Sergeant Knezevic grew up in Tully in far North Queensland, which has often been described as the wettest place in Australia, however the Middle East can sometimes give Australia a run for its money.

“About two months into our deployment we experienced some pretty intense weather and we woke up to flooding around the camp,” he said.

“It was pretty surreal - I was not expecting to have to deal with flooding when I deployed to the desert.”

Sergeant Knezevic is deployed to the Air Task Group as part of Operation OKRA as a maintenance manager.

He is responsible for a team of Avionics Technicians whose role involves directing and supervising all avionics related tasks for the F/A-18A Hornet aircraft and conducting maintenance for more intensive or complicated issues.

He is also responsible for flight line operations.

“Basically, this job is all about making sure that each aircraft is 100 per-cent mission ready before the pilot goes flying,” he said.

Operation OKRA is Sergeant Knezevic first operational deployment and it has been a memorable experience so far.

“Being part of a team and seeing the aircraft return from each mission safely is a very rewarding experience,” he said.

“Seeing first hand the contribution my team and I are making to support the Iraqi Security Forces retake their country from terrorism is incredibly satisfying”.

With Anzac Day Day approaching, Sergeant Knezevic is looking forward to commemorating his first Anzac Day in a deployed environment.

“Marching in Sydney is always a stand-out moment but I think that being on operations in the Middle East during Anzac Day is going to be memorable too,” he said.

“My grandfather served as a signalman in the Army during World War II, mostly in Papua New Guinea.

“Having family history in the military makes Anzac Day even more important to me.”