SQNLDR Gus Cabre

Gus Cabre arrived in New Zealand in Aug 2018 from the UK to take over as the Officer Commanding of the Aviation Medicine Unit (OC AMU) at the RNZAF base in Whenuapai, Auckland. This job attracted being the HoD (i.e. representative) for New Zealand in the FVEY AFIC (Air Force Interoperability Council) for Aerospace Medicine. Until then, he had been the RAF Command Flight Medical Officer (CFMO) since 2015 in charge of Aviation Medicine policy for the UK MOD. Before that, he was posted as the Senior Medical Officer (SMO) of RAF Stations Marham (home to the Tornado GR4 fast jets), Honington (Home of the RAF Regiment and Number 1 Royal Tank Regiment, with whom he learned to swear) and the RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine (RAF CAM), where he was posted in 2006 as an instructor, becoming the Chief Instructor upon promotion to Wing Commander in 2010. Prior to that he was Medical Officer to RAF Stations Coltishall (Jaguar fast jets), Brize Norton (transport and aeromedical evacuation), Lyneham (C130 Hercules and aeromedical evacuation) and MDHU Peterborough (where he did part of his GP training). Deployments include Op Telic (Iraq, 2003, 2005, 2007 as a GP and MO for the Immediate Response Teams retrieving casualties injured from IEDs and ‘encounters’ with insurgents) and Op Herrick (Afghanistan in 2006, integrated within the coalition Role 2 battlefield hospital in Kandahar, delivering immediate emergency care to Allied personnel injured in battle). More satisfactory times include deployments to Op Turus in Central Africa (2015, immersing with the French Air Force and looking for Boko Haram and the kidnapped 200 girls from Nigeria), but above all several tours to the Falkland Islands, especially the excitement of Search and Rescue retrieval of injured seamen from high seas as well as Falklanders from isolated farms in blizzards. In a more sedate atmosphere, Gus has been Medical Officer for fast jet exercises in the Far and Middle East, with the UK’s Joint Helicopter Force in North Africa and the Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) in Spain. Before his departure, he continued to teach aviation medicine at RAF CAM as well as provide duty Flight Medical Officer cover for the Aeromedical Evacuation Cell (AECC) at RAF Brize Norton, providing a retrieval service for injured personnel around the world. Since arriving in New Zealand, Gus deployed for 2 months on HMNZS AOTEAROA in the South China Seas and Far East in late 2022 and with the US Navy in Nov 2023 in the Solomon Islands. He has also participated in retrieval of mil and civ personnel in the Pacifc. Born in Portsmouth (England) in 1961, son of a surgeon and a nurse, the family lived in different countries including the UK, Nigeria, Ireland and Spain, which made him become fluent in five languages, all put to good use when deployed. During his training as a reconstructive surgeon in the UK’s National Health Service, however, his greatest passion was flying. As a qualified pilot (1998), it therefore made sense that he joined the Royal Air Force. Before coming down under, his resettlement monies were spent obtaining a Flight Instructor’s rating and wasting no time, he joined and took over as OIC of the Flying Club at Whenuapai and a two pilot for the gliding club, thus maintaining flying currency when uniform work allows. Married to Helen, a civilian GP from Christchurch, they have three grown up children and a dog.