Navy People: Gillian's ocean adventure
20 September 2010
For the last few years Quirindi’s Gillian Bryant has been sailing our northern waters, protecting Australia’s borders and the Great Barrier Reef, as part of a tight-knit patrol boat crew of just 22 sailors.
Gillian joined the Navy in July 2001 and decided to specialise in communications.
“I looked after the information technology onboard,” said Gillian. “I am also trained to operate signal flags and signal lamps for close range silent communications at sea, even Morse code.”
Gillian and her shipmates aboard Armidale Class HMAS Bundaberg were part of Operation Resolute — protecting our maritime borders from illegal entry vessels and conducting fisheries patrols to maintain our maritime environment for future generations.
“I was on the bridge for boardings, and all ship-to-shore correspondence during operations was my responsibility,” Gillian said. “Everything was real time. Reports sent out after operations — I took care of that.”
“After my basic training, my first sea posting was awesome,” said Gillian. “I was aboard HMAS Tobruk which visited Fremantle, Adelaide, Hobart, Sydney and Melbourne. That was just the beginning. We also sailed to Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand — we did heaps of tourist activities — and shopping.”
Aboard amphibious transport ship HMAS Kanimbla in 2006, Gillian participated in Operation Astute, Australia’s military support to the East Timor government.
“We crash sailed [deployed at short notice],” she said. “I enjoyed it as I was teaching English to displaced children at two convents. It was not what I expected but it was very satisfying.”
Her Navy career has taken Gillian a long way from Quirindi, where parents Judy and Greg Henry operate Quirindi Auto Electrical.
“I admit I enjoy what I do. I recommend Navy to anybody that is unsure about what they really want to do. It’s a great lifestyle, provides unusual opportunities — and the pay is good!”
Gillian’s latest posting to HMAS Cairns communications centre started in June. After all her sea voyages she might even enjoy being in one place for a while, and being able to unpack.
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