Navy People: Cameron Harper

18 August 2010

Currie’s Cameron Harper is used to cold winds off the Southern Ocean, but now he’s traded that for balmy tropical breezes of Hawaii. He has spent the last month based at Pearl Harbour as part of Exercise RIMPAC, the largest multi-national maritime exercise in the Pacific.

The King Island District High School graduate began his Navy life in 2006 at the Navy’s recruit school HMAS Cerberus near Melbourne. After a year at the Engineering Faculty, he’s now a marine systems technician and been promoted to Able Seaman.

Now Cameron’s home is the Anzac Class Frigate HMAS Warramunga.

“My job is to keep the ship’s propulsion systems and auxiliary systems going — and fix them if they don’t,” Cameron said.

This isn’t Cameron’s first time overseas. He as he has already been deployed to India, Thailand, the Persian Gulf, Singapore, Hawaii and Tonga. He has also circumnavigated Australia but hopes to see even more of the world.

“I like that I am constantly facing new challenges, but that I have the certainty of career and personnel progression. I like the travelling and the diversity.”

“But when we get back I will be moving into my new house and taking a well deserved break!”

“For the moment I’d like to be promoted to a Leading Seaman. I’m also considering changing over to become an engineering officer one day.”

Exercise RIMPAC tests interoperability with 14 Pacific Rim nations, including the United States, South Korea, Indonesia and Canada. Approximately 1200 Australian Defence Force personnel participated in the exercise which ran through to the 1st August 2010.