23 April 2025
Corporal Judd Leverton looks back on a long career, starting in the WA bush town of Boddington, progressing through a technical trade pathway, and serving all over Australia and overseas. This is his story, as told to Flight Lieutenant Madeleine Magee.
I joined the Royal Australian Air Force 29 years ago. I had dedicated my Year 8 to Year 12 education towards becoming an Air Force pilot, but my eyesight kept me from living out that dream.
A few years later, an opportunity arose to join the Air Force through the adult technical trade [pathway], so I applied as an aircraft technician. My career started with a Corporal Jim Beam informing me my Defence career would begin on April 1st … it seemed like the start to a joke.
I grew up in the small Western Australian town of Boddington before moving to Victoria Park in Perth for my senior years of high school, as the school there had aeronautics as part of the curriculum.
My main motivation for joining was to do something significant with my life. Top Gun coming out [when I was] in Year 7 may have made an impression – thanks Tom Cruise.
My father, and his brothers, served in the Army during Vietnam, and both my dad’s parents served in the Air Force.
Over the years, I have performed maintenance on multiple aircraft, including repairs and deeper level scheduled maintenance on the Caribou and the C-130 Hercules.
It’s like doing a logbook service, but on aircraft instead of cars. I’ve also worked as an armament technician on the F-111, so I worked with bombs and missiles.
'Anzac Day is a very poignant time to reflect on those that have served at the highest level.'
The Air Force has provided me with so many opportunities. Particularly, I have represented Australia at the Rugby World Cup as a flag bearer, participated in multiple catafalque parties, trained Air Force’s newest recruits as an instructor, then created new recruit instructors.
I’ve also travelled all over Australia and seen interesting parts of the world as part of deployments, operations, exercises and trips.
Although challenging at times, seeing the impact the Air Force has on people’s lives has been exceedingly rewarding.
This was most evident on a deployment in the Solomon Islands, and as a recruit instructor. The people we were supporting were truly appreciative of what my team and I did for them, even though I thought I was just doing my job. Until you get the chance to experience genuine appreciation, you will never truly know what it feels like.
Anzac Day is special to me because I see it as an opportunity to reflect on the service and sacrifice of those that have served before us.
Though my father was fortunate to come back from Vietnam, he still suffered the ill effects of that conflict, so Anzac Day is a very poignant time to reflect on those that have served at the highest level.
