Publication:Sea Talk Summer 2007/Christmas message from the Chief of Navy
I value the opportunity that this Summer edition of Sea Talk gives me to share some thoughts with the Navy community on what has been an eventful and busy year for us all.
Reflecting on the past 12 months, I am very proud of the way our people have performed, at home and overseas, on operational tasks, and in direct support of those tasks. The continuing high operational tempo has been demanding of the men and women of our Navy, and fulfilling these duties would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the extraordinary support provided by our families.
This year, our operational commitments have included ongoing support to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Iraq under the banner of Op Catalyst, and protecting Australian borders through Op Resolute.
Closer to home, sailors have contributed to security operations during the recent APEC summit in Sydney and have provided assistance to the Northern Territory Emergency Response Task Force through OP Outreach. In addition, many major exercises, deployments and routine training activities have kept us very busy across the very diverse range of things we do.
Our well deserved reputation as a first class Navy is a direct result of the professionalism of our people. By way of example, that professionalism assisted in rapidly bringing the new Armidale class patrol boats into service, as well as the speedy introduction of three Augusta 109E helicopters at Albatross. I see daily examples of RAN sailors doing amazing things and I remain grateful and proud of your efforts. Looking to the future, Government has announced that the Navy will procure three Spanish-designed air warfare destroyers (AWDs) and two landing helicopter dock (LHD) ships. These acquisitions will be exciting additions to our fleet, and I must admit to being envious of the generations to follow who will serve on these amazingly capable new ships.
The RAN continues to perform extremely well and our future is bright, but I am constantly aware that we need to recruit and retain enough people to man this future fleet. It comes as no surprise to you to note that Sea Change, our ‘people program’, has remained my enduring priority. Much has been progressed during the past year to improve the lot of Navy folk and their families.
Most notable has been the announcement of a range of retention and recruitment initiatives by Government. This has included retention bonuses, pay rises, instructor allowances, re-structuring of remuneration and the introduction of recruiting reforms. Sea Change has specifically addressed measures to improve geographic stability and the work/life balance of sailors, both at sea and ashore. These initiatives, while taking longer to implement than I would have initially hoped, are proving popular and, although too early to declare victory, there are indications that we may have turned a corner. It has certainly been a busy year and, if 2007 is anything to go by, 2008 promises to be just as busy and even more exciting. May I take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy Christmas with the hope that, where possible, you are all able to take a well earned break over the holiday period.
