Raw joined the RAAF in 1941, and served as a flight instructor, bomber pilot and the commander of a communications unit during World War II.

2 Squadron in January 1953, but temporarily left this position for part of the year to participate in the 1953 London to Christchurch air race, in which he placed second.

[2] During one of his first combat operations, a raid on an oil refinery near Ploiești in Romania, Raw successfully bombed the target despite heavy anti-aircraft gunfire and later evaded an enemy fighter.

[2] His bomber was the only aircraft to deliver its cargo to Warsaw during a mission on 16 August; Raw received the Polish Cross of Valour in February 1945 for this achievement.

[8] One of his other flights to Warsaw took place on 1 September, but due to bad weather Raw was unable to see the city at the time he dropped the load of supplies.

[9] During a raid on the northern Italian city of Verona on 12 October 1944, Raw's aircraft was hit by two anti-aircraft shells that destroyed its hydraulics system and an engine, wounded the radio operator and opened 166 holes in the fuselage.

1 Long Range Flight, which had been formed to participate in the 1953 London to Christchurch air race using two of the RAAF's new English Electric Canberra bombers.

[17][23] Later in December a Canberra piloted by Raw established a new record for the fastest flight between New Zealand and Australia, completing the crossing between Auckland and Sydney in two hours and 49 minutes.

From December that year he was a liaison officer to the RAAF force supporting the British nuclear weapons tests in the Montebello Islands off the coast of Western Australia.

[1] Later in 1963 he undertook further training at the United States Armed Forces Staff College, after which he became the assistant air attaché in the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

This force was composed primarily of Australian Army units, and had recently arrived in the country as part of an expansion of Australia's commitment to the Vietnam War.

Although he did not have any background in air/land warfare, Raw's main responsibility in this position was to co-ordinate helicopter support for the Task Force's two infantry battalions.

[29] Historian Alan Stephens has written that "Group Captain Raw's background as one of the RAAF's most respected bomber leaders was inappropriate for the job of task force air commander: too often he struggled to make the timely decisions demanded by tactical air/land operations".

[36] Raw believed that the Task Force headquarters had unrealistic expectations as the Army officers did not understand the difficulty of maintaining and operating helicopters.

[38] At Jackson's request, Raw moved from Vũng Tàu to the Task Force's base at Nui Dat in what proved a successful attempt to improve the relationship between the Army and RAAF.

[42] Jackson was angered by Raw's response, and argued that the risk of losing a few helicopters was unimportant compared to the possibility of having an infantry company destroyed due to a lack of ammunition and other supplies.

[43] He asked his United States Army aviation liaison officer for assistance, who advised that American helicopters could be at Nui Dat within 20 minutes.

9 Squadron aircrew present at 1 ATF's base on whether the mission was feasible; historian Chris Clark has written that he did so due to his lack of qualifications in helicopter operations.

[8] The volume of The Official History of Australia's Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948–1975 covering the Army's role in this period of the Vietnam War and historian David W. Cameron have suggested that Raw authorised the resupply flight after being embarrassed by the willingness of the Americans to conduct the mission.

[41][45] As a result of the disagreement during the Battle of Long Tan, the personal relationship between Raw and senior Army commanders in 1 ATF was strained throughout the remainder of his time in South Vietnam.

[32][40] Raw managed to partially improve working relations by educating senior Army officers within the Task Force about the constraints that affected helicopter operations.

[41] Raw was hit by a stray bullet and slightly wounded while visiting the RAAF Medical Centre at Vũng Tàu in October 1966.

This was the first large airmobile operation 1 ATF conducted into an area not secured by friendly forces, and Raw flew in with the assault troops and remained on the island to direct air missions, including while under sniper fire.

[48] The disagreement between Jackson and Raw during the Battle of Long Tan contributed to inter-service tensions regarding the Australian military's battlefield helicopters.

Raw's initial hesitance to commit helicopters reinforced the perception among some Army officers that the RAAF was reluctant to support their service in battle.

Some members of the Army also wrongly believed that RAAF pilots had refused to conduct the supply mission, and only did so after the squadron was threatened with being withdrawn from South Vietnam and they were spoken to forcefully by Raw.

Read again recommended in favour of the CH-47 on the grounds that it could carry more cargo and was better suited to operations in Australian-administered Territory of Papua and New Guinea, and twelve of the type were ordered in 1970.

He also observed that RAAF personnel needed higher levels of professional qualifications than had been the case when he joined the Air Force, and there was a greater specialisation in particular fields.

[59] The Australian Dictionary of Biography states he was "considered to be genial, exuberant, popular and efficient" and "proved to be the type of officer who worked best under pressure".

[1] Writing in 2007, Chris Clark noted that while Raw's career was "typical of that enjoyed by pilots in the RAAF" during the period in which he served, it was "certainly one of the most colourful personal stories to be found within the service".