Navy People: Hervey Bay sailor says “Aloha”
22 July 2008
Hervey Bay to Pearl Harbour in Hawaii is a long way, and local sailor Melissa ‘Rabbits’ Warren travelled further than most to get there. Melissa, an Able Seaman in the Royal Australian Navy, was recently in Hawaii to participate in ExerciseRim of the Pacific (RIMPAC).
The former Urangan resident is posted to HMAS Tobruk, a Heavy Landing Ship that can carry troops and a range of military vehicles. For RIMPAC, Tobruk is transporting a contingent of United States Marines and a number of their 26 tonne Amphibious Assault Vehicles.
“The Exercise in Hawaii was a great opportunity for everyone in the ship’s company to get some experience working in an environment with lots of ships, aircraft and personnel from different nations,” Melissa said.
The former Urangan State High School student has been in the Navy for just on five years now and an Able Seaman Combat Systems Operator.
Melissa trained to work in submarines but is currently posted to a surface ship.
“My job involves monitoring sonar and radar, looking for ships and submarines.
“I work in the operations room. For the RIMPAC exercise were are in what they call ‘defence watches’ which means we are working two shifts a day totalling twelve hours. The operations room crew really become a family while we are on an exercise such as this,” Melissa said.
“Working so closely together, spending long hours in the ops room, it’s good that we all get on so well.”
Navy life runs in the Warren family. Melissa’s twin sister is a Leading Seaman Cook, currently posted to HMAS Kuttabul in Sydney.
Five years in the Navy has given Melissa the chance to visit South-east Asia, all around Australia and to the Northern Territory to work for the Australian Army on Operation Outreach. Now she can add Pearl Harbour, Hawaii to her list of ports visited.
Exercise RIMPAC is a biennial multilateral exercise held in the Hawaiian Islands Operating Area. Countries participating with their navies include 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 2008 included HMA Ships Anzac, Tobruk, Success and Waller, Austraslian Clearance Diving Team 4, Fleet Battle Staff and a Headquarters element. RIMPAC 2008 was conducted from 27 June to 31 July 2008 and was the 21st in the RIMPAC series.
