Navy People: The Real Sea Patrol

16 July 2010

He’s a long way from home, but local man Rhys Williams is living his dream of travelling Australia and serving his country as part of a Navy patrol boat crew.

Rhys was born in Chirnside Park in 1986 and attended Luther College in Croydon Hills. He also took an active part in Ringwood Athletic Club, where he came second in the 200m race at the Victorian state titles in 2007.

After Secondary College, Rhys joined the Royal Australian Navy in 2008 and has specialised as a Quartermaster Gunner.

Now the local athlete is based in Cairns and chasing down illegal foreign fishermen and people smugglers.

“Day to day I’m kept pretty busy, but there’s plenty of variety in my job so I enjoy it,” said Rhys.

“Sometimes it’s tough being away from my partner Fiona, but I have a set schedule of eight weeks on followed by four weeks off, so I do get some decent time at home. When I get home this time, I will hold her and never let her go.”

Recently Rhys has been in Darwin, taking part in patrol boat war games.

The exercise brought together five ships to practice their war-fighting skills while also honing border protection, amphibious assaults, boarding operations and general mariner skills.

“Taking part in exercises like this is great, as it gives you a chance to learn new skills,” said Rhys.

“It also gave my crew and I a chance to do a trip around Australia, visiting different states— which is a definite perk of the job!”