© Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Defence
Ipswich Royal Australian Air Force Dental Assistant, Aircraftwoman (ACW) Jaimee Prasser, is brightening smiles at a remote locality, RAAF Base Tindal, in the Northern Territory as part of a small and highly efficient dental team in support of Exercise Pitch Black 2018.
Ever since leaving school in Ipswich, ACW Prasser had a keen eye on working in a health services role for Defence.
“The idea of being able to study, travel, exercise, make new friends and just the overall experience is the reason why I decided to join the Air Force in May 2017,” ACW Prasser said.
“I’ve never done any dental assisting outside of defence so when the job popped up I was willing to take it. I’m always up for trying new things, this was perfect for me”.
After completing the initial employment training down at HMAS Cerberus for 16 weeks, she continued a further 12 weeks for the Senior Dental Assistant Course.
When asked what the highlight of her job was, the answer was simple, the patients.
“I enjoy every chance I get to interact with different personnel from the base,” ACW Prasser said.
“Living in a remote locality does have its positives and negatives, this is my first posting so it was challenging at first. With that being said it has improved my skills in dental assisting and provided the opportunity to work well within a small health centre.”
“The people definitely make the place and it’s a really enjoyable base to be part of.”
“My long-term ambitions for the Air Force would be to go on as many humanitarian exercises as I can, and a deployment later down the track.”
“Even though I grew up in Ipswich and lived there all my life before moving away with Defence, I love to go exploring in the Northern Territory, everyday can be an adventure.”
