First of all, what is a New Zealander doing in the Danish Task Group?
“I’m on a 3½ years exchange program with the Royal Navy, living and working on an English Air Force base. I’m flying Lynx Saturn helicopters, but volunteered for the job of HEC (Helicopter Element Coordinator) in the Danish Task Group during DANEX 2010. That means I coordinate the flying of the participating helicopters.”
And how has it been?
“Great. I joined during the festivities for the Danish Navy’s bicentennial, which was an excellent way to get to know Copenhagen and the Danes. Your capitol reminds me of Auckland – a waterfront city, relaxed atmosphere – and I have experienced that Danes and New Zealanders think very much alike.”
“Also the Danish and New Zealand Navies’ way of working is very much alike. Decisions are made quickly and there is very little bureaucracy. The Royal Navy is different. It is a big machine and things take time, but then it is a much larger fleet. New Zealand has five helicopters and Denmark has eight, so it is natural that the interaction will be different.”
Ben Till in the helicopter |
“The big difference between DANEX and one of our exercises is that we practically only exercise with the Royal Navy and former British colonies. New Zealand’s multinational exercises are with Singapore, England, Australia and Malaysia, so we have a common language and common traditions, originating from the Royal Navy.
Here on DANEX there are ships from 12 countries with different languages, and even though we have a command language – English – and common procedures, the differences in accents and mindsets are obvious. That can make the communication a bit difficult, but I still think it is a great exercise.”
Once DANEX 2010 is over, Ben will be going back to his wife and two children at the Air Force base in England – but he would like to return to Denmark. “My best friend in England is a Danish exchange pilot, Pierre Bork – actually he and his girlfriend had dinner with my wife last night. He has pushed for us to visit Denmark and after my experiences of the last few weeks; I will definitely come back again.”