During his recent visit to announce the award of a $100m contract to NIOA for LAND 17-1C.2 155mm Future Artillery Ammunition, Minister Pyne took the time to meet three Australian Defence Force Academy undergraduates being hosted by NIOA for work experience.  OFFCDT Helen Lee (RAAF), SBLT Michael Hague (RAN) and PLTOFF Ryan Wood (RAAF) are working at NIOA for six weeks during their summer break to obtain relevant experience in their chosen fields of engineering before heading back to Canberra to complete their final year of studies.

The three junior officers are working on tasks directly related to the engineering documentation requirements for LAND 17-1C.2, as well as the enhancement of NIOA’s engineering and configuration management systems.  PLTOFF Wood said “Being with NIOA is a great opportunity for me to better understand industries’ role in the delivery and support of new capability.  It is exciting to be able to work on tasks that have a direct impact on supporting our troops with better capability.  I enjoyed meeting Minister Pyne and was very impressed that he took the time to talk with each of us about our studies and aspirations.”

Patrick Whitty, General Manager Government Business NIOA, said “We are fortunate to be hosting OFFCDT Lee, SBLT Hague and PLTOFF Wood at NIOA this year.  We are able to offer them highly relevant work experience and they are making a positive contribution to our company.  It is important that the Defence and Industry links be established early and strongly, so that our future officers appreciate the role we play in capability delivery.”