Navy People: Banyo local has his life changed
13 December 2010
Former Banyo local, Calvin Timms, lived and worked in the local area for the better part of his 30 years, and then his life completely changed. He joined the Royal Australian Navy to begin his training as a Maritime Warfare Officer.
Calvin attended Virginia Primary School and the Australian Christian College before beginning work in Operations Management.
“I was going to apply for the navy about five years ago and my wife Skye got pregnant with our first child Joshua (5) so I decided to wait. Not too long after we had another child, Eva (2). I decided last year that joining the navy was something I really wanted to pursue before I got much older!” Calvin said.
“I thought that I would be the oldest in training, but I wasn’t. The training has been a great experience as well. It’s been hard to be away from my family during the training but we will all be moving to Sydney next year for the next part of my training.”
During his five months of initial training at HMAS Creswell, Calvin has been able to gain experience in everything from survival at sea to boat work, leak stop and repair, firefighting and weapons training.
“I really liked learning about leak stop and repair and fire fighting at the School of Ship Survivability and Safety, or the School of S’s as we call it. I also enjoyed Exercise Matapan, which is our final leadership assessment where we work ‘out-field’ for five days. We were taught and assessed on how to manage teams of people using our own leadership styles to achieve set tasks.”
“Being able to go to New Zealand to embark in HMNZS Canterbury was the opportunity of a lifetime. It was such a great experience to be able to work with the New Zealand crew and learn how their ships function. We got to experience how all areas of the ship operate. I’m keen to start training for my actual job as a Maritime Warfare Officer; actually being able to drive and navigate a ship.
Calvin will begin his training as a Maritime Warfare Officer next year at HMAS Watson, Watsons Bay, Sydney. As a trainee Maritime Warfare Officer, Calvin will learn how to navigate a ship and manage the bridge team as the Commanding Officer’s representative.
Before beginning the next part of his training, Calvin is looking forward to heading home to be with his family and sitting watching the cricket on his own couch.
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