Navy People: Enjoying the water in a different way

15 December 2008

Mullaloo local Seaman Max Burch will be enjoying the water this summer season – but in a very different way.

The 19 year-old Navy clearance diver is among hundreds of Navy personnel on call during the holiday season. Based at HMAS Waterhen on Sydney’s north shore, Max is a long way from home, having been brought up at Mullaloo in Perth. His specialty is underwater battle damage repair and diffusing explosive ordinance.

Working over Christmas and New Year has its downside but Max is not complaining.

“Not many people do what I do and it’s a job with lots of variety,” he said. “It’s intense and exciting, but I still have time for family and friends,” he said.

Max is a relative newcomer to the Navy Clearance diving team, having joined only a year ago. A spur of the moment decision and the prompting of a mate saw him sign up with Navy for a life of adventure. That life was graphically depicted in the recent Navy Diver TV series on ABC Television – transforming Max and his mates into overnight TV stars.

Hundreds of Navy personnel remain on active duty over the Christmas Period. Royal Australian Navy ships continue to undertake border protection duties as part of Operation RESOLUTE, protecting Australia’s northern coastline from unauthorized arrivals and illegal fishermen. Further a field, HMAS Parramatta and the team at Taskforce 158 in the Persian Gulf continue their activities as will other Navy personnel deployed with ADF elements throughout the Middle East Area of Operations.