Commanding Officer HMAS Coonawarra
Commander Ben Favelle, RAN
Commander Ben Favelle, RAN joined the Royal Australian Navy from western Victoria in 1993 as a Supply Officer.
He has served in HMA ships Hobart, Melbourne and he was the Commissioning Supply Officer of HMAS Toowoomba. His service in HMAS Melbourne included a deployment to the Middle East for Operation SLIPPER as the Deputy Supply Officer and Boarding Officer.
Shore based postings have included predominantly logistics related roles including Assistant Manager Research in the Manager of Configuration, Certification and Allowances, Joint Logistics Systems Agency as the SO3 Warehousing and the Material Information Systems Support Organisation as a Stakeholder Manager for Joint Project 2077. A highlight of his shore time and his career to date was a two year exchange posting to the Portsmouth, UK where he was the Supply Officer (Tenders) in 2003-04 leading up to and during the Royal Navy’s contribution to Operation TELIC in Iraq.
Lieutenant Commander Favelle deployed on Operation AZURE in 2008 where he was the Deputy J4 for the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) Force Headquarters. On return from Sudan he enjoyed a rewarding posting within the Directorate of Naval Officers’ Postings as the career manager for Supply and Administration Officers. In 2011 he joined the Air Warfare Destroyer Capability Implementation Team as the Deputy Director Integrated Logistics Support and has enjoyed the challenge of influencing the establishment of the support system for the Hobart Class DDGs.
He attended the Australian Command and Staff College in 2010, graduating with a Masters of Arts (Strategy and Management), a Graduate Diploma in Defence Studies and a Graduate Diploma of Management in Defence Studies. Commander Favelle also holds a Bachelor of Arts (Economics and Politics), a Graduate Diploma in Integrated Logistics Support and is presently studying towards a Masters in Professional Accounting.
Commander Favelle assumed command of HMAS Coonawarra in January 2012.
Commander Favelle and his wife Mary have three young boys. The challenges of a busy family life has restricted his progression beyond the status of novice triathlete, but Commander Favelle still has aspirations to progress in this area. He follows all sport keenly, especially Australian Rules and cricket, and also enjoys playing guitar.
