Publication:Sea Talk Summer 2008/Christmas greetings from the Chief of Navy
Well the end of the year is again upon us and, like many years recently, 2008 has been very busy.
You are all aware that I took command of the Navy mid year, and at the time of writing this article, my first 100 days in office have just ticked over.
On my assumption of command I promised the Navy community that I would look, listen, learn and lead. I am pleased to say that I have had the opportunity to visit many of our personnel in their workplaces at sea and ashore, and in so doing I have heard many view points.
I now have the next 2½ years to continue the good work that has been done in the past to take our Navy forward.
As I pointed out, during 2008 the Navy has been in top gear, with the accelerator firmly down. We have continued to provide ongoing support to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Iraq under the banner of Op Catalyst, and protected Australian borders through Op Resolute.
We participated in numerous national and international exercises both at home and abroad, and we have also done the hard yards in the less glamorous, yet equally important tasks of maintenance and administration.
For those families that have been affected by the deployment of husbands and wives, sons and daughters I thank you for the support that you provide – a simple email from home can have an amazingly positive impact, and make the time away just that little bit easier.
Yours is not an easy task, particularly when your loved ones are required to deploy for long periods of time.
Let me assure you that the welfare and safety of our sailors is foremost in everything we do.
However, your support, understanding and encouragement are vital factors in the morale of our men and women, both in peace and conflict. Our people are simply the most important asset we have, and we are taking steps to ensure that we can recruit and retain the required workforce.
I have commenced a program to enhance the environment for our people called New Generation Navy, and believe that this will take the Navy forward into the future.
This is a program which acknowledges that what we are doing needs to improve; we are placing significant pressures on our people, and we simply must find a better way – we must work smarter not harder.
Leadership is key and must start with the admirals and commodores; we must engender a cultural shift and we must structurally reform the Navy to allow an acceptable work life balance.
The future is an exciting prospect with new high profile platforms on the way; the air warfare destroyers and the amphibious LHDs will provide the equipment to do our job well into the future. We can’t however hope to succeed without that critical asset and enabler – our people.
It has certainly been a busy year and 2009 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.
