Navy People: Yarrabah community should be proud of Alan

20 February 2010

Yarrabah man Alan Patterson joined the Navy for adventure and life skills but it was hard leaving home.

Now he is seeing the world.

Before Christmas, the ship completed a South East Asia tour which took in Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia.

“That has been the highlight of my Navy career so far,” Alan says.

“It’s such a big thing for me to go overseas. I had never done anything like that until I was in the Navy. When I was in Cairns I got to go to Papua New Guinea in a Navy Landing Craft Heavy, but the up-top trip was really the first time I had been overseas.”

“I love what I am doing,” says Alan.

The Gordonvale High student enlisted in the Navy just two years ago. After initial training near Melbourne, Alan was posted to Australia’s Federation Guard in Canberra. His next move was to a shore job in Sydney, then to his current ship, HMAS Darwin, also based in Sydney.

But now he’s a lot closer to home. Alan and his shipmates are currently exercising off the eastern seaboard with other Navy ships, practicing for disaster relief operations and actual conflict.

Promoted to Able Seaman, Alan has specialised as a bosun’s mate, which means on-deck seamanship and looking after the ship’s pistols, rifles and machine-guns.

He also does his turn on the helm, steering the 4100 tonne ship, and keeps watches as lifebuoy sentry and lookout for the bridge team.

“I’m learning on the job now,” he says, “and I am busy completing my competency log that I have to submit to be fully qualified.”

Alan says when he goes home he will have a lot of stories to tell to the young people. “They will enjoy my stories, I am sure.”

“Once I have served my time in the Sydney area, I am keen to work on patrol boats, which are based near in Cairns and much nearer home!”