It was a round trip which was always on the cards.
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Following decades living abroad Graham Gilkison has returned permanently to Forster to live and to set-up an Australian owned, international security agency, Austability.
"Nothing beats driving home over the Forster Tuncurry bridge," Graham said.
"I just love this area," the Forster native - who can trace his ancestry in the Great Lakes back to George Garlick Godwin - said.
"I lived in the Middle East for seven years, but I knew I wasn't going to live there forever. So why not Forster?
"I love the beach, the lifestyle - there are days you can walk on the beach and not see anyone - it is something we must cherish."
Passionate about flying and planes, Graham joined the RAAF after completing his Year 10 School Certificate at Forster High School.
Graham said he had been hooked on flying for as long as he could remember.
As a teenager, Graham used money earned while working in retail and watering an elderly neighbour's garden to pay for flying lessons.
In fact, he managed to secure a pilot's licence long before he could legally get behind the steering wheel of a car.
I lived in the Middle East for seven years, but I knew I wasn't going to live there forever.
- Graham Gilkison
"My grandfather had to drive me to Taree for my first solo flight."
While flying was his passion, Graham said a pilot had to be smart.
"I was just an average student. I went to school for the social side."
For the first eight years of his two decades with the RAAF, Graham worked in catering before moving in air movements and dispatch.
He was posted throughout Australia before deployment to New Zealand, Africa, the Middle East, East Timor and Malaysia.
During a period of upheaval throughout the Australian Defence Force, Graham took a redundancy returning briefly to the Great Lakes and a stint with NSW Forestry.
However, throughout the time he remained an active reservist.
The devastating tsunami of 2004 that claimed more than 230,000 lives in 14 countries brought Graham and his logistics expertise back into the field of air movement and dispatch.
While most Australians were enjoying the Christmas New Year holidays Graham volunteered at the North Richmond air base organising the transportation of medical supplies, doctors and nurses to the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh.
His contribution was noticed and acknowledged with Patrick Defence Logistics recruiting Graham for his specific skill sets, and a return to a number of conflict zones throughout the Middle East and Asia.
One thing nations and their populations share was a passionate desire to get on with the lives; to build a life for themselves and in some instances rebuild their country, Graham observed.
"And, people are getting on with their lives."