Our man in Australia...C-17 exchange pilot Published Oct. 17, 2006 ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE -- Capt. Lee Guthrie, a C-17A evaluator pilot from the 58th Airlift Squadron departs this week for a three-year assignment as a C-17 exchange pilot with the Royal Australian Air Force at RAAF Amberley, near Brisbane, Australia. The captain, his wife, Michelle and 10- month-old son, Rex, will arrive there Oct. 22. "We will get there just as the Australian spring is starting," the captain said. Then in November he will return with the Australian C-17 crew to accept and fly back a C-17A Block 17 from the Boeing factory in Los Angeles to Australia. The RAAF has three other C-17As on order. "I heard about the assignment from Lt. Col. Tal Metzgar, 58th AS commander," Captain Guthrie said. "He approached me about the assignment and helped open doors." When the first Australian flight crew came to Altus for C-17 transition training last summer, Captain Guthrie was their liaison officer. "The Australians wanted a pilot from Altus because they'll be doing C-17 upgrade training after they get their first C-17 and they asked for me," he said. "Thanks to Colonel Metzgar, I got the assignment. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to live overseas and work with the RAAF while continuing to fly the C-17." Australian flight crews will travel to Altus AFB for C-17 transition training until their simulator complex at RAAF Amberley is completed in about two years. The Australian Air Force will use the C- 17A for Rapid Global Airlift Capability, using the new aircraft to support missions in Australia and the Pacific region. Captain Guthrie has been stationed at Altus AFB for 2-1/2 years. He is a 1997 graduate of the Air Force Academy with 10 years Air Force experience.