RAF Comes to Omaha Burke:
On Friday, January 25, 2014, RAF Flight Sgt Elizabeth Brady visited Omaha Burke High School for a presentation to 21 students of LeeAnn Vaughan’s aviation and aerospace class. FS Brady gave the students an overview of her RAF career with highlights from her training, deployments, other experiences.
FS Brady with the Aviation and Aerospace students from Burke High School
FS Brady was, by her own admission, a relatively indifferent student in high school and left college before graduation. After working in a number of unsatisfying positions, she decided to join the RAF because she “needed a job.” She discovered the military tested her physically and intellectually, teaching her things about herself and her strengths she would not have discovered in any other way. Though small in stature, she stood up to the challenges of learning several foreign languages, mastering weapons training, and quite literally “surviving” survival training. After over 20 years in the RAF and numerous overseas deployments, FS Brady is Weapons systems Officer (Linguist) and a qualified instructor in a variety of air crew courses including maritime survival and Survival Evasion Resistance and escape (SERE).
Perhaps her most important message to the class was not to fear failure. “Don’t be afraid to fail,” Brady said, “just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back at it.” She encouraged the students to pursue their dreams and be true to themselves, whatever career they choose. “Don’t let others define you by your race, gender, or whatever”, she said. “You will encounter obstacles and prejudice, but don’t give up, and let your actions demonstrate that you are up to the task.”
FS Brady shares her experiences as a Weapons Systems Officer (Linguist) in the Royal Air Force.
FS Brady’s presentation was well received and generated several follow up questions from the students who enjoyed her self-described “dodgy” English/Scottish accent. FS Brady is in the US as part of a joint US/UK team preparing for the delivery of Rivet Joint aircraft to the RAF. She is also helping facilitate a budding relationship between CAP’s Omaha Composite Squadron cadets and Royal Air Cadets of 47F Squadron in the UK.
The visit to Burke was arranged with assistance from CAP’s Omaha Composite Squadron which is supporting Burke’s newly designated Aviation and Aerospace Academy. Photos were taken by Maj John Pineda.
