on 11 october 1984, luck was commissioned into the general duties branch, royal air force, as an acting pilot officer. he then undertook flying training on the chipmunk and jet provost, before training on helicopters. upon completion of training, he was posted to no. 33 squadron raf, a puma squadron based at raf odiham in hampshire. he was promoted to flying officer on 11 october 1986. during his early career, he underwent deployments to northern ireland and belize.