A Lifetime Of Service In “The Best Job In The World”

Squadron Leader Rob Foley receives a fourth clasp to his long service award from the Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Kevin Short.

Serving the community is a way of life for one man who has just been recognised for 44 years’ service to New Zealand’s longest serving voluntary organisation.

Squadron Leader Rob Foley has a little more bling to add to his shirt after receiving another long service award for his work within the New Zealand Cadet Forces (NZCF).

Now sporting four clasps to his original long service award, he started his relationship with NZCF as a cadet at No. 22 SQN in Upper Hutt. Eventually he became the unit’s commander.

Several positions later, he is currently the NZCF International Exchange Officer and Vice President of the International Air Cadet Exchange Association.

An engineer by trade, his day job is the Procurement Manager at Capital and Coast District Health Board. He said the support his employer and family had given him over the years had allowed him to stay with NZCF for the length of time he had.

The organisation had changed dramatically over the years, with the technology to being able to run online learning courses being an obvious transformation, but people and the human aspect of it was enduring, he said.

“Being part of a team that dedicates itself to a common goal of promoting motivation, self-confidence, self-esteem and leadership where people are working for the common good - that never gets old. I have the best job in the world… I get to change people’s lives.”

The exchange programme Squadron Leader Foley runs has had to adapt in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“There are a lot more online interactions now and we are looking at opportunities for exchanges throughout the country rather than overseas. We’re also checking in with our counterparts in other countries to make sure they are doing OK.

“Things haven’t stood still, we’ve just had to look at other ways of doing business. “

Doing business in different ways is something Squadron Leader Foley is used to as he has seen the NZCF grow and develop over the years. What hasn’t changed however is the pride he gets when he sees young people achieve their goals.

“I still get a huge kick out of that.”

The NZCF can trace its roots back to 1864 when the first unit was raised in Dunedin High School (now Otago Boys’ High School), making it the longest-running voluntary youth service organisation in New Zealand.

However Squadron Leader Foley said the ethos and values of NZCF were not outdated.

“It’s the community service and the military aspect that has young people coming in. They all want something different from the organisation, and because we are so multi-faceted there is something for everyone.”

And while he gave credit to the team he worked alongside at NZCF, he said he could not have continued for as long as he had without the commitment of his biggest supporter, his wife Debbie.

© Scoop Media