Navy People: Dubbo Sailor Sends Greetings From Hawaii
11 September 2009
Dubbo local Erin Matterson was recently in Hawaii but she was not on holidays.
An Able Seaman Advanced Medical Assistant (ABMED) in the Royal Australian Navy, Erin was in Pearl Harbour to participate in Exercise RIMPAC 08. Her ship was HMAS Tobruk, a 127 metre, 5,800 tonne amphibious craft capable of carrying up to 40 Armoured Personnel Carriers or 40 Australian Light Armoured Vehicles.
Instead of transporting Australian troops and vehicles, Exercise RIMPAC for HMAS Tobruk, means taking on board Canadian infantry and US Marines and their amphibious landing craft.
“I joined the Navy in 2004 and in that time I have been lucky to travel overseas quite a few times,” she said.
“Besides this trip to Hawaii, which is a highlight of my career so far, I’ve also visited Singapore, Noumea and East Timor,” she said.
As a medic onboard HMAS Tobruk, Erin was responsible for the health, morale and well-being of more than 300 crew members onboard.
“I’m second-in-charge of our department and that brings new challenges to my job every day,” she said.
ABMED Matterson, a former student of St Johns Primary and St Johns College, says her career in the Navy offers a variety of skills, ranging from nursing to pre-hospital care.
“This helps me to experience all kinds of health care scenarios the ship’s company presents. The greatest satisfaction I get out of my role onboard is knowing that a treatment plan we give patients allows them to heal and return to work healthy in a timely manner,” she said.
“I love my job because I deal with a diverse range of people and every case is different. The travel is a real bonus and after our 18 day transit across the Pacific it was wonderful to take a couple of days to look at all the sights on the Island of Oahu,” she said.
Erin is looking forward to the future as she begins a shore posting after the past three years of being at sea.
“Now that RIMPAC 08 has concluded, my partner and I will be moving to Nowra so I can take on a posting as Leading Seaman Medic in the Health Care Centre at HMAS Albatross. It’s the next phase of my life and career and I can’t wait,” she said.
RIMPAC is a biennial multilateral exercise held in the Hawaiian Islands Operating Area. Countries participating with their navies included Australia, Canada, Chile, Netherlands, Japan, Peru, Singapore, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom and the USA.
The exercise is intended to enhance the tactical proficiency of participating units in a wide array of combined operations at sea, on land and in the air. RIMPAC is the largest maritime exercise in the world. By enhancing interoperability between participating countries, RIMPAC promotes stability in the Pacific Rim region to the benefit of all.
The Royal Australian Navy’s contribution to Exercise RIMPAC 08 included HMA Ships Anzac, Tobruk, Success and Waller, Australian Clearance Diving Team 4, Fleet Battle Staff and a Headquarters element. RIMPAC 08 ran from 27 June to 31 July 2008 and is the 21st in the RIMPAC series.
