Fleet Commander visits HMAS Toowoomba
8 October 2010
In early October HMAS Toowoomba (CMDR Ivan Ingham) welcomed Rear Admiral Steve Gilmore, Commander Australian Fleet, onboard during his visit at Sembawang Wharves in Singapore.
The purpose of the Admiral’s visit was to talk informally with members of the crew about the Fleet Operating Concept (FOC).
Admiral Gilmore began his visit with a relaxed all ranks breakfast where he discussed a wide range of topics including the benefits of deploying as a Task Group through to the recent AFL Grand Final.
Admiral Gilmore then joined members of the Duty Watch in the Junior Sailor’s Café where the conversion focussed on FOC.
He was given a warm welcome and all personnel involved thoroughly enjoyed being able to go straight to the source of the FOC and have their questions answered from the top.
The Admiral very much enjoyed speaking directly to his sailors and was grateful for the chance to hear how the well the FOC is being understood from the frontline of the RAN.
"The visit provided a great opportunity for members at all levels to provide feedback to the Fleet Commander on the FOC" said Warrant Officer (WO) Sean Campbell; who is acting Ship’s Warrant Officer.
After his visit to Toowoomba, the Admiral was welcomed onboard HMAS Tobruk (CMDR Paul Scott) also conducting a port visit to Singapore, for similar discussions.
Tobruk and Toowoomba have just completed the majority of a three month deployment to Northern Australia and South East Asia.
Both ships have participated in a busy programme of regional exercises including Ex KAKADU and SINGAROO. Both ships then enjoyed the first RAN visit to Surabaya, Indonesia in over a decade.
