As the lights dimmed at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the eve of Anzac Day, Flight Lieutenant Aimee McCartney was feeling a very special kind of trepidation - she was about to walk out in front of more than 70,000 AFL supporters while carrying the match ball to the coin toss between the Melbourne and Richmond Football Clubs.
How did Flight Lieutenant McCartney find herself in that position? It all began more than a year ago when the personnel capability officer with 32 Squadron at RAAF Base East Sale was put forward to design the 2025 Anzac Day guernsey.
However, it really began more than 100 years ago, and stems from an enduring and close relationship between the Melbourne Football Club (MFC) and Air Force, built on a shared history, legacy and tradition through all the MFC players who have served with Air Force - including Squadron Leader Keith William 'Bluey' Truscott, a World War 2 ace fighter pilot after whom the MFC's best and fairest trophy is named.
Rising to the challenge and stepping out of her comfort zone as a contemporary Indigenous artist and muralist, Flight Lieutenant McCartney was inspired by her work in Air Force.
"I've always been very creative and have loved art but this was a different type of assignment and I was really influenced by my work and my surroundings in developing the artwork for the guernsey," she said.
"I was at Exercise Pitch Black last year, standing on a Darwin runway on a 35-degree day and watching F-35A Lightning II landing and taking off. I was inspired by the strength and resilience of these aircraft. And not only that, but also observing the effect [that] seeing and hearing the aircraft was having on everyone, it was really special - I just knew I had to incorporate the F-35 into the design."
'I've always been very creative and have loved art but this was a different type of assignment and I was really influenced by my work and my surroundings in developing the artwork for the guernsey.'
The artwork, titled the Missing Man Formation, portrays a formation performed by F-35s.
"It is a symbolic aerial manoeuvre undertaken by aircraft as a tribute to fallen sailors, soldiers and aviators, honouring their memory and capturing the ultimate sacrifice of those who will not return home," Flight Lieutenant McCartney said.
"In this formation, typically flown by four or more aircraft, one aircraft leaves the formation and ascends sharply, symbolising a missing, lost or fallen comrade departing from the ranks.
"The remaining aircraft continue in a tight formation, representing the mateship, unity, strength and the enduring spirit of those who remain.
"I wanted to paint a design that to everyone wearing the guernsey or seeing it on the players would represent the F-35s, and for them, to take away a sense of pride, understanding the ultimate sacrifice that has occurred not only in the past but in present day for those of us that are currently wearing our uniform."
The participation at an AFL match on the eve of Anzac Day was incredibly moving for Flight Lieutenant McCartney, who is a proud Taungurung, Wotjobaluk, Wemba Wemba and Boon Wurrung woman, the 28th serving member in her family and the first in Air Force. She is also an avid AFL supporter and has even played AFL for Air Force.
"It is an incredible feeling seeing your artwork start on a canvas and come to life, printed on material with the players and supporters wearing it. To be here literally in the midst of it all is a moment in my career I will never forget," Flight Lieutenant McCartney said.
