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The official newspaper of the Royal Australian NavyVolume 56, No. 06, April 11, 2013

SERVING AUSTRALIA WITH PRIDE

NEWS

FIRST POST

WOs join forces to start new tradition at

Australian War Memorial closing

ceremony

PAGE 4

PROUD MOMENT: WO-N Martin Holzberger, WOFF-AF Mark Pentreath and RSM-A Dave Ashley salute at the closing ceremony at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Photo: ABIS Kathy Tuddenham

02 NEWSApril 11, 2013

Director David Edlington: (02) 6265 4650Editor Sharon Palmer: (02) 6266 7612Deputy Editor Lauren Norton: (02) 6266 7615Coordination/Sports Editor Michael Weaver: (02) 6266 7707Reporters Michael Brooke: (02) 8335 5231 LSIS Paul Berry: (02) 6266 7606 WO2 Andrew Hetherington: (02) 6266 7614 CPL Max Bree: (02) 6266 7608 CPL Nick Wiseman: (02) 6265 4140 CPL Mark Doran: (02) 6265 1304 CPL Aaron Curran: (02) 6265 1355

CONTACT USEmail: navynews@defencenews.gov.auFax: (02) 6266 7701Mail: The Editor, R8-LG-038, PO Box 7909,

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SERVING AUSTRALIA WITH PRIDE

NEWS

THE last Australian personnel deployed as part of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) have returned home as the ADF for-mally concluded Operation Astute in Timor-Leste.

Chief of Joint Operations LTGEN Ash Power said a small number of ADF personnel returned to Australia on March 27, marking the end of the Australian-led force.

The last commander of JTF 631, LTCOL Mick Sasse, flew into Australia after the final handover of Australian bases to the Timor-Leste Government.

LTGEN Power said the lat-est mission in the fledgling nation started on May 25, 2006, in response

to a request from the Timor-Leste Government, and had been a success in restoring public order and stability.

“Personnel from Australia and New Zealand are proud of the part they have played in assisting the Timor-Leste security forces’ efforts to restore stability to their nation,” he said.

“Overall, the ADF is proud to have assisted the Timorese people in the quest for self-determination and governance. We all look forward to continued strong relationships with Timor-Leste defence personnel into the future.”

About 29,000 deployment orders have been issued to personnel, some multiple times, to Timor-Leste since operations in the young nation started

with International Force East Timor (Interfet) in 1999.

“Our personnel have done an outstanding job to build relationships based on mutual respect and have maintained a strong rapport with the people of Timor-Leste through-out our involvement since the first deployment to the country in 1999,” LTGEN Power said.

Australia will continue its strong security relationship with Timor-Leste through the Defence Cooperation Program, which will continue its mis-sion to support the development of the Timor-Leste Defence Force.

A team of 24 military and civilian personnel will remain in Timor-Leste to provide training and mentoring support.

Michael Brooke

SAILORS from HMAS Kuttabul feasted on a banquet of delicious inter-national cuisine to celebrate Harmony Day on March 21.

The banquet at the CO Kuttabul’s monthly morning tea featured food from Asia, Europe, the Americas, the Mediterranean and Australia.

One of the cooks responsible for the banquet was ABML-C Jansen Wilks who, along with ABML-C Corey Roberts, had a role in preparing almost every dish.

“The food not only gave the CO’s monthly morning tea a magnificent Harmony Day theme, but enabled the junior cooks to progress their compe-tency log-books,” AB Wilks said.

The spread included mini-ham-burgers from the US, tandoori chicken from India, sushi from Japan, battered fish from the UK, spring rolls from

China, pasta strips with parmesan cheese from Italy, and an array of des-serts including Mediterranean baklava and Brazilian-style fruit skewers.

AB Wilks said the cooks came from a range of diverse cultural back-grounds, which was reflected in the quality international cuisine served on Harmony Day.

“We have some cooks who are part Spanish, which helps to make for an exotic style of food preparation, particularly for our guests from SPS Cantabria,” he said.

CO Kuttabul CMDR Todd Willson said Harmony Day acknowledged the power of diversity and multicultural-ism, which was a major strength of the Navy and the ADF.

“Diversity and multiculturalism pro-vide an opportunity to benefit from new knowledge and experiences that provide new opportunities for how Navy does its job,” CMDR Willson said.

Kuttabul feasts on harmony

HMAS Toowoomba’s internal damage control organisation has worked tire-lessly while conducting training to maintain their skills to combat any incident on board during their deploy-ment in the Middle Eastern Area of Operations.

The exercises range from small-scale incidents such as localised fires and toxic hazards through to whole-ship damage control evolutions such as large-scale engine room fires and a heli-copter crash on deck.

These exercises are designed to train specialist damage con-trol teams such as the Standing Sea Fire and Emergency Party and the Silent Hours Emergency Response Team.

The Standing Sea Fire and Emergency Party is made up entirely of volunteers and repre-sents Toowoomba’s primary dam-age control response. The party includes communicators and engineering specialist sailors.

It operates in conjunction with the ship’s medical emergency team which provides emergency medical support in any casualty incident.

CO Toowoomba CMDR Brendon Zilko said he was very happy with the damage control training.

“Damage control is an integral part of the ship’s preparedness to respond to any threat to its safety and the training conducted by the damage control organisation provides us with that capability,” CMDR Zilko said.

Op Astute comes to end

All under control on Middle East deployment

IT’S THAT WAY: AB Daniel Mendonca indicates the direction to fight a fire to AB Jessica Wienert (above) as AB Anthony Hofer updates the damage control board (below), during an exercise on HMAS Toowoomba. Photos: SGT William Guthrie

HEALTHY TREAT: ABML-C Jansen Wilks displays a fruit salad prepared for HMAS Kuttabul’s Harmony Day morning tea. Photo: ABIS Nicolas Gonzalez

03NEWS April 11, 2013

Respect umpire’s decision: CN

MULTINATIONAL Base Tarin Kot is set to close at the end of the year, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has decided.

CDF GEN David Hurley said troops would start removing equip-ment and collapsing areas of the camp not being handed to Afghan units, after the move was announced by the Australian government on March 26.

“With the national training mis-sion, Afghanistan is moving another kandak into Tarin Kot. They will take over some of the facilities so we don’t have to pull those down, just clean them up and hand them over,” he said.

A number of portable accommo-dation buildings will be sent to the Afghan National Officer Academy in Kabul, according to the CDF.

“And then we’ll have to collapse all the life-support utilities in the camp and clean those up and remedi-ate those to the appropriate stand-ards,” he said.

“On top of that, obviously [we’ll be] moving back equipment by both container over the road through Pakistan, or by air back to Australia.”

Defence Minister Stephen Smith said ISAF’s decision to draw down and close the base was made after consultation with Australia, which currently leads Combined Team Uruzgan, and Afghan authorities.

The closure was also in line with the timetable to transition to full Afghan-led security responsibility in Uruzgan province by the end of 2013.

“We’ve always said that we thought that in Uruzgan we were fur-ther advanced than other districts or provinces,” Mr Smith said.

“So we started transitioning in Uruzgan in the middle of last year. There are some provinces or dis-tricts which won’t commence transi-tion until the middle of this year.”

With the closure of Multinational Base Tarin Kot the majority of Australia’s troops will come home from Afghanistan.

CN VADM Ray Griggs

THE recent announcement of the deliberations of the Defence Honours and Awards Tribunal Report on Recognition of Past acts of Gallantry and Valour were, whichever way they went, going to spark disappointment for some.

Having followed this issue for some time and trying to take a dis-passionate view, I think the out-comes are good for Navy.

That statement may annoy some people but out of this we now have (or will have through the efforts of the Australian War Memorial) much greater public awareness of some of our finest naval heroes and we have the collective recognition for the entire ship’s company of HMAS Yarra I, through the award of a Unit Citation for Gallantry.

On February 5, 1942, while under enemy fire, Yarra rescued more than 1800 people from a burn-ing transport ship off Singapore.

On March 4, 1942, in the early hours of the morning, while escort-ing a convoy in the Indian Ocean, Yarra’s lookouts sighted a Japanese surface action group, greatly supe-rior to Yarra in fighting strength and speed. In the action that followed, despite the obvious fate that awaited them, Yarra’s ship’s company con-ducted themselves with distinction and utter professionalism.

Yarra was struck by heavy enemy shellfire, badly damaged and set on fire. When it was obvious the ship was about to sink, the order to abandon ship was given. Despite this order, the last remaining gun crew continued to engage the enemy until silenced by direct fire. From a ship’s company of 151 men, there were only 13 survivors.

Through their actions in both cases, Yarra’s ship’s company dis-played extraordinary gallantry in the face of overwhelming odds, which is in keeping with the finest tradi-tions of the RAN.

For some of course the decision not to retrospectively award indi-viduals a Victoria Cross remains a cause for concern and deep disap-pointment. I understand these emo-tions, but I want to explain why I personally don’t feel this way.

First, we need to recognise the significance for Navy of the award of the Unit Citation for Gallantry.

While I believe there is merit in reviewing the criteria for the award of the Victoria Cross in modern combat, I think Navy should prize collective acts of gallantry over individual acts, because ships can only fight as teams where every member of the crew plays a role in fighting the ship.

You cannot leave a ship in action at sea, you are committed to seeing it through with your shipmates.

There is no higher honour for

a ship than a Unit Citation for Gallantry.

Second, I think the difficulties of retrospective decision making should not be underestimated. It would be very easy to create a precedent with unintended consequences.

The tribunal recommended, and the Government accepted, that none of the 13 men considered (11 Navy and two Army) should be awarded any retrospective gallantry awards.

Without the full knowledge of all the factors in play at the time, it is impossible to make a rational and dispassionate decision regarding individual acts of gallantry when we are so far removed from the events of the day.

The tribunal is the independent umpire and the whistle has blown; we should respect the umpire’s decision.

Finally, the fact that no member of the RAN has received a Victoria Cross does not mean there has not been extraordinary gallantry in the past – there has – we all know that.

The officers and sailors consid-ered in this inquiry are all heroes to us and they always will be.

We already honour many of them in various ways such as through ship names, names of Divisions at Recruit School or HMAS Creswell and building names – we will con-tinue to honour them. We are a bigger organisation than worrying about how many VCs we have com-pared to another service.

THE Australian-led Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150) seized a record heroin haul during a boarding on March 29.

Law enforcement agencies con-firmed that the 500kg of heroin had an estimated street value of $100m and was one of the largest heroin sei-zures in maritime history.

Commander CTF 150 CDRE Charles McHardie said the seizure represented another step towards ensuring a secure maritime environ-ment, while further depleting terror-ism’s finances.

“The destruction of this cargo strikes at the financial heart of global terrorist organisations,” CDRE McHardie said.

CTF 150’s intelligence gathering, planning, coordination and direction was central to the mission’s success.

HMAS Toowoomba worked with Canadian warship HMCS Toronto, to track and intercept the drug smug-glers.

CDRE McHardie said the seizure was proof coordinated coalition efforts denied funding to terrorist organisations.

Members from Toronto boarded and searched the vessel in the Indian Ocean adjacent to Zanzibar Island, Tanzania, in accordance with inter-national law.

The boarding occurred as part of Focused Operation Southern Sweep, which is designed to assist counter-terrorism efforts.

Focused Operation Southern Sweep is disrupting the movement of heroin from Afghanistan into East Africa by sea.

Operation sweeps in half-tonne haul

RECORD FIND: The 500kg of heroin (above) was seized after members of Canadian warship HMCS Toronto (inset left) boarded and searched the suspect vessel off the Tanzania.

Tarin Kot to close this year

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04 NEWSApril 11, 2013

Michael Brooke

FIVE surviving members of HMAS Perth I will march on Anzac Day with the banner of the USS Houston to mark the 71st anniversary of the battle of the Sunda Strait in WWII in which both war-ships were lost.

For the first time in the history of these two warships, the Houston ban-ner will parade together with the Perth banner at the Anzac Day march in Melbourne.

The banners will make Anzac Day 2013 an even more memorable occasion for the five remaining Perth I survivors – David Manning, Fred Lasslett, Basil Hayler, Allen Guthrie and Lindsay Cox.

Perth I Association secretary Peter Johnson said a RAN honour guard would lead the two banners.

“As the remaining five Perth sailors are now rather elderly, they will join the march at the lower forecourt of the Shrine of Remembrance and will be escorted the last 200m of the march,” he said.

Mr Johnson said the history that sur-rounded these men and the two warships was naval legend.

The heavy cruiser Houston and the light cruiser Perth were sunk in the Battle of Sunda Strait on March 1, 1942.

Houston carried 1015 officers and men and Perth held 683 – two thirds of each ship’s company was lost that night in a battle fought against a Japanese armada approaching Java.

All of the Perth and Houston survi-vors were captured and became POWs on the infamous Thai-Burma Railway.

Mr Guthrie, 92, said Anzac Day would be a special one because of the presence of the Houston banner.

The war veteran, who served in HMAS Sydney before it was sunk, said the Anzac Day march would be a hum-bling and emotional experience.

“To me it won’t be a frivolous occa-

Houston banner to join in Anzac march

sion, it will be a rite of observance,” he said

Mr Guthrie was transferred off Sydney to join Perth. Fate smiled on him again when he volunteered to transfer to another warship so that another sailor could return home in Perth to marry.

“Months later, the Perth was torpe-doed and sunk by the Japanese,” he said.

Even after the war, disaster was never far away. Mr Guthrie was in HMAS Melbourne when she collided with the Voyager and escaped injury yet again.

But his focus on April 25 will be on his less fortunate crew mates and hon-ouring their memory.

READY FOR MARCH: Former Perth sailor Allen Guthrie meets CN VADM Ray Griggs. Mr Guthrie will march under both Houston and Perth banners on Anzac Day. Photo: LSIS Paul McCallum

CPL Nick Wiseman

ADF representat ion at the Australian War Memorial has been boosted with the daily read-ing of a personal story of a sol-dier, sailor or airmen as repre-sented on bronze panels of the Roll of Honour.

The three most senior warrant officers of the ADF led the first ceremony on April 3, ahead of the official launch on April 17.

Director of the Australian War Memorial Brendan Nelson said the idea came from his vis-its to Menin Gate Memorial in Belgium where they did some-thing similar.

“Shortly after I started as Director I started attending the existing closing ceremonies here at the Memorial,” Dr Nelson said.

“Although they were great and very touching I thought we could do more.”

Dr Nelson approached the CDF and three Service Chiefs and told them his idea to expand the closing ceremony each night.

After requesting for ADF sup-port to read a personal story and recite the Ode he received full support with RSM-A WO David Ashley keen to take on the first ceremony.

RSM-A WO Ashley was joined by WO-N WO Martin

Holzberger and WOFF-AF WOFF Mark Pentreath and read the personal story of TPR John Waddell, who was killed in action at the defence at Elands River on August 4, 1900, and was Mentioned in Dispatches.

WO Holzberger said the cer-emony maintained a strong and visible link between those cur-rently serving and all those who have served our country.

“A show from us as the three service warrant officers is a dem-onstration of all three services as one ADF,” he said.

“As a Navy representative I am proud of our history and grateful of the service of those who are remembered at the Australian War Memorial.”

The Memorial has tradition-ally provided a daily closing cer-emony originally comprising a pre-recorded playing of the Last Post.

In 2004, a live musician was brought in for every ceremony alternating between a piper and bugler and Australia’s Federation Guard agreed to provide a cata-falque party once a month.

The catafalque party was expanded last year to twice a month where it remains in addi-tion to the new ceremony.

Each night a uniformed ser-vice member will tell the personal

story of a service member who lost their life in service of their country.

Dr Nelson said he had direct-ed his staff to ensure an even mix of personnel was represented.

“Every day stories of person-nel will be told irrespective of awards or ranks. Apart from spe-cial occasions, where we have the opportunity to focus on a particu-lar event,” he said.

The new ceremony wil l be broadcast live each day at 4.50pm on the Memorial’s web-site so those who cannot visit the Memorial can still experience the ceremony.

This broadcast is to be expanded in the future with additional viewpoints for peo-ple around the world including deployed servicemen and women.

Dr Nelson said he was over-whelmed by the support of the ADF.

“The Last Post ceremony means a lot to me but I also know how much it means to ADF mem-bers,” he said.

“We must keep evolving and if any serviceman or woman has any suggestions, please don’t hes-itate to tell me.”

Navy personnel who wish to take part should contact PO Stuart Tinker at stuart.tinker@defence.gov.au

WOs kickstart new postPROUD DAY: WO-N WO Martin Holzberger stands in front of a wall of poppies at the Roll of Honour after the first commemorative reading at the Australian War Memorial. Photo: ABIS Kathy Tuddenham

05NEWS April 11, 2013

A DIVERSE group of six Navy per-sonnel has been selected as Navy’s CIS contribution to Operation Slipper in a unique land operational deployment.

LEUT Peter Gowling, CPOCIS Leo Vredenbregt, CPOCIS Rick Maude, LSCIS Sam Bevan, ABCIS Kane Ryan and ABCIS Luke Zantvoort come from a variety of backgrounds including patrol boats, AUSCDT-1, School of Signals, Headquarters Joint Operations and the Defence Strategic Communications Branch.

The sailors are among a 140-strong triservice specialist communications team, Force Communications Unit 9

(FCU 9), commanded by WGCDR Gordon Pert undertaking force con-centration training and preparation at Robertson Barracks in Darwin.

FCU 9 will be responsible for pro-viding and maintaining communica-tions support to all Australian forc-es deployed in the MEAO and will deploy to various parts of the MEAO including the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Qatar and Bahrain.

The sailors are looking forward to passing on their skills to other unit members from Air Force and Army and benefiting from a unique land deployment.

In the next few weeks they will participate in the certification exercise phase and be put through their paces by observer trainers from Army’s 1 Division.

This phase, similar to Navy’s work-up and evaluation process, will require them to perform various tasks includ-ing providing connectivity to com-munications and information systems through strategic and tactical bearers to support command and control in the battlespace.

CPO Vredenbregt, previously at Defence Communications Station Canberra, said it was a privilege to

work with his Air Force and Army counterparts.

“It is great to form a part of the team to provide the connectivity to the war-fighter in the operational environ-ment,” he said.

CPO Vredenbregt will be one of three communications watchkeepers.

“My two counterparts were keen to understand how Navy performed C4 roles at sea, particularly as part of Operation Slipper, and its contribution to international counter-piracy opera-tions,” he said.

Apart from communications and information training, the sailors have

been challenged by participating in Army PT, combat casualty first aid, IED awareness and weapons training.

This was a new experience for most of them, particularly training in the humidity of Darwin’s wet season.

LEUT Gowling, who will be deploying as OC Gulf States Signal Squadron, said he was looking forward to the deployment. “The exposure we will gain in operating in a triservice environment will prove to be a valu-able learning experience both person-ally and professionally,” he said.

FCU 9 will be farewelled at Robertson Barracks this month.

Specialists’ unique jobTOP TEAM: (L-R) LEUT Peter Gowling, LSCIS Sam Bevan, CPOCIS Rick Maude, ABCIS Kane Ryan, CPOCIS Leo Vredenbregt and ABCIS Luke Zantvoort are Navy’s CIS contribution to Force Communication Unit 9 on Operation Slipper. Photo: LSIS Jo Dilorenzo

06 NEWSApril 11, 2013

Michael Brooke

After successfully completing exten-sive training and getting the thumbs up from Sea training Group in her mission-readiness evaluation, HMAS Newcastle is prepared for her third trip to the MeAO.

the intense 52-hour evaluation featured a diverse range of challeng-ing activities in company with eSPS Cantabria and HMNZS Te Mana.

these included boarding activities, a combat phase involving attacks by f/A-18 Hornets that exercised air warfare and damage control drills, and a number of force protection scenarios both underway and alongside leading up to sailing from fBe under simulated small-arms fire.

CO Newcastle CMDr Paul O’Grady said Newcastle’s success during her work-up was a reflection of the commit-ment, focus and training of the crew who have gelled into a highly professional and cohesive team

“Newcastle’s compressed program leading out a shortened Christmas leave period through to achieving mission readiness has been challenging for every-one on board,” he said.

“As the crew have come together as a team they have demonstrated both enthu-siasm for the mission and a real hunger to learn.”

A visit from Chief of Joint Operations

LtGeN Ash Power allowed the crew to demonstrate their abilities as a cohesive and flexible team.

“LtGeN Power was impressed with the multi-skilling and teamwork dem-onstrated throughout the ship,” CMDr O’Grady said.

“He saw the same personnel in one situation fighting fires, later conducting first aid for a simulated electric shock, and then participating in a replenishment evolutions party, aside from their more routine duties.

“He was also able to observe activ-ities such as the coincident underway replenishment by Newcastle and Te Mana with Cantabria, while Newcastle’s S70B helicopter ‘Gremlin’ conducted a vertical replenishment aft and subse-quently recovered a simulated man over-board by wet winching.”

the ship received excellent feed-back from Sea training Group about Newcastle’s learning culture, which ena-bled the crew to demonstrate all required competencies of both unit and mission readiness in a compressed timeframe.

Newcastle’s ship’s company is now looking forward to the deployment, the 55th for a Navy warship to the MeAO since 1990, and completing the mission before returning home to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the ship’s commis-sioning in December.

Evaluated and ready to deploy

Sailors feel right at home on board HMAS NewcastleMichael Brooke

fOUr proud Novocastrians will sail in HMAS Newcastle when she deploys to the MeAO later this month.

POMt Brett ross, LSMt David Haynes, ABMt Daniel tullberg and ABMt timothy Graham will play important roles as marine and electrical engineers when the frigate returns to the MeAO for the first time since 2005.

they have helped Newcastle get ship-shape for her latest deployment in a year that marks the 20th anni-versary of her commissioning.

PO ross and LS Haynes each have more than 10 years’ service in the Navy and both deployed in Newcastle to the MeAO in 2005.

this will be PO ross’ third deployment in Newcastle since 2003.

“Next year marks 15 years in the Navy for me. It’s a fantastic thing to have served most of my time in Newcastle because I’m serving my local community and country at the same time,” he said.

As the high-power generation supervisor, PO ross and his team will have the important role of keep-ing Newcastle operational in very hot and challenging weather condi-tions in the Persian Gulf and off the Horn of Africa.

“I’m basically the power station manager, so I look after high-pow-ered generation and distribution, which is vital for the warship,” he said.

LS David Haynes serves in Newcastle’s propulsion unit.

“I’m really looking forward to the deployment to the MeAO where we will conduct anti-piracy patrols with other coalition warships,” he said.

LS Haynes said the deployment would be long but he planed to use his time effectively by studying for his MSe ticket to advance his trade qualifications.

they will help AB Graham and AB tullberg cope with the challeng-es of their first operational deploy-ment while maintaining Newcastle’s power generators and propulsion system.

AB tullberg said he wasn’t

quite sure what to expect but felt ready for anything after the mission rehearsal exercise last month.

“I’m very excited about my first deployment but I’m also a little nervous as well,” AB tullberg said.

“It is going to be a long trip and I think my biggest challenge will be being away from my family and friends for so long.”

While AB tullberg and AB Graham will have the support of shipmates to help them through the difficult moments, thoughts will sometimes turn to home.

“I’m extremely proud of where I come from so it will hard not to be a little home-sick sometimes,” AB tullberg said.

AB Graham will also rely on brotherly advice.

“the deployment should be an exciting opportunity for a young bloke like me, and fortunately my brother is in the Navy and he has told me what to expect,” he said.

“I’m lucky to be deploying on my first overseas mission with my home ship, which is something to be very proud of.”

WORKING TOGETHER: ABMT Daniel Tullberg and ABMT Timothy Graham work on the electrical switchboards in the auxiliary machinery room 2 on board HMAS Newcastle. Photos: ABIS Sarah Ebsworth

LOCAL LADS: (L-R) LSMT David Haynes, ABMT Timothy Graham and ABMT Daniel Tullberg look on as POMT Brett Ross discusses the equipment in the central control system.

07NEWS April 11, 2013

Natalie Staples

POMED Maryanne Mills wasn’t expecting to save a life when she went for a run at Balmoral Beach on March 26, but her naval medical train-ing kicked in when a member of the public keeled over near her.

“I was jogging along the esplanade when a member of the public called out for help. I saw a man slumped over and I knew he was in trouble and immediately ran to assist him,” PO Mills said.

“After assessing him, it was clear he was suf-fering a cardiac arrest, so I asked passers-by to call for an ambulance and started CPR.

“Luckily the amenities block just metres away had a defibrillator so I was able to restart the man’s heart and look after him until the ambu-lance arrived.”

PO Mills, who works at HMAS Penguin’s medical training school, said she didn’t feel like a hero.

“It was just good luck that someone trained to deal with a cardiac situation was nearby. My training kicked in and I was really pleased to have helped the man,” she said.

While PO Mills may play down saving a man’s life, bystander Bill Henderson thought otherwise.

“I was really impressed by Maryanne’s calm, confident and reassuring professionalism,” Mr Henderson said.

“I have no doubt if it were not for this young woman being on the scene, there would have been a fatality at Balmoral.”

Right place and time for medic THE 10th anniversary of the sign-ing of the memorandum of under-standing for the Mk48 Mod 7 heavyweight torpedo was marked

with a cake-cutting ceremony on March 18.

Representatives from Navy, DMO and the US Navy met at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington DC to celebrate the MOU and partnership aimed at cooperatively developing and pro-ducing a weapon that satisfied the requirements of both navies.

The Mk48 torpedo for the Collins-class submarine is an anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare weapon that includes hardware and software enhancements to provide superior target acquisition and com-plex countermeasure capability.

A t t h e c e r e m o n y, t h e Deputy Project Manager for the Heavyweight Torpedo Joint Project Office, CMDR Rodney Horsburgh, said the signing of the MOU started a unique relationship that had ena-bled the RAN and USN to mutually leverage the capabilities, experienc-es and environments of both navies’ submarine communities.

“Unique is a term that is often used inappropriately,” CMDR Horsburgh said.

“However, in this instance, I don’t believe it is. Because, with the exception of our combat system colleagues, I know of no other simi-lar relationship, nor one as success-

ful, productive or rewarding – as a relationship between two countries on opposite sides of the world, yet with the same familiarity as next-door neighbours.

“We were then – and still are – driven by our mission, to produce the best submarine-launched tor-pedo in the world.”

Project representatives also direct and manage an Armaments Cooperative Project between the US and Australia, which operates under the legal authority of the MOU and has been instrumental in enabling the RAN to operate and maintain the same Mk48 torpedoes as the USN.

CMDR Horsburgh said the pro-ject’s name, Pammandi, was fitting.

“Pammandi is an indigenous Australian word, which, loosely translated, means ‘bringing togeth-er’, as in the two countries,” he said.

“This term reflects the joint nature of the project and its objec-tives.”

Opera t ing as par t o f the Heavyweight Torpedo Joint Project Office, members of RAN, DMO and DSTO are embedded with the Undersea Weapons Program Office in Washington DC and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport in Rhode Island.

This allows members to direct-ly influence and contribute to the future direction of the weapon’s development and capability.

10 years on MOU still holds strong

LIFESAVER: POMED Maryanne Mills revisits Balmoral Beach where she saved a man’s life. Photo: ABIS Jesse Rhynard

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09NEWS April 11, 2013

Andrew Bujdegan

AT A quiet gathering held at Fleet Base West on March 5, United States Navy (USN) exchange officer CMDR Travis Petzoldt was farewelled by his col-leagues at Australia’s Submarine Headquarters.

During his two-year tenure with the RAN, CMDR Petzoldt performed the role of Principle Staff Officer – Operations for the Submarine Force.

During his farewell, Commander Submarines CAPT Mark Potter commended CMDR Petzoldt for his knowledge, dedica-tion and unwavering commitment.

“CMDR Petzoldt has served with distinction. He has been instrumental in addressing long-standing deficiencies, and has systematically improved the operational planning and audit processes on board the subma-rines,” CAPT Potter said.

“He has also used his Mk48 ADCAP torpedo knowledge to not only ensure the most optimal use of each weapon, but to also broaden the knowledge of each and every submariner associated with its employment.

“His operational planning and forethought has served the Australian submarine community well during this tenure.”

CMDR Petzoldt’s performance dur-ing his exchange has also been recog-nised by the USN, highlighted by his selection to be the CO of the fast attack submarine USS City of Corpus Christie, based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

He’ll reluctantly hand over his Australian position to USN LCDR Travis Zettel, who has just completed his studies at the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

CMDR Petzoldt said he would leave with fond memories of Australia.

“My wife Kulia, daughter Maya and

Force says farewell to US commander

LEUT Sarah West

THE Navy, supported by the RAAF, has conducted a successful mari-time exercise with the Royal Thai Navy, demonstrating how well the two nations can operate effectively together.

HMAS Parramatta travelled to Thailand to conduct Exercise AUSTHAI 2013, held from March 19-22, with the Royal Thai Navy’s HTM Ships Rattanakosin and Phutthayotfa Chulalok.

The three ships were joined by two maritime patrol aircraft – an AP-3C Orion from the RAAF and a Royal Thai Navy Dornier 228.

The primary aim of the exercise, held in the Gulf of Thailand, was to practise maritime warfare skills and to strengthen naval interoperability, including through the application of maritime patrol aircraft.

During the exercise, Parramatta and her Thai counterparts practised gunnery exercises, collectively known as ‘maritime interdiction’, and the Australian crew also dem-onstrated Navy’s firefighting and damage control techniques.

The exercise had a heavy focus on the conduct of maritime board-ing operations, allowing participants to hone boarding skills and discuss mutual lessons learned from deploy-ments to the Middle East.

CO Parramatta CMDR Simon Cannell said the success of the exer-cise should give both nations great confidence in their maritime secu-rity capabilities.

“Exercises like this are extreme-ly important because it’s essential to our mission of maintaining mari-time security in this region that we have the ability to work together with all of our South-East Asian neighbours,” he said.

“Considering the ever-present threat of piracy, boarding skills are particularly important, and I was impressed by how effectively our two nations worked together when we practiced these all-important skills.”

Joint exercise increases skills

I absolutely loved our time in Australia,” CMDR Petzoldt said.

“It has an amazing amount to offer in natural splendour, culture, lifestyle and sport, and we know we didn’t cover it all.

“We are definitely leaving with a bit of sadness, but so overjoyed that we had the opportunities we did. We met many great people and made some very good friends.”

The experienced submariner said he had a high opinion of Australia’s Submarine Force.

“The crews are great – very good at what they do and dedicated to the trade. Submarines are complex machines; they require a lot of effort and technical expertise, no matter what Navy you are in,” he said.

“It was great to be working alongside the superb submariners and the rest of the RAN, to achieve so much success over the time I have been here.

“Everyone made me feel right at home, and I felt like I belonged pretty quickly, which was fantastic.

“I’m excited about the future of Australia’s Submarine Force, and I look forward to working with them again.”

TOP JOB: CAPT Mark Potter presents CMDR Travis Petzoldt with a commendation for dedication and exemplary performance. Photo: LSIS James Whittle

WORKING TOGETHER: HMAS Parramatta recovers a Royal Thai Navy Seahawk for hot refuel and relaunch a submarine warfare serial during Exercise AUSTHAI. Photo: POEW Martin Anderson

ALL three Services once again provided a strong military pres-ence at the annual Relay for Life in Canberra to raise awareness and funds for cancer research.

The Canberra event ran from March 16-17 and raised almost $400,000 for the Cancer Council, of which Defence personnel raised more than $10,000.

The event was one of many held around Australia, where teams of 10 or more challenged themselves to keep their baton moving in a relay-style walk or run around a track.

Some members participating had recently lost relatives to cancer.

OCDT Ian Brooks took home an award for walking 52km with full pack and webbing during the 24-hour event.

Helping relay an important message

A number of ADFA cadets took part and they look set to make this their major fundraising event of the year in preparation for next year’s relay.

The traditional candle-lighting ceremony at dusk provided a mov-ing time of reflection and remem-brance as people lit candles to sup-

port those living with cancer and honour those lost to the disease. The Canberra Relay for Life has grown enormously, from raising $39,000 in 2000 to almost $400,000 in 2011.

Donations can still be made online until the end of April at: www.relayforlife.org.au

GOOD CAUSE: Defence members raised more than $10,000 for the Cancer Council.

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10 NEWSApril 11, 2013

CommendationFRANK and Carol Pradera, now retired managers of Navy Canteen’s premier holiday facility, Amblin Holiday Park in Bus-selton, Western Australia were recently awarded a DCN Com-mendation. CO HMAS Stirling CAPT Angela Bond presented the commendation, which recog-nised more than 20 years service and exemplary performance in managing and developing Amblin Holiday Park.

Raffle for PozièresTHE Pozières Remembrance Association is running a raffle to raise money for a memorial park at Pozières. Details of the Raffle are at www.pozieresremem-bered.com.au and all monies raised will go to the building of the Memorial Park. The Raffle will be drawn on Anzac Day at the Melbourne Storm/Warriors

Match in Melbourne by Molly Meldrum.

Somali reunionA REUNION of Somali veterans will be held in Adelaide from April 24-25. This year is the 20th anniversary of the first ADF deployment to Somalia. Reunion activities will include a barbecue at Keswick Barracks on April 24 and participation in the City of Adelaide Dawn Service and Anzac Day March. Go to www.conquestadvisoryservices.com.au for more details.

Message to troopsTHE ADF and Telstra have joined forces to promote this year’s Message to the Troops for Anzac Day, with the hope of receiving more than 10,000 messages. As an incentive, for every mes-sage sent to the troops, Telstra will donate $1 to Legacy. CDF

GEN David Hurley encouraged ADF members to support the worthwhile project. Anyone wish-ing to send a message can send it via mobile on 044-SUPPORT (7877678) or online at Telstra.com/anzacday

Help your matesTHE first off-base Family Re-covery Centre for wounded ADF personnel operated by Mates-4Mates, a non-profit initiative of RSL Queensland, has opened in Brisbane. VC recipient CPL Ben Roberts-Smith and former-CDF GEN Peter Cosgrove opened the centre on March 15, which caters to those who have been wound-ed in service post-1990. “This centre will play a vital role in helping wounded soldiers make a productive and fulfilling transition out of Defence service back into the general community,” CPL Roberts-Smith said.

IN BRIEF

Natalie Staples

HMAS Penguin joined the Mosman community on March 17 to support the Balmoral Ocean Swim, a charity fundraiser event raising money for the Children’s Cancer Institute.

CO Penguin CMDR Paul Doble led the support, donning his swimsuit and taking part in the 1km harbour swim.

“It was a terrific day and all the Penguin members were very pleased to give up their Sunday in support of such a worthwhile cause,” CMDR Doble said.

“This year our Naval hydrographers

set the course, dropping and collect-ing the marker buoys, the Navy Diving School manned a safety boat and a Navy band contingent provided entertainment while a few of us braved the swell to complete the swim.”

Penguin has supported the Balmoral Ocean Swim since 2011 and instituted the Penguin Shield, a relay event for under 25s.

“I was pleased to award the Penguin Shield to four members of the Normanhurst Aquaburn Swim Club. They put in a terrific effort,” CMDR Doble said.

LEUT Samantha Dudley

FAMIlIeS from Make-A-Wish Foundation had a fun time visiting Fleet Base West during ‘Wish Day’ on March 22.

The children and their families were able to experience and gain an insight into Navy life by visiting a number of units, watching demonstra-tions and talking to personnel.

Make-A-Wish Foundation ambas-sador Karleigh Barbour said seeing a variety of Navy units and spending time on board HMAS Sirius were the highlights of the day.

“Visiting the Navy base and a ship were tremendous activities to do on Wish Day,” Ms Barbour said.

“It helped to take the children’s minds off doctors and specialist appointments as well as their normal everyday life.”

While on board Sirius, the children were guided through the bridge, the galley, damage control repair bases, the gym and onto the flight deck.

leUT Chris Harvey acted as a tour guide and found the visit inspirational.

“I really enjoyed showing the chil-dren and their families around,” he said.

“It was a very humbling experience and certainly one that I would volun-teer to do again.”

Helping wishes come true

HMAS Penguin takes to the water for charity

TEAM EFFORT: LSHSO Hannah Lee, ABHSO Mardi Pritchard and ABHSO Leigha Golding relax after completing the 1km swim. Photo: ABIS Chantell Bianchi

FRIENDS: SBLT Bianca Wise lends Fae her Navy jacket while sitting in the Helmsman’s chair on the bridge of HMAS Sirius. Photo: LSIS James Whittle

Dallas McMaugh

“BeING in the right place at the right time helps get that once in a lifetime image” is how ABIS Alan lancaster describes the role and advantage of an imagery specialist in Navy.

AB lancaster has been awarded the 2012 Rosemary Rodwell Memorial Prize, an annual competition open to all ADF photographers.

His winning image was taken off the coast of Western Australia during exercise Triton Storm and shows HMA Ships Newcastle and Warramunga pulling up to stations one and two for a replenishment at sea from HMAS Sirius, as HMNZS Te Kaha takes up lifeguard station to the rear of the evolution.

AB lancaster said it was “a little damp on the forecastle from the spray”, which pre-sented the main challenge in getting the shot.

He also said he was humbled by the win given ADF imagery specialists had access to a diverse and exciting range of opportunities and the works submitted every year are of a high standard.

“I was going up against some fantastic images from some of the ADF’s best photog-raphers, so it really is a great honour to have one of my photographs win this prize,” he said.

The award is named after POWTR Rosemary Rodwell who joined WRAN ser-vice in 1963.

Her distinguished career spanned more than 20 years during which she was awarded the British empire medal.

She died in a car accident in 1987 and her family established the prize, which is awarded annually to an imagery specialist who best demonstrates the pursuit of excellence. TOP SHOT: ABIS Alan Lancaster with his award-winning photograph. Photo: LSIS Yuri Ramsey

Shooting for excellence

11NEWS April 11, 2013

Dallas McMaugh

816SQN rece ived two h igh ly sought-after awards at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon.

The squadron was awarded the Military Concours d’Elegance and POATV Amy Williams received the Best Military Representative award after a competitive round of judging by a panel of representatives of the event organisers – Airshows Downunder, the RAAF Association and the Royal Aeronautical Society.

All military static aircraft dis-plays were assessed during the air-show, which ran from March 1-3, and awarded points for general presenta-tion, role-particular appearance, main-tenance condition, the display material exhibited to inform the public about the aircraft and the presentation of the air and ground crews.

The 816SQN Seahawk was up against two other aircraft in this cat-egory – Royal Singapore Air Force’s AS-53 Super Puma and Navy’s MRH-90.

CO 816SQN CMDR Gran t O’Loughlan said while there was no doubt the Seahawk was an impressive aircraft, it was the team that guaran-teed the win.

“One of the major attractions of the Avalon airshow, in fact any air-show, was the opportunity to meet the pilots and crew and get up close to the amazing aircraft on display,” CMDR O’Loughlan said.

Dallas McMaugh

Personnel from HMAs Albatross have cleared out their bookshelves to help raise funds for charity.

Co Albatross CAPT Gordon Andrew handed over more than 5000 books to representa-tives from the smith Family learning for life Program and the Aboriginal Child and Family Centre, who visited the base on March 13.

Personnel were encouraged to sort through their bookshelves and bring in any unwanted books for the two charities to sell.

CAPT Andrew said it was a terrific initiative.

“It allowed people to de-clutter their lives while also supporting two excellent causes,” he said.

“Books are made to be read, not stored, so hopefully all the books donated go on to raise some much-needed funds and also find a good home and continue to be read and enjoyed.”

Albatross national Domestic engagement Program coordina-tor CPo Annie schofield said the response was overwhelming.

“over 5000 books were col-lected, representing a huge com-mitment from Albatross personnel and, hopefully, a tidy profit for the two charities,” she said.

Personnel turn a new page

Squadron in top spot

“The 816 crew are always very pro-fessional and engaging and they really enjoyed the opportunity to talk to eve-ryone who stopped by to admire the Seahawk.

“They love what they do and love talking about it, so this mix of enthu-siasm and pride in the Seahawk and their work made for a winning com-bination.”

PO Williams was “surprised but

proud” at receiving her award and par-ticularly enjoyed the interaction with the public.

“It was great watching our team engage all members of the local and wider Defence community and, as a mum, I really appreciated the look of awe and excitement on the children’s faces as they sat in the aircraft and talked with our team,” she said.

“Being able to impart our knowl-

edge and experiences to interested people, gave us all an enormous sense of pride in our roles, the aircraft, 816SQN and Navy.”

LCDR Paul Morrison, who headed up the 816SQN Avalon team, agreed.

“Ultimately it was the interaction of the crew with the public – they even came in to help man the display during their time off – that gave us the edge,” he said.

FLYING HIGH: POATV Amy Williams stands in front of 816SQN Seahawk “Tiger 79” during the airshow. Inset, DCAF AVM Leo Davies presents LCDR Paul Morrison with the squadron’s award. Main photo: CPL Guy Young

CENTRESPREAD12 13April 11, 2013

NEW ROLE, NEW TEAMTHE new General Manager of Fleet Support Unit (FSU) Australia, Jason Aquilina, has a clear message to deliver to sail-ors – FSU Australia is different to what it was eight months ago and it will con-tinue to transform.

“We are now a national organisation focussed on applying our trade skills to become a maintenance and repair ser-vice provider-of-choice,” Mr Aquilina said.

He was appoin ted GM FSU Australia in March after an extensive recruiting campaign and brings experi-ence in the operation of a civilian engi-neering services business.

In his 23-year career with Qantas Airways, he rose from aircraft mechan-ical engineer to be appointed one of Qantas’ youngest executives in 2000.

Mr Aquilina said he was keen to apply the ‘Lean Six Sigma’ business improvement methodology to transform and sustain high levels of service perfor-mance at FSU Australia (see breakout at left).

“I’m looking forward to taking this business to a place it hasn’t been before,” he said.

“What I want to do with the FSU team is focus on understanding our customers’ needs, applying techniques

and learning from our suppliers to help identify what our inputs, processes and outputs need to be to become more effi-cient in maintaining, overhauling and repairing our ships,” he said.

“If we can identify and eliminate the processes that don’t add value, we can demonstrate that FSU should be the preferred supplier of services, not just an option.”

He said one of the keys to FSU delivering high quality services was to directly apply sailors’ trades and train-ing to outcomes.

“That will provide sailors with enhanced competency so that when they’re out at sea, they can better under-stand the issues and have the capability and experience to undertake the task at hand,” Mr Aquilina said.

“It’s about creating an organisation that provides end-to-end maintenance capabilities in order to deliver seawor-thy materiel to ships and submarines throughout their whole life.”

About nine months ago, FSU had more than 1200 sailors in about 550 defined positions.

The FSU Continuous Improvement Project, which resulted in the raising of the Personnel Support Unit (PSU) and the reinvigoration of the Skills Development Centre (SDC) at HMAS Cerberus as well as the establishment of

the Competency Management Agency, has significantly eased this overbearing.

FSU Australia Assistant General Manager CAPT Gavin Irwin said the raising of those agencies and the Navy Reform Board’s vision for the FSU pro-vided solutions to many of the issues the organisation was attempting to manage.

“FSU was the first posting for a large proportion of sailors emerging from Category training at Cerberus as training bunks at sea were limited,” CAPT Irwin said.

“Because there was a limited scope of work in which these sailors could be employed, based on their level of com-petence, the focus of the FSU shifted to competency training rather than pro-viding maintenance, overhaul and repair services.”

He said there was confusion as to whether FSU was “a training agen-cy, a maintenance service provider, or something in between but CN has made it quite clear that we are to become a high-performing maintenance and over-haul service provider”.

“The relaunch of NGN provides a driver for us to significantly alter our culture to continue the improvements we have seen so far,” CAPT Irwin said.

He said drawing experience from the commercial sector through the engage-ment of the GM and further involve-

ment with industry partners would ben-efit FSU.

“We can now add the business intel-ligence and the hard lessons the com-mercial world has learned over the years and apply that to what we do in the FSU,” he said.

Mr Aquilina said that, while there would inevitably be contractors provid-ing maintenance and overhaul services, the imminent delivery of the LHD and AWD offered a once-in-a- generation opportunity to transition some of the traditional areas of contracted support to FSU.

“Our challenge is to improve our performance and prove to our custom-ers, our Systems Program Offices, that such a transition is not only feasible, but desirable,” Mr Aquilina said.

“Most importantly we have to gener-ate outputs through our actions and not just words. We need to put big runs on the board.

“We have sailors who are keen to do the work, so investment in these people with the right skills and training to pro-duce a willing and able workforce will result in Navy being able to reduce its maintenance costs at the same time as proceeding to sea with seaworthy ships and submarines.”

Fleet Support Unit Australia is about to get an end-to-end overhaul. LSIS Paul Berry catches up with the new general manager to find out what’s in store.

Training tool for Timor

Personnel transfers made safer and less expensive

TOP TEAM: General Manager FSU Australia Jason Aquilina and Assistant General Manager/Chief of Staff FSU Australia CAPT Gavin Irwin at Russell Offices in Canberra. Photo: LSIS Paul Berry

ON DISPLAY: Right, FSU-N personnel operate the container’s emergency drain.

ON THE JOB: LSMT Chris Bailey works to stop a leak in the container he engineered. Photo: ABMT Dean Bailey

TRAINING TOOL: Left, the leak-stop and repair container can simulate a range of different types of floods that can occur on a ship.

TEAM WORK: LSMT Chris Bailey and ABMT Gary Fish stand in front of the leak-stop and repair container. Photo: LSIS Helen Frank

BEFORE AND AFTER: Above, the old platforms were prone to damage. Left, the new platforms have a buffer to stop sea boats hitting the aluminium.

Sharon Palmer

TECHNICAL sailors are used to working in trying conditions and confined areas, working in a 6m long container in humid and hot conditions for eight months is a big ask.

Set the task of creating a leak-stop and repair container with access points to compartments that simulated flooding in a ship, sailors from Fleet Support Unit-North, led by LSMT Chris Bailey and including ABMT Gary Fish and ABMT Hugh Thorpe, put their heads and tools together to create a training aide to be given to Timor-Leste as part of Australia’s Defence Cooperation Program.

“The container is set up to simulate different types of floods caused by battle damage, ranging from split pipes to holes in the side of a ship, each offering different ways of being repaired,” LS Bailey said.

One of the biggest challenges was accommodating for the lack of access to water in Timor-Leste.

“The water has to be trucked in, so I had to design a system that is 100 per cent recyclable,” LS Bailey said.

“This involved designing a

large water tank big enough to supply water to the container and inserting a chlorine dosing system to keep the water at the correct PH level while the system was not in use to ensure personnel using the container would not get sick.

“Because we had to reuse the water, we also had to make the container fully leak proof, which was quite a challenge in itself.”

Other specifications for the job included ensuring a maximum flood height of 1.4m, ensuring the container had emergency dump valves to dump 14,000 litres in less than 40 seconds, using diesel pumps that required surge tanks, and overflow valves to ensure the pump would not hydraulically lock and no water was wasted.

“To design, engineer, source materials and products and fabri-cate a container from the ground up gave us all a chance to enhance our fabrication skills and think out-side the square,” LS Bailey said.

“While Navy has a number of LS&R containers around Australia, none have had to have a fully auto-matic chlorine dosing system and be completely leak free as we have access to clean water in Australia.”

He said the project also gave the sailors working on it a great

opportunity to use their welding, fabrication and fitting skills.

“AB Fish had just returned from his welding course and was able to utilise his knowledge to assist in building the container and AB Thorpe was able to complete his competency logs and further increase his skills while working on a unique project,” LS Bailey said.

“Welding during the build-up to the wet season in 95 per cent humidity is difficult at the best of times, but working in such a con-fined space made for long, hard days.”

From the planning stages to the final coat of paint, the container took about eight months to com-plete.

It will be given to the Timor-Leste Defence Force Naval Component to be used as a train-ing tool to help sailors learn and maintain the skills required to fight floods on board a ship.

“All the work is finished and a full test of the systems has been successful, so all that needs to be completed is to write a set of SOPs and planned maintenance sched-ules,” LS Bailey said.

Sharon Palmer

TRANSFERRING personnel from sea boat to patrol boat can be a tricky business even in good conditions, but when undertaken in rough conditions it can cause damage to both vessels.

With boat transfers a near daily occurrence for the patrol boat fleet engaged in Operation Resolute, the accumulated dam-age can add up to many thousands of dollars in repair costs.

LSMT Chris Bailey, of FSU-N, said while this had always been an issue for patrol boats, the problem was exacerbated by the fact the patrol boats were doing a lot more boat transfers from the transom.

Fortunately FSU, working with the Systems Program Office and ship builder AUSTAL, has been able to manufacture a tran-som modification that is greatly reducing wear and tear and repair

costs – and making the transfer of personnel safer.

“The sea boats smash down and hit on the aluminium platform and damage both the sea boat and the transom,” LS Bailey said.

“The original repair plan was to attach a rubber strip and weld a few support channels onto the transoms, but it became clear after completing the first one that the transom was so badly damaged, it was easier and safer to rebuild the whole thing and then weld the whole platform onto the back of the Armidale-class patrol boat.

“This has reduced the ongoing repairs associated with the old transom due to fatigue and stress of the aluminium and resulted in a stronger, better platform.

“As shown in the before and after photos, the difference is now they have a large rubber strip that wraps around the transom.

“This acts as a buffer and stops the sea boats hitting the alumini-um platform.”

This simple design has reduced damage to both boats and provided the sailors at FSU some challenging metal fabrication work to exercise their trade skills.

Twelve of the 14 Armidale-class patrol boats have now been fitted with the new platforms that have been manufactured in the FSU workshops in both Darwin and Cairns.

“They take about two weeks to build from the separate parts to the completed platform and the whole project has been going on now for about 12 months as the only time these can be modified is when they dock on the hardstand for maintenance,” LS Bailey said.

“We have had a lot of feed-back from our supervisors and from the Armidale-class patrol boats Systems Program Office to indicate we have built this cost effectively and have saved a considerable amount of money compared to having contractors complete the task.”

GM FSU Jason Aquilina explains the principle of lean six sigma:

FSU must have a common platform of understanding of what the term ‘lean six sigma’ embodies to deliver consistent business outcomes. The lean philosophy has evolved from the Toyota Production system and aca-demic research at MIT and is simply a systematic approach to removing the various forms of waste. In FSU, the standard definition which needs to been adopted is as follows: Lean production is based on the relent-less elimination of waste to reduce costs, shorten lead times and improve quality for the purpose of increasing customer satisfaction.

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ON WATCH: LEUT Peter Asimakis keeps a watchful eye out to sea during the simulated boarding on a training vessel in Darwin Harbour. Photo: LSIS Jo Dilorenzo

ON TARGET: SMN William Rees takes aim during weapon drill training on board HMAS Ballarat. Photo: ABIS Sarah Williams

HOPPING FUN: Norcom’s resident Easter bunny, PONPC Nerida Godfrey, conducts quality control on Easter egg hampers. Photo: LSIS Jo Dilorenzo

VISITING FRIENDS: Above, PO Andrea Murphy and AB Ruth Nairn, of HMAS Coonawarra, show French MIDN Laura Stefan what to do in Darwin during a port visit by FNS Vendémiaire. Photo: LSIS Jo Dilorenzo

FOOD FOR ALL: SMNCIS Brittany Young, of HMAS Success, helps prepare food at a joint SPS Cantabria/HMAS Success barbecue at the Naval Heritage Centre on Garden Island. Photo: ABIS Jesse Rhynard

LET’S CELEBRATE: Left, LSML-C Tahlia Bonham and LSML-C Adam Myers carry HMAS Coonawarra’s birthday cake as other ship’s company members celebrate Coonawarra’s 43rd birthday on March 15. Photo: LSIS Helen Frank

FOR CHARITY: SMN Adam Goodwin accepts donations for the Legacy Appeal at Allianz Stadium. Photo: ABIS Cassie McBride

15GANGWAY April 11, 2013

IN 1986, RADM Mark Purcell chose to attend the Australian Defence Force Academy to get paid through university – now he’s the Academy’s first two-star graduate and a role model for Navy’s next genera-tion of engineers.

RADM Purcell, now the Head of Maritime Systems, visited the ADFA Engineering Faculty on March 22 to encourage students with his motto – “if your goals don’t scare you, they’re not big enough”.

“My advice to ADFA’s engineer-ing students is simple – the sky is the limit,” RADM Purcell said.

“Don’t think that any concept is too silly, if you’ve got a bright idea, run with it and let your passion drive you.”

One bright idea RADM Purcell saw through to fruition was a little concept called email.

“When I started at ADFA, the internet was just a twinkle in some US researcher’s eye,” he said.

“Email was totally unheard of when I joined the Navy and I’ve seen the internet grow up during my ser-vice.”

RADM Purcell said ADFA gave him the foundation to help his fellow shipmates and improve the future of Navy.

“I was responsible in part for implementing email use for ships at

sea. I was able to take the concept out to the Fleet and drive it home,” he said.

“Now a ship almost won’t go to sea unless they’ve got their email and those quality of life services like satel-lite TV.

“Instead of getting a mail bag once every three weeks during a deploy-ment, you now get email on a continu-ous basis.”

At ADFA, RADM Purcell com-pleted a double degree in electrical engineering and computer science, graduating in 1989.

He has stayed with the Navy because of the opportunities he has been presented.

“I have stayed by having a good job here and another good job there and have continued as long as the good jobs have come along. Here I am now as one of Navy’s senior engineers,” he said.

RADM Purcell names a career highlight as having served on two main classes of ships – the guided missile destroyer HMAS Perth and guided missile frigates HMA Ships Melbourne and Sydney.

“Those postings have given me a really good perspective and it’s very exciting to see the new AWDs coming online and taking us back to having destroyers in the fleet,” RADM Purcell said.

In the past 27 years RADM Purcell

has seen a host of changes in the Navy. “Obviously being an engineer I’ve got a bit of a passion for technology, and in technology we’ve had the biggest changes,” he said.

“We had steam ships when I joined, the DDGs were a classic example of that. We’ve now gone through the gas turbines with the FFGs and we’re into electric propulsion with HMAS Choules and the LHDs.

“Similarly in the weapons, commu-nications and combat systems – I have spent a fair bit of my career working information and communications tech-nologies and have seen improvements along the way.”

RADM Purcell’s current role puts him in charge of ship repair and main-tenance of most of the fleet, including the acquisition of the new LHD capa-bilities.

“Maritime Systems Division is spread all around Australia, from the patrol boat SPO in Darwin, the Anzac SPO in WA, the hydrographic ships in Cairns and FFGs in Sydney to the LHD project in Melbourne,” he said.

“It’s a pretty broad portfolio but it’s pretty exciting with the new ships coming online and the older ships approaching planned withdrawal dates.

“The introduction of new capabili-ties into service is going to be a critical activity for Maritime Systems Division over the next five years.”

From engineering student to two-star, RADM Mark Purcell talks to LSIS Paul Berry about his career.

Star graduate of Academy

FAMILIAR GROUND: Head of Maritime Systems RADM Mark Purcell speaks with engineering students at ADFA. Photo: LSIS Paul Berry

16 FEATURESApril 11, 2013

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17TRAINING April 11, 2013

A MEMBER of t he Nava l Component of Timor-Leste’s Defence Force is training at the Australian Maritime College in preparation for service in Timorese patrol boats.

SGT Jacinto Do Nascimento is one of 10 trainees participating in the South Pacific Junior Officers Course, which runs from February 18 to May 17.

The trainees are naval personnel and maritime police officers from a number of Pacific Island nations, including the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

The course is designed to pro-vide junior officers with the skills and knowledge to take charge of a navigation watch on board a patrol boat.

The trainees come from nations that operate patrol boats for fisher-ies and border protection.

Although it is early in the 13-week course, SGT Nascimento has settled in well.

Naval adviser LCDR Mark Burton, of the Defence Cooperation Program in Timor-Leste, said so far

SGT Nascimento had learnt about navigation, survival at sea and mari-time communications.

“The course will also cover other maritime subjects such as ship handling, visual communications, radar operation and the regula-tions for avoiding collisions at sea,” LCDR Burton said.

“The training is a mixture of classroom and practical training, to ensure that the knowledge learnt is put into practice.”

The Aus t ra l i an Mar i t ime College is situated in Launceston, Tasmania, where the weather has been unseasonably warm.

LCDR Burton said this had made SGT Nascimento’s adaption to the new environment a little eas-ier.

“The temperatures are expect-ed to get colder during his time in Launceston, so it may be fortunate that he has already completed his survival-at-sea training in the col-lege’s pool,” LCDR Burton said.

The course is part of the ADF’s Defence Cooperation Program and is one of many courses conducted at the Australian Maritime College for regional nations and their maritime personnel.

Preparing to patrol

LEARNING NEW SKILLS: SGT Jacinto Do Nascimento participates in survival-at-sea lifeboat training at the Australian Maritime College.

Are you posting to a new base that is in an adjacent location to your current base and wish to remain in your current rental property or Service Residence?Your housing entitlement is based on your posting locality.

For Rent Allowance calculation posting localities have different rent ceiling rates

determined by Defence. You may also need to obtain approval to live outside your posting locality.

PACMAN 7.1.15 outlines that the rent ceiling rate applicable to your Rent Allowance calculation is the lower rate of the adjacent localities.

For Service Residences and Rent Allowance it is important to contact your regional DHA

Defence Housing AustralYour housing updat

info@dha.gov.au

139 DHA (139 342)

www.dha.gov.au

The review is a requirement of the Department of Defence, as detailed in PACMAN reference 7.6.35. If you don’t respond by the due date your RA may be suspended, as detailed in PACMAN reference 7.6.36.

Rent Allowance Review commencing soon

The Rent Allowance Review begins on 23 April.If you receive Rent Allowance (RA) you may be included in this years review.

What is the RA Review?The RA Review looks at your personal circumstances

by email.

Here’s what to do – it’s online and easier than ever.

Services at www.dha.gov.au and complete the review online.

If you haven’t used this service before, contact us on 139 342

You can follow the prompts online if you’ve forgotten your login details.

Are you being deployed during April, May or June? You may still need to complete the review and should be prepared.

18 PERSONNELApril 11, 2013

OPERATING hours at the majority of Defence bars will be reduced from April 29.

The change better aligns bar hours with peak usage, however bar trading periods will vary between bases and bars, where some hours might increase, reduce or stay the same.

The changes were agreed to by the Defence senior leadership last year.

Chief Staff Officer Support Command CAPT Neville Teague said the revised operating hours had been developed in consultation with relevant Navy bases and, wherever possible, had been allo-cated to locations and trading periods to reflect the demands of bases.

“Inefficiency and wastage in Navy messes and clubs needed to be addressed, while recognising the important role they play in Service culture and ethos,” CAPT Teague said.

“At a time when the Defence budget is under pressure, and we are striving to adopt cost conscious behaviour across our business, this arrangement is unsus-tainable.”

The changes are consistent with, but separate from, the findings and recom-mendations of the 2011 Hamilton Review into the Use of Alcohol in the ADF.

The changes also complement initia-tives being developed under the Pathway

Michael Brooke

THE successful medical treatment and care for 5500 ADF personnel at the ADF Ward at St Vincent’s Hospital was celebrated by senior ranking officers and staff at a clos-ing down ceremony on March 20.

The ward provided advanced treatment and care for personnel, including soldiers wounded in Afghanistan and sailors injured in serious accidents or with life-threat-ening illnesses.

One of the ward’s most seriously injured patients was ABCD Paul de Gelder, who lost his right hand and left leg when he was attacked by a bull shark in Sydney Harbour in February 2011.

The ward closed after providing Sydney-based personnel with recov-ery care, treatment and rehabilitation for the past five years.

Commander Joint Health RADM Robyn Walker said the 24-bed ward was leased to Defence in 2008 to accommodate patients while Balmoral Naval Hospital was under-going extensive renovations.

“The partnership with the hos-

Celebration of ward’s success

pital brought numerous benefits including a high level of treatment with the bonus of simultaneously avoiding duplicating costs, public money and resources,” she said.

“Access to digital radiology, online pathology, bedside specialist consults, emergency and surgical services in a modern hospital such as St Vincent’s has changed the way Defence delivers healthcare to its members.”

The lease enabled medics to expand their knowledge by engaging with civilian specialists and staff, participating in case reviews and

from watching various procedures. “ADF medics and nurses gained

important on-the-job training where they were exposed to greater learning opportunities including information sessions with highly qualified civil-ian specialists,” RADM Walker said.

The lease for the ward expired on March 31 and will not be renewed by St Vincent’s Hospital.

RADM Walker said alternative locations for a new ADF ward in the Sydney region were being investigat-ed, but this would not reduce health-care entitlements for ADF personnel.

MEMORIES: Staff from the ADF Ward at St Vincent’s Hospital at the ward’s closing ceremony in Sydney. Photo: ABIS Cassie McBride

Bar hours to change

THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWNA SAilor working in the hull workshop at FSU-SE on February 6 severely injuring his wrist. A leading sea-man and able seaman rendered first aid and transport-ed the sailor to the health centre. Doctors and medics continued with treatment before an ambulance took the sailor to hospital where he underwent surgery.

The actions by the sailors ensured that blood loss was minimised and the patient was cared for and managed carefully while being moved to the medical centre.

A SEnior sailor appeared in a local court for a num-ber of indictable offences, including threatening to kill.The member received a 12-month good behaviour bond from the magistrate and was terminated from the navy.

to Change strategy. Contracted bar staff will soon collect data to help inform future reform and alcohol management strategies.

This will comprise bar attendance numbers and a breakdown of sales for high-strength and low-strength alcohol.

Consistency in bar management, alcohol pricing and profit disbursement arrangements will be finalised during the coming months for implementation in 2013 and 2014.

CHANGE: operating hours at most Defence bars will change from the end of the month.

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19PERSONNEL April 11, 2013

New regulations for range shoots

On course to fight and winMichael Brooke

THE coming of age of 18 officers as ‘war fighters’ couldn’t come at a better time for the Fleet as it wel-comes new platforms and capabili-ties.

Twelve principal warfare officers (PWOs) and six PWO air warfare and surface warfare sub-specialists marched out of HMAS Watson on March 27.

COMAUSFLT RADM Tim Barrett said the graduates would help the Fleet transition to a highly skilful Navy with new technologies and capabilities.

“You are joining the Fleet at an optimum time to help us absorb game-changing technologies such as the Hobart-class AWDs and Canberra-class LHDs,” he said.

RADM Barrett said the PWOs now had the leadership skills and professional knowledge to make valuable contributions to Navy’s growing capacity for high-end warfighting.

“The officers I see before me will be future COs and XOs of the AWDs and LHDs, which represent a quantum leap in our capability and ability to fight and win at sea,” he said.

RADM Guy Griffiths (retd) told

the graduates they faced a huge challenge helping Navy in the con-temporary battlespace.

He said they should exploit every opportunity to learn, because his on-the-job-training in WWII was when enemy aircraft sank his battleship, HMS Repulse.

“The challenge for you is to learn how to fight a modern war-ship in the training environment before you may have to do it in conflict for real,” he said.

The graduation marked a special milestone for LCDR Calvin Johnson, LEUT Adam Simeoni and LEUT Rebecca Wilson who have posted to NUSHIP Canberra.

The graduation was also memo-rable for LEUT Dean Uren (pic-tured inset) who received two awards in recognition of his leader-ship and academic excellence.

He was awarded the Sword of Excellence for achieving dux of PWO courses 47, 48 and 49, and the Sydney-Emden Award as the gradu-ate of PWO course 49 who attained the highest standards of achieve-ment for the common component of the course.

He has posted to HMAS Melbourne.

LEUT Andrew Erven, who

has posted to HMAS Darwin, received the Naval Warfare Officers’ Association CAPT Darling Award and also the Systems Prize.

LCDR Rodney Skinner, who has posted to Watson as OIC Fleet Synthetic Training, received the award for the dux of the Force Warfare Course.

LEUT Andrew Parnwell received the Naval Officers’ Saint Barbara Award as the dux of PWO(A) while the Naval Warfare Officers’ Association Certificate was awarded to LEUT Bernard Dobson.

The Naval Warfare Officers’ A s s o c i a t i o n S a i n t B a r b a r a Medallion was presented to LCDR Ben Weller.

CELEBRATION: Graduate LEUT Aaron Convery presents the PWO course 49 report to graduates, guests and VIPs at the graduation ceremony, held at HMAS Watson. Photos: ABIS Sarah Williams

LEUT Melissa Cowling

WALLER Division will be written into the history books on May 24 when the final class of Waller recruits graduate from recruit school at HMAS Cerberus.

CO RAN Recruit School CMDR Aaron Nye said the recruits would be part of a lasting legacy.

“Eighty-four new recruits, who com-menced their training on March 11, will undoubtedly feel proud to pass through the training establishment under the ban-ner of Waller Division,” CMDR Nye said.

During its 52 years of operation, Waller Division has launched the naval careers of thousands of sailors.

Waller Division was first established in 1961 and named in honour of CAPT Hector MacDonald Laws Waller.

CAPT Waller served in HMS Agincourt during WWI and command-ed HMAS Stuart I as Commander of the Australian Destroyer Flotilla during WWII.

In 1941, he assumed command of HMAS Perth I and in February 1942 was ordered to sail for the Dutch East Indies.

On the night of February 28, Perth I and USS Houston were intercepted by a large Japanese force while attempting to cross the Sunda Strait.

After expending all her ammunition, Perth I was lost shortly after midnight on March 1.

CAPT Waller went down with his ship and was later described by the then

Admiral of the Fleet, Viscount Andrew Cunningham, as “one of the finest types of Australian Naval Officer”.

The Collins-class submarine HMAS Waller was also named in his honour.

Later this year, Waller Division will be renamed Shipp Division in honour of LSA Noel Ervin Shipp.

LSA Shipp served in Vietnam with the second contingent of RAN Helicopter Flight in September 1968.

On May 31, 1969, 8km west of Dong Tam, LSA Shipp was operating as the door gunner and only Australian on board an aircraft escorting troop-carry-ing helicopters.

In close vicinity of the landing zone, the troop-carrying helicopters came under heavy fire.

To engage the enemy with greater accuracy, LSA Shipp hung out the door of his aircraft with his M60 machine gun.

Exposed to heavy automatic fire, his helicopter crash landed – LSA Shipp was seen to continue firing at the enemy right until the moment of impact.

To commemorate the history of Waller Division, CMDR Nye has extended an invitation to all former Waller graduates and staff to attend the graduation parade at Cerberus for intake GE311.

Graduation of the final Waller Division will be reviewed by CN VADM Ray Griggs.

For further information contact LEUT Melissa Cowling on 03 5931 5808 or email melissa.cowling@defence.gov.au

Recruits form part of Waller’s legacy

FINAL CLASS: The last class of recruits of Waller Division pose for a photo at the recruit school at HMAS Cerberus. Waller Division will be renamed Shipp Division later this year.

NAVY small arms instructors will be affected by new range regulations for small arms live-fire practices coming into effect this month.

As part of the new regulations, qualified RAN small arms instruc-tors will now be recognised as assessors for trainee Category A range qualifications.

The dated MLW 2-9-2 Range Regulations from 1996 will be superseded by the new range pub-lication LWP-G 7-3-1 ADF Range Orders (Land) 2012.

The Combined Arms Training Centre’s (CATC) small arm