Navy People: Stephanie Murphy sets sail
17 September 2010
When Bathurst girl Stephanie Murphy was sixteen she took part in a training voyage aboard the Navy’s sailing ship Young Endeavour — but she never imagined that five years later she would be aboard HMAS Melbourne and on anti-pirate patrol off the Horn of Africa.
Stephanie had just completed her HSC at MacKillop College when she answered the call of the sea and joined the Navy in 2007.
After completing her initial recruit training at HMAS Cerberus in Victoria, she specialised as a Combat Systems Operator and has now been promoted to Able Seaman.
Now her job on board is to help identify, track, analyse and neutralise threats to the ship.
This isn’t Stephanie’s first overseas deployment. During her three years in uniform, her career has taken led her to Thailand, Singapore and Hawaii.
“Every day I am faced with a different scenario which requires me to act upon what I’m trained to do… It’s challenging but when you succeed, you feel invincible,” she said.
Over the next six months, Stephanie and her shipmates will help providing essential naval support to coalition maritime security operations and counter-terrorism in the Middle East.
Despite being away from home and loved ones, Stephanie says she is looking forward to experiencing the different cultures and traditions of the Middle East and working with other international navies.
However her first priority when she returns will be to come back to Bathurst to catch up on anything she’s missed, with her parents Margo and Phil, brother Terry and sisters Rebecca and Erica.
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