Otaki MP and former Air Force pilot Tim Costley met with Whakatāne’s No. 35 Squadron Air Force Cadets early Monday morning.

He shared his defence force journey with the cadets, telling how his first application to join the Air Force was rejected and he was told, in his interpretation, to “go and grow up a bit”.

He went to university instead and was accepted into the Air Force on his second application, three years later.

“So many people give up after the first go,” he said. Don't give up after your first try at something you want to do.

“I failed my first Air Force application. I wasn’t voted in, in my first election, but I tried again,” he said.

Mr Costley said a favourite flight during his time with the Air Force was a rescue in the Tarawera ranges.

“I’d been training someone all day when we received the call. We were flying until 1am, using night vision goggles, and when we found the person, they had recorded a message for their mum and dad on their camera saying he didn’t know what was going to happen and he loved them.

“Because of that rescue, someone got to go home and see their mum and dad and give them that message themselves. That’s an amazing privilege.”

He ended his talk with a story of an attempted murder of a rat in the Solomon Islands as vengeance for a half-nibbled Crunchie bar.

“If this visit gives one person the encouragement to follow their dreams, it is completely worth it,” Mr Costley said.

“The decisions we make impact young people, and we have seen they are really motivated and keen to get out there and conquer the world.”