Navy People: Joining the family business
18 January 2011
With a mum in Vet Affairs and an ex-soldier dad at the naval base, the military has always been part of Tanya Scott’s life. That’s before you even count her grandad’s 30 years’ soldiering, her Army brother, and uncles and cousins in the Air Force.
So, after Year 12 at Cairns State High School, Tanya decided to try things out for herself. In 2005 she joined the Navy for her Gap Year.
“I love being on the water, and under it — I got my dive ticket while I was still at school. But it was a family first to have someone in the Navy,” Tanya said.
“I enjoyed being a bit different, and I liked it so much I stayed on.”
Now Tanya is a qualified combat systems operator and with her 190 shipmates aboard HMAS Stuart is heading for a maritime security patrol in the Gulf of Aden. They will be home in the middle of next year.
“My job is in the operations room,” said Tanya. “I’m part of the team that covers radar and electronic warfare, air warfare and surface warfare systems — basically everything that’s going on round the ship. We feed the information to the officers who then decide what to do.
“But as well as the new skills and getting promoted, I’ve been getting lots of life experience,” said Tanya. “I’ve been trained in Victoria and Sydney, and I’ve deployed to Western Australia.
“But this will be my first big overseas trip — there’s lots of sea-time coming up!
“When we get back the ship will be going into refit, so I’m planning on a holiday in Hawaii and getting a new car — a Mazda CX7 SUV is the dream at the moment. Not to mention that first beer at Gilligans.”
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