Navy People: Lithgow girl sails on

16 February 2010

It is almost ten years since Lithgow local Catherine Fitzpatrick joined the Royal Australian Navy. The former St Patricks, La Salle Academy and Lithgow High student has certainly being going places.

“I have served in every mainland capital city, as well as on several ships so far,” Catherine said.

Daughter of Lithgow identities Terry and Beverley Fitzpatrick, Catherine is now an Able Seaman Medic on board the Western-Australian based HMAS Anzac. But for the moment Catherine is currently somewhere off the eastern seaboard of Australia on four weeks of fleet exercises, practising for natural disasters and actual conflict.

Catherine first specialised as a steward but five years later she changed over to become a medic. Now she’s working hard in her new role and even looking to a career as a Registered Nurse in the future.

Catherine rates the highlight of her career as a six month deployment to the Persian Gulf.

“Being part of the ship’s emergency medical team provided the motivation to request a change to medic — and the Navy was flexible enough to allow that to happen.”

Training in Melbourne followed by medical postings to HMAS Cerberus in Melbourne and HMAS Stirling near Perth preceded Catherine’s current posting to the ship Anzac.

“As a Medic, it’s important that I learn how the team operates in an ‘at sea’ environment,” she said.

Over the next few months, the ship will visit Sydney, Newcastle, Cairns, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia.

“After that my next posting is ashore and hopefully that will include a promotion to Leading Seaman.”