Institution news
Q: When did you join the navy
Matthew Dunn (MD): At I joined the Navy in October 2008, and became qualified as an AET in November 2009 initially working on the Sea King Mk4 aircraft.
Q: What attracted you to a career in engineering?
MD: I had always been interested in making and building things as a child, as well as taking things apart to see how they worked – I was not always successful in putting them back together! I had been interested in aircraft ever since I can remember so it just made sense to combine the two.! It wasn’t until I actually started doing the job that I really realised how much it suited me, I now couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
Q: Tell us about your current role?
MD: Currently I am in a bit of Limbo, my previous role after POAET QC was teaching at HMS Sultan, but in 2017 I was lucky enough to have been selected onto the Upper Yardsman (UY) scheme to transfer from being a Rating to becoming a commissioned Engineering Officer within the Royal Navy. So this past year I have had a year off from Navy training and finished the final year of my engineering degree at Portsmouth University; adding to the Foundation Degree you are awarded from POAET QC. I graduated in July with a First Class BEng (Hons) in Mechanical Manufacture Engineering. In September I join Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth to become a Naval Officer. From there I will train as an Aircraft Engineering Officer (AEO).
Q: What were your highlights from the PO AET QC?
MD:My highlights from POAET QC was being able to enhance the knowledge I had already achieved from LAET QC as well as from carrying out my role as an aircraft supervisor. The practical Airframe Repair module was my favourite, the instructors were extremely good at making realistic scenarios and it gave you the chance to carry out repairs to aircraft skin and structure that we don’t often get to do, but is a valuable skill to have.
Q: What were the most challenging elements?
MD: The hardest elements would have been the fault diagnosis module, it wasn’t that the module was hard, but that this is one of the only times where we don’t follow procedure. When trying to identify a fault for which a fault identification procedure doesn’t exist. This module made you go think outside of the maintenance manuals and not using procedure is a hard thing to do when you’ve had it drummed into you for 10 years to always use one!
Q: What does it mean to win this award?
MD: It is an honour to win this award, there are many great engineers in the Navy and there are many who I would class as much better than me, I think the fact we have each other for support and help is what makes us such an effective team of engineers. The fact I have been acknowledged for the best performance is humbling. The Navy as a whole, but especially the Fleet Air Arm, has some of the best training in the world for its engineers and it is because of this training that I was able to perform as well as I did. It makes all the late nights studying worthwhile.
Q: What ambitions do you have within the RN/within engineering?
MD: My ambition for the future is simple, I want to stay in engineering and in the Navy for as long as possible. My career goal is to make it to the rank of Commander, there is a board as you enter Daedalus Building at HMS Sultan showing Ratings who have made it to rank of Commander – I would like my name to be on that board. My engineering goals – once I have qualified as an AEO and completed my initial squadron time I would like to return to RNAESS and take on a training role there, to allow me to hopefully influence the next generation of engineers, and potentially one day become the CO of RNAESS; but for now baby steps!! At some point I would also like to look at the future engineering within the RN, looking at the procurement of the next generation of aircraft that we will operate. I am not professionally registered as of yet, but I will get registered after I complete AEO training.