A total of 7 PNGDF personnel from the Air Transport Wing (ATW) have completed their training in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering and were awarded with certificates in Port Moresby today.
Among the 7 was Private Catherine Bowa who is now the first female aircraft engineer in the Papua New Guinea Defence Force.
Bowa who comes from a mix parentage of Manus and Eastern Highlands told EMTV news, her achievement comes after years of hard work and dedication.
“I’ve waited for over 9 years, and I am very excited to have this certificate. I’m looking forward to work with the PNGDF ATW,” Bowa said.
Bowa graduated with 6 other men engineers. They were trained in New Zealand’s Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology.
“It was a good experience in New Zealand. We will share our experience to make the unit here in Port Moresby better,” she said.
Meanwhile PNGDF Chief of Staff, Colonel Ray Numa said the training is part of the 2013 Defence White Paper, aimed at modernising the PNG Defence Force.
“This is the first training we had in over 20 years. We are growing our units here and we are aiming to have 30 engineers and 10 pilots,” Numa said.
