His mission to Lismore wasn’t a secret, but Major Jean-Mark Grant didn’t give the people of Lismore much notice before he arrived with two Australian Defence Force (ADF) Black Hawk choppers and their crew on Wednesday afternoon. Read more: Black Hawk Helicopters fly over and land in Lismore

As commander of the Black Hawk squadron sixth aviation regiment, Major Grant loves the distinctive and large helicopters – and so did the small crowd of people who gathered on Lismore’s Heaps Oval to see them.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” Major Grant said. “We turned up by air at Lismore Airport and sent a safety team to guage numbers and make sure no one was hurt while the helicopters landed.”

On a mission from Holsworthy Barracks in Sydney, he brought with him a squadron of 18 crew, including a small maintenance detachment. 

It was part of the ADF mission to reconnect with communities after Covid restrictions stopped the community outreach. 

“We’ve had bushfires, floods and Covid that have kept us busy, but the ADF and Army haven’t been out there talking to people so much,” he said. 

The choppers are on tour of the regions – flying over Byron Bay on Thursday, before heading to Coffs Harbor and the south of the State.

“It’s good to say g’day and engage with people,” he said. “It was great to see the kids super excited to get close and personal with someone in uniform and we talked to them for about an hour.

“Most of my team members had big smiles on their faces afterwards. It was great that our training program allowed us to do it on top of our core jobs of defence.”

Major Grant said that the choppers’ role had been expanding as the urgent need for community assistance in fires and floods was growing. 

“While our core role is in military defense of the nation, there’s a direct and urgent need for us to help out in natural disasters,” he said.

“The ADF has people and equipment to provide support that the government doesn’t have.

“Our helicopters were working for weeks in Victoria during the bushfires supporting the RFS and in helping after floods,” he said.

“The large versatile choppers have a great mobility and large fuel tanks – which mean we can travel from Sydney to Brisbane in one trip.

“During bushfires, we can fly supplies into towns and cities that are cut off by road.

“We can help with medical evacuations, and take key personnel like fire crews and spotters in the back to watch out from.

“It’s satisfying work for the crew to go out and help people.”

Why fly a helicopter?

“I went for a helicopter ride in my teens and I never looked back. I studied law at uni then one day I saw a helicopter flying and thought ‘what am I doing?’

“If anyone wants to fly a chopper, they first need to be recruited into the ADF, then do basic flight school training.

“My training lasted three years in light planes, then in light helicopters, then in Black Hawk operational aircraft. 

“The Black Hawk is so special – it’s an iconic aircraft used in movies and it’s a resilient aircraft design with a high survival rate.

“It can carry lots of people and is designed for the long range with giant fuel tanks.

“My five year old says they look like bombs.”