Watching the might and power of military aircraft at an air show as a child sowed the seed for a career in Army aviation for a young Andrew Amos.
Fast forward 10 years, and 1st Aviation Regiment’s Captain Amos pilots Army’s attack helicopter, the armed reconnaissance helicopter (ARH) Tiger.
Captain Amos said he knew from a young age growing up in Innisfall, Queensland, that he wanted to be a military aviator.
“A big catalyst in making the dream a reality, however, was the Avalon Airshow,” he said.
“Army allowed me to bridge my interests in both the aviation path and the roles the Army performs.
“It’s hard not to pursue a life in the skies when you are surrounded by some of the most modern military helicopters and jets in the world.
“Now, as an Army pilot, I am tasked with executing multiple mission sets, from armed reconnaissance to strike and close air support. It’s a challenging and highly demanding job, but equally rewarding.”
Captain Amos joined the ADF at18 and is now studying a bachelor of business part-time.
While his military career is still in its formative phase, he said conducting a live-fire activity from HMAS Canberra during Indo-Pacific Endeavour last year had been a career highlight.
“We were lucky enough to have most of the ship able to observe the activity, which for most spectators is probably the closest you can get to a live-firing attack helicopter,” Captain Amos said.
“It also provided us a great opportunity to showcase what we do on a daily basis and offer some context to the operators on the ground as to what our weapons effects are and how we go about achieving them in a tactical environment.”
Captain Amos said he looked forward to a long and rewarding Army aviation career.
“In the next few years I will start my transition to AH-64E Apache. There are a lot of exciting challenges ahead with introducing such a modern and complex battlefield helicopter into service whilst maintaining ARH Tiger as the current and ready attack helicopter platform.
“No doubt that will be a big task for everyone here at the unit and it is very much the focus for the future.”
