET – Adam being no stranger to water-based training quite looked forward to it!

For him, the most difficult part was the line checks.

It wasn’t necessarily the scenario that made me nervous, but my desire to perform so that I didn’t let down all the people within PHI who had trained, helped and encouraged me along the way.

Once we had all got through to the cadetship, I must say there was still quite a bit of internal pressure to want to get things right, and not wanting to let people down. I think we all found that a bit challenging, but it’s a great feeling to finally be here in the role.

Adam has since mastered all his line checks and attended call outs. He said he feels inspired by how passionate the team is.

It’s exciting to be working with people who have been in the industry for more than a decade and still love what they do. I hope I can follow in their footsteps.

MICAH MANGER

Micah had always known that she wanted to work in emergency services. When she applied for the SAR RCP Cadetship, she had recently landed back in Australia from Auckland, New Zealand, where she completed her first year of studying paramedicine.

Part of her studies included medical emergency simulations, which she said put her in the right mindset for many of the tests and activities in the selection process.

Micah has also previously completed technical courses in diving and kite surfing, which helped her to appreciate how important it is to have a strong focus on safety and safe equipment.

When asked what she found most difficult in the selection process, Micah said the interview was tougher than she expected.

It was unlike anything I had ever experienced, but overall, I really enjoyed the whole process.” Micah said. “Another difficult part is having patience; I must admit it’s been a learning curve to be patient even when things don’t go how you expect or get cancelled or postponed.

Micah said having made it through the whole training process, she felt humbled by how supportive and helpful the PHI team were and immediately wanted to put her skills to work.

It was above and beyond what I expected. I didn’t realise I would appreciate the personal and social aspect as much as I did. There were so many people to learn from, and it was so heart-warming to see how willing they are to help.

It’s great to see how well everyone gets along at PHI regardless of which department they’re from or their level of experience. I’m stoked to be here.

She is also impressed with the strong focus on safety that PHI has. Her passion for helping people and background of paramedicine studies means this is something extremely important to her.

Micah plans to continue with her paramedicine degree next year part-time – knowing that these skills will continue to help her in the SAR role. She has now passed all her line checks – day and night – and attended call outs.

When asked what she will bring to the role Micah answered: “A lot of enthusiasm!”, which is what we like to hear at PHI!

JACKIE CARROLL

Being on the frontline and working in high-pressure situations is something Jackie Carroll is well-versed at. Responding to emergency and non-emergency calls and working closely with the community, including elderly people and those struggling with mental health issues, was part and parcel of being a paramedic in the metro area of Perth, Australia. This was Jackie’s role for six years before spotting an ad for the SAR RCP cadetship.

It sounded like the dream job for me.

The excitement of jumping out of helicopters and helping people is something I have always dreamt about.

When Jackie saw the ad, she felt ready for a change and was looking for an opportunity to relocate more regionally. Talk about perfect timing!

Coming into the recruitment process, Jackie said she could tell from the outset that the comradery was strong and there was a lot of support.

This is something I really value and was used to from the ambulance work,” Jackie said. “It makes you feel like you can go to work and have a good time with your mates.

Jackie said the training process really put the group through their paces.

It’s completely different to what I’m used to, it was daunting and exciting at the same time. Swimming in a pool and jumping from heights isn’t ‘normal’ job stuff.

We were shown pretty quickly how we could push ourselves further than we thought, when you’re literally thrown in the deep end, you can achieve awesome things. I used to be afraid of heights before this!

The PHI team did an amazing job, the four of us are very excited to be here.

Like her teammates, Jackie said she is most looking forward to is getting out there and completing her first call out successfully, as well as helping people on a whole other level to what she is used to. Jackie recently passed her day line check and is looking forward to ticking off her night line training. She also worked her first roster as part of the day crew, which she loved.

When asked what she will bring to the role from her past work experience, she said:

Having been exposed to high-stress situations in the past, it will be knowing I can go out there and keep a level-head.

The trusting and supportive environment at PHI appealed to Jackie.

In a job like this, it’s important to have colleagues that have your back. When I saw how close everyone was I knew I wanted to be a part of the team.

It’s pretty special to be able to say that part of our job is hanging out of a helicopter and looking down onto the ocean, that’s a real privilege. Not many people get to be in this position.