Warramunga takes Kakadu command duties
25 August 2010
Commanding Officer of HMAS Warramunga, Commander Bruce Legge has taken command of 11 other Navy vessels as part of Commander Task Group duties during Exercise Kakadu 2010.
The Kakadu task group includes eight Royal Australian Navy vessels comprising two submarines, three Anzac Class Frigates, two supply ships and one Armidale Class patrol boat. Australian fleet units were joined in Exercise Kakadu by ships from Thailand, Japan and Singapore and maritime patrol aircraft from New Zealand and Japan. The Royal Australian Airforce supported the exercise with P3C Orions, Hawk fighters and F-111 strike aircraft.
HMAS Warramunga is based at Fleet Base West, near Rockingham Western Australia (WA) and is joined in Exercise Kakadu by seven other ships from her home port including Arunta, Toowoomba, Sirius, Collins and Dechaineaux making WA based ships the forefront of this exercise.
Commander Legge assured participants at the Exercise Kakadu Opening Conference that his ship was ready for the task at hand.
“It seems like for the last eight months including our deployment to Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) that we have been training and preparing to take on the role of Commander Task Group for Kakadu,” said Commander Legge.
“We certainly have a challenging task at hand; managing expectations and providing the environment for all participating units to exploit every training opportunity, but we have a great team assembled here aboard Warramunga and we are looking forward to those challenges,” he said.
Warramunga has had a busy 2010 firstly involved in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise which is the largest maritime exercise in the world conducted off the coast of Hawaii in July. Now the ship’s company are firmly focussed on Exercise Kakadu, Australia’s largest international exercise for the year.
Commander Legge is proud of his ship’s company’s efforts during this period of back to back exercises.
“I have been blessed to be given the opportunity to command a great ship, with great people and a great program,” said Commander Legge.
HMAS Warramunga is an Anzac Class Frigate with 170 men and women onboard. The ship also has an embarked Seahawk helicopter whose weapons and sensors further enhance the capability of Warramunga.
