WestMAC Alumni Tennille Jacobsen is use to hearing and seeing military aircraft, now she wants to fly them. Thank you to Ipswich First for sharing the Tennille's story. You can read the full story below, or visit the Ipswich First Website.

Aiming high and looking up at Ipswich skies

Tennille Jacobsen would always stop dead in her tracks and look up whenever she
heard the distinct sound of one of the military aircraft overhead.

“I went to West Moreton Anglican College and the F-111s used to fly really low over school,” Ms Jacobsen said.

It was a big factor that planted the seeds of a dream that just maybe, one day, Ms Jacobsen would like to be the one flying them.

“As a young woman you don’t always have the confidence that you can actually do this. It wasn’t something that was on my radar right away that it was something that I could actually do,” she said.

“I studied health and medical science at uni in Ipswich and I have really enjoyed working in the health industry. But I am ready for another level of challenge.”

Ms Jacobsen, 27, initially applied to be a pilot with the Air Force three years ago but was not successful. Once that happens you cannot reapply for three years, however that is not going to be the end of the road for Ms Jacobsen.

“I am super keen to try again,” she said.

Ms Jacobsen has just completed an Air Force Aviation Camp for Women at RAAF Base Amberley.

“We got to experience all different stuff. There were leadership sessions, team building, and mentoring sessions with females in the Air Force across a range of jobs, not just pilot roles,” she said.

“The camp has definitely motivated me to get my application through and pass that final hurdle.

“In a bitter sweet moment, the pilot who took us on a tactical flight, is one of the other girls who applied with her three years ago, but passed.

“I was really happy for her to see how far she had come, but at the same time I wanted it to be me.”

Aviation Camp Officer in Charge Squadron Leader Elise Stade said the camps for women were originally aimed at school leavers.

While these camps are still open to younger women, this one was specifically aimed at an older demographic.

“We have opened it up to women of all ages and we have found ladies who have had time to be out in the real world, sometimes with families of their own, were more serious and successful in their applications,” she said.

“The Aviation Camp allows these women to see what the Air Force has to offer and gives them reassurance they were applying for the right job.

“The women have access to talk candidly to both women and men in the Air Force about the job they might want to do and what it is like to become part of the Air Force family because joining the Air Force is more than just a job.”

Department of Defence offers a range of programs you can apply for if you are interested in Defence as a future career. For more information click here.

Story: Jodie Richter, Ipswich First

Photo: Ipswich First - Tennille Jacobsen (WestMAC Alumni).