Publication:Sea Talk Spring 2005/Words by the Warrant Officer of the Navy
By the Warrant Officer of the Navy
WO-N David Turner
G'day
Well it seems like only yesterday that I was writing my first Sea Talk article as the Warrant Officer of the Navy. As I sit writing my last article I marvel at how time flies so quickly.
At the time of writing, my successor has not been selected however the process to do so is well advanced. I am hugely impressed with the quality of people we have in the community of Warrant Officers and have enormous faith in this group of people. Generally, they work really hard for the betterment and development of our people.
Three years ago, our Navy was very busy on operations and the focus of the senior leadership was rightly on those operations. Then we had the capability debate and as a result, the shape of the Navy of the future is more secure than it has ever been. The last year has been focussed on our people and Sea Change is really starting to get runs on the board.
Career Management shopfronts have been operating in Darwin and the West for a while now and all the feedback I am receiving on this initiative has been positive. For the first time, sailors and their Divisional Officers have almost constant contact with the people who make decisions about their future and importantly, this is what sailors have asked for.
I recently attended a number of promotion boards for Petty Officers aspiring to be Chief Petty Officers. It became quite clear to me that these boards really do identify the best person for the next higher rank and are a more rigorous and fairer method of selecting people for promotion than previous methods. This is a great outcome not only for our people but also our Navy.
Positive action has been taken in retaining people who are in categories designated 'critical'. Some of these outcomes have been announced, such as retention bonuses for Engineering Officers. Many others are progressing and you should expect to hear about them soon, if not already.
One area I think we still need to work on is our self-image. We really are a great organisation to be a part of, in my view, better than any other. We are held in high regard in the Australian community, operationally we truly are outstanding and the people in our Navy are simply superb. We have good equipment and our training allows us to use it to its best advantage. We're not good at reminding ourselves of these facts though and we should do that better and more often.For the last time, take care and if you see me on my travels, say G'day.
David Turner Warrant Officer of the Navy
