Te Atatu Man Returns from Hunting Pirates

24 October 2014

Te Atatu Man Returns from Hunting Pirates

Te Atatu man and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Sergeant (SGT) Jack Xiong has returned home from hunting pirates in the Middle East.

SGT Xiong has spent the last three months as a crew member of an RNZAF P-3K2 Orion aircraft, which has been part of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) international counter-piracy effort in the Middle East.

“I’m an Air Warfare Specialist (AWS) and I operate the specialised sensors used for airborne surveillance and reconnaissance work, such as the radar and electro-optics camera,” said SGT Xiong.

Operating under command of Pakistan Navy-led Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150) and working with Australian frigate HMAS Toowoomba, the P-3K2 crew was recently able to locate and track a ship from the Arabian Sea to the Horn of Africa, resulting in the seizure of 5588kgs of hashish in hessian bags, with a value of $280 million (AUD).

“Highlights of my deployment are the performance of our crew and the sense of achievement with the drug bust. We worked hard and my role as an AWS is awesome, it’s like playing real life video games,” said SGT Xiong.

The former Mt Roskill Grammar school student found out about the Air Force from family friends when he was 13.

“Right from that moment I knew I wanted to join for the lifestyle. The travelling is great, I’ve been to some unique places like Antarctica and I love the sports,” said SGT Xiong.

A standout player in the Air Force men’s basketball team, SGT Xiong is looking forward to catching up with friends and family.

“I’m planning to catch up with basketball mates to shoot some hoops and going to visit family in China,” said SGT Xiong.

ENDS

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