After 38 years’ service WO ‘Ozzie’ Ozficici was ceremoniously marched off RAF High Wycombe by friends and colleagues.
Creative with his hands as a child, Oz has always had a passion for the RAF and how things work, from which grew a fascination with engineering.
Joining up at seventeen after a brief stint with VW & Audi and an engineering firm in Aston - Birmingham, Oz graduated in 1985 from RAF St Athan as a mechanical transport mechanic, following initial service training at RAF Swinderby.
Following two and a half years at RAF Scampton, the plucky SAC was awarded advanced trade training at RAF St Athan where he was appointed Junior Technician.
A raft of postings fell into place including those at RAF Upavon (HQ No 1 Gp), RAF Waddington on promotion to Corporal and to RAF Manston, Defence Fire Training School. By 1994 he joined 20 Sqn RAF Regt helping to enable its re-role to 15 Sqn RAF Regt, one of the first Field Standard C Rapier Units for the RAF. For Ozzie, this marked the beginning of his passion for RAF Regiment life.
Following a tour in Cyprus, he was promoted to Sergeant spending the next fourteen years in and around Oxfordshire at RAF Brize Norton and RAF Lyneham in various roles such as those with the Tactical Communications Wing, where he was later appointed Chief Technician. A stand-out role for the SNCO was the four and a half years with the Lifting Machine Test Centre under the command of the A4 Role Office.
In October 2019 ‘Ozzie’ was appointed WO GEF at RAF Brize Norton where he helped to facilitate the Base Support Contract under Program Future Airport before returning to RAF Air Command to lead the TG5 as Profession Advisor for a second time.
In a stellar career that has seen deployments in Turkey, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Oman, Ascension Island, Belize and 5 tours of the Falkland’s, his best experience was with 15 Sqn, RAF Regiment at Helmand Province, Camp Bastion. “I was the last RAF tradesman on the last helicopter out of Camp Bastion in October 2014. There were paparazzi at the Kandahar airfield photographing us and we made page two of The Telegraph! It was a real privilege as it was such a large part of the Sqn’s history,” said a reflective WO.
Did he ever think he would achieve as much as he had in the RAF? The emphatic answer was “No!” “I cannot believe I have achieved so much; it is indescribable. I had always wanted to be a WO, but never thought it was in my reach. Once I got past sergeant, I knew in my heart I could do it. I knew I was in it for the long haul,” said the committed WO.
With the highs in any career comes the inevitable lows.
“A low point was the loss of a Nimrod MR2 XV230 on 2 Sept 2006. I knew the crew well. Picking up the pieces afterwards is awful. Talking with comrades helped, but it is an experience you never forget,” said the clearly emotional NCO.
Ten postings in ten years, eight years as a spinning instructor at Brize Norton, Honington & High Wycombe plus being Chair of Brize Norton’s WOs & SNCOs Mess Ents Committee is all proof that Ozzie is not one to sit around. Here is a man who relishes life, especially the life he has led in the RAF. If you can still be as enthusiastic and upbeat at the end of your career, that counts for a lot.
“I have been here for thirty-eight years, that’s 13,800 days….and I would do it all again. I have zero regrets,” said the proud WO.
In a career that ‘Ozzie’ sums up as ‘extraordinary,’ there is one thing that he will miss most about being in the RAF; “You are part of an exclusive club. What it achieves collectively is phenomenal. Being extracted from that and not being a part of it anymore will be a wrench,” said Oz thoughtfully. But his advice to any recruit to the Service is both encouraging and inspiring; “Take very opportunity that is in front of you to better yourself.”
In retirement his new role will be at a slower pace, with no aircraft or deployments to the far corners of the globe. He will be working on the land, arable farming in his local village and taking care of the partridges! Bird box making is a hobby and he will be resurrecting his woodwork skills, which have rusted slightly over the past few years. He will also be chair of Brettenham Village Association and act as caretaker for his village hall– in his words, ‘giving back to the community.’
In March, Oz was dined out at RAF Cranwell, and he reflected on the fact that he had served in the RAF for a third of its existence. “I felt part of me had died,” said the emotional WO. And I believed him. I spoke to Oz for a few minutes, but I was taken with his humbleness. I wrote down, if you could bottle what this man has you would make a fortune. It comes down to passion, loyalty and a simple desire to serve. If you get a chance to shake this man’s hand, you should. You will leave a better person for having met a truly inspiring man. He likens leaving the RAF to a line from ‘Hotel California’ by the Eagles. It encapsulates everything.
“You can check-out whenever you want, but you can never leave.”
Good luck with the next chapter, Oz. You will be missed.
