Hemi Frires won't be coming home this Christmas.
The former Otumoetai College student is a Corporal in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and will be spending his Christmas on deployment in the Middle East.
Corporal Frires is one of 60 air force personnel part of the multi-national Combined Maritime Force, focusing on counter-piracy in the Middle East to keep global shipping routes safe.
The air force is using a P-3K2 Orion aircraft to fly maritime security missions in the region.
Corporal Frires works in the mobile tactical operations centre providing mission support.
"My job is to prepare the aircrew and aircraft systems with the relevant mission information and data.
"An average day involves an early start where I get all the data needed for the mission and then deliver a brief to the aircrew.
"While the P-3K2 is flying I get to have a break, when it returns we have a debrief and I process the data collected so we're ready for the next mission.
Corporal Frires said the job was very rewarding.
"I'm proud of our team as we're achieving the outputs required and completing successful missions. I've been in the Air Force since 2008 and this deployment is an opportunity for me to hone my skills and improve some of our processes and outputs.
"It is definitely a job where you're always learning."
With experience on exercises in Scotland, Hawaii, Malaysia and Australia, Corporal Frires was well placed to take on the challenges of a deployment to the Middle East.
"Being away from home certainly makes you appreciate what you have, and I think I'm lucky to have an exciting job where what I do every day is meaningful. I've also made lots of good friends and been fortunate enough to travel around the world."
It will be several months until Corporal Frires returns to New Zealand, and he said he was looking forward to spending time with friends and family.