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John Oddie

John Oddie

Air Commodore (retired) John Oddie AM, CSC — former Commander of the Royal Australian Air Force's Air Lift Group, C-130J and Iroquois/Huey helicopter pilot with 38 years of service including command in the Middle East.

Aug 29, 2026

Workhorse - RAAF C-130s

Workhorse - RAAF C-130s

Workhorse - E68 - The Air Lift Fleet with John Oddie

Aug 29 · 1h 58m

Bill KarolakisHOST
2:37
What inspired you to join the Air Force and how did that come to be?
John Oddie
John OddieGUEST
2:43
I was inspired to join the Air Force, not initially Air Force, but to be in the military in some way.
John Oddie
John OddieGUEST
2:49
And I'll pull up on that theme later on.
John Oddie
John OddieGUEST
2:53
My dad was a 9th Division cavalryman and a light horseman between the wars.
John Oddie
John OddieGUEST
2:59
He served in North Africa and retrained to be 9th Division Cavalry Commando in Rocky Creek, west of Cairns, before his father convinced the Department of Army to give him back to run the land.
John Oddie
John OddieGUEST
3:10
And I'll explain why in a minute.
John Oddie
John OddieGUEST
3:13
My grandfather on my mother's side was an infantryman in the 23rd Battalion.

55 MINS LATER

Bill KarolakisHOST
58:31
And that happened while you were OC86, if I've got that right.

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