Skip to content
Babcock pilot receives prestigious Conspicuous Service Cross

Babcock Australasia pilot Susana ‘Sana’ Fernandez has been recognised with the highest peacetime and non-combat honour available to members of the Australian Defence Force – the Conspicuous Service Cross.

The 22-year army veteran and long-term Babcock Helicopter Emergency Medical Services pilot received the service medal in the 2025 Australia Day Honours at the weekend for her outstanding response and leadership during the 2021 and 2022 flood relief effort in New South Wales.

The mother-of-four shares her reflections on the devastating Lismore floods that earned her the distinguished honour, her years of military service that set her up for success, and life after the Army as a Babcock pilot.

Sana, congratulations on making the Australia Day Honours list. The Conspicuous Service Cross is awarded ‘for outstanding devotion to duty or outstanding achievement in the application of exceptional skills, judgment or dedication, in non-warlike situations’. That must feel pretty good…

It’s very humbling. I don’t know that I deserve to get singled out though because there were lots of people that did incredible work in those floods. I like to think this honour represents the whole team’s effort.

Tell us a bit about the flood relief effort?

I was a Commanding Officer in Lismore from 2020 to 2022, which was a really unusual time. We had bushfires, then COVID, then two floods in consecutive years. We were on operations more than I’d ever been in the full-time Army. The Reserves were getting called out regularly.

I looked after an infantry battalion which had 200-odd members stretching across the north coast from Taree up to Tweed Heads. Mostly we were made up of reservists and members of the local community who do infantry soldiering in their spare time.

In 2021, the mid-north coast had horrific floods, particularly in Taree and Port Macquarie. It wasn’t so much the flood level, but it was really swift moving water, and it destroyed farmlands and houses everywhere. Some parts were cut off, so you couldn’t get soldiers in there from Sydney or Brisbane, but because we were local, we were able to get in early and be the first crews on the ground. As soon as the flood water started receding, we were there to help with the cleanup.

We were actually lucky. By chance we had our soldiers coming into the unit that Friday night to start a combat shooting course. So many of my soldiers had already arranged leave from their employers and were coming into the base anyway. Instead of shooting, we diverted them all to flood relief, so we were able to get some good numbers on the ground to help out the community.

I think it’s really important in those emergencies, when communities are in shock, to see people in uniform. Having the army uniform on the streets brings the community comfort in tough times and lets them know that we’ve got their backs.

In 2022, we had the devastating floods on the north coast where there was also loss of life. Again, my soldiers were ready as that rain event came in. We became really engaged with the local SES all across the north coast following the 2021 flood, and I had my guys a lot more integrated, so they were ready to help should something come. We had soldiers out on the ground door knocking during the evacuation stage, so it wasn’t a matter of waiting until the waters went down this time, we had soldiers rescuing people from the beginning.

While the full-time Army rescued people off the roofs via helicopter, my battalion secured the landing zone that directed people safely to medical and evacuation centres. We liaised really closely to help those helicopters come in and know where to go and what needed doing.

It took a few days, but eventually, as waters went down, the Army came in en masse. Four thousand soldiers arrived to help with the recovery. But for the first few days, my soldiers we were the only ones on the ground doing what we could.

We had no power, there were food and fuel shortages. It was a really full-on time for the whole community. Yet I had soldiers who had lost their own homes, or whose families were in evacuation centres, who still came in to provide support to the community.

Our numbers were small and our gear was limited but we had a lot of local knowledge. And the thing about reservists, is that you’ve got many other skills. I had reservists that were ex-SES members, farmers, carpenters, tradies… guys that could drive boats that were life savers in their other jobs. These skills were invaluable.


How did you find yourself joining the Army?

I joined the Army straight out of high school. They came to my school, I applied for a scholarship, and I went to ADFA [Australian Defence Force Academy]. Then I graduated from Duntroon [Royal Military College in Canberra] into Army Aviation, where I flew helicopters there for 15 years.

I transitioned out in 2015 after about 23 years of full-time service, and became a reservist, and then moved into rescue helicopter flying with Babcock.

Why helicopters?

I always wanted to fly. Actually, I was a bit of a space nut and wanted to be an astronaut as a kid. Astronauts are generally military pilots or engineers so that led me to want to be a military pilot. I was looking at the Air Force and the Army, and then I thought, ‘flying helicopters would be really cool’ and the Army’s mission and toughness appealed to me.

I was 17, and I wanted to be able to get a degree that was paid for, and be financially independent from my family, and I just liked the challenge of the Army – something exciting, that I wouldn’t get bored of and it obviously has that service aspect and helping out the community.

You would have been one of only a handful of female pilots on the job at that time…

There was two before me, so we had a bit of a network. I was the first female pilot in my squadron to fly Kiowas, which is a reconnaissance helicopter.

What were your experiences in the Army like?

I toured Timor twice and Afghanistan. It was a fantastic opportunity – the culmination of all your training.

Timor, I flew over there as a pilot, and then as a troop commander, first on a peacemaking mission, because early on we were the security force until the UN took over, and then the second tour was peacekeeping.

What made you return to civilian life?

I have four children, and we wanted to settle down in one town and not be moving around, changing schools constantly. I was keen to raise them on a farm. I had probably done most of the flying I was going to do in the Army because I had reached a certain rank and was then in leadership positions. So we bought a farm just outside of Lismore and that’s where I still am.

I wanted to keep flying, so a rescue helicopter job seemed really appealing. Babcock do amazing work. It’s very rewarding flying. I still love it.

You mentioned your children. What’s been their reaction to your Australia Day Honour?

My 20-year-old and my 18-year-old haven’t messaged me at all (laughs). They keep me grounded, that’s for sure!

They know I fly, and they see me in uniform as a reservist, but when I’m at home on the farm, I’m just mum.

I’m hoping I can take all four of my kids to the ceremony when I get presented with the medal. It would be good for them to see it, particularly because one of my sons is looking to join the Army.

What is your current role at Babcock?

When I first started with Babcock I was based on Horn Island in the Torres Strait, so I was touring there all the time. Now I do relief work across all of Babcock’s different bases, which is awesome, because I get to fly different jobs, with different crews and in different environments.

I do two weeks on, two weeks off, fly-in, fly-out.


What is it about Babcock that attracted you to work with us?

There are quite a few ex-military personnel at Babcock so there is a professionalism and familiarity to the role. You know how people think and work because you share a common background. We’ve got great team members in Babcock that don’t have military backgrounds as well though and I think we all work really well together.

It’s about who you work with, really. It’s just a great team, with good leadership. They’ve always been really good to me.

The skills learned in the military are highly transferrable to a company like Babcock aren’t they, with its extensive HEMS contracts nationwide, and as Babcock looks to pursue Defence Search and Rescue delivery opportunities?

Yes, absolutely. Just that understanding of what Defence needs. We’ve flown and worked in the training areas they operate in during our previous military service, and just having that rapport and understanding of what the soldiers are dealing with on the ground and why they need assets like us to be able to support them is invaluable.

How has Babcock supported you as a reservist?

What’s great about Babcock is that there is a lot of support for defence veterans and reservists. They offer two weeks paid leave a year for reserve days, which is incredible. Not every employer does that. Every time I’ve had to put in for leave to do reserve work, whether that be for a COVID stint or bushfires or floods, Babcock has bent over backwards to manage the roster at short notice or accommodate as required.

Any final reflections on your accolade?

My phone was running hot on Australia Day. I didn’t realise how many people read that list. A lot of people that I hadn’t spoken to in years called me and left lovely messages. It was really, really nice.

*Sana will officially receive her medal at a ceremony later in the year.

A full list of 2025 Australia Day military honours can be found here.

Have a media enquiry?

Please contact the Media Relations Team.