Aaron Tait

What was the mission?

How were you supposed to be doing that?

How did your very first mission play out?

So after that first experience, Aaron, was it something you wanted to do again?

Like that adrenaline that had been there in the lead up, did that kind of play out in reality?

So this became your new normal, these night raids on smuggler ships, on oil tankers.

How successful was your team?

One night, Aaron, you were sent to attack Fowl 12, one of the biggest smugglers in the Gulf.

Tell me, first of all, about getting on board this huge tanker.

What did it look like as you were approaching it by sea?

What was it like for you getting on board?

What happened once you were on deck?

Aaron, your most dangerous mission was taking the ship Fowl 12.

What happened after surviving that attempt from the smugglers to set you and your partner on fire?

The next day you were sent back to that boat, to FAL 12, to guard the crew, those men who tried to set you on fire and kill you.

What did they look like to your 18-year-old eyes, those men?

What kind of encounter did you and that man have?

And what did he tell you?

Is that something you let yourself think more about at the time or just kind of put in the back of your mind?

Your first year with the military came to an end and you flew back to Perth.