NAVY’S NEWEST OFFICERS REVIEWED BY GOVERNOR GENERAL

The Governor General, Her Excellency Quentin Bryce, AC, formally graduated the Navy’s newest batch of Officers from the Royal Australian Naval College Today.

For the 115 graduates the ceremony, which was held at HMAS Creswell in Jervis Bay, spelt the completion of the six-month-long New Entry Officers Course which teaches the Navy’s next generation of leaders the fundamentals of being a Naval Officer.

The live-in course includes training in Leadership, Combat Survivability, Sea Survivability and Familiarisation, Small Arms, Boatwork, First Aid and Physical Fitness.

It also impresses on the trainees the importance of living by the Navy’s core values: Honour, Honesty, Courage, Integrity, and Loyalty.

Before graduating the 81 males and 34 females had to test their new skills in a five-day field exercise held in the Booderee National Park.

They then earned their right of passage into the fleet with a training cruise in the Ice Breaker Aurora Australis, a vessel leased by the Royal Australian Navy to boost its humanitarian-aid response capability.

The voyage took the trainees to Brisbane and Hobart and gave them an opportunity to work in all the various departments which keep a warship running at sea.

Their Navy knowledge was then tested in the classroom during a week of formal examinations.

The graduates will now progress to job specific training courses, and eventually into the Navy’s fleet where they will work in various careers such as Maritime Warfare Officers, Engineers, and Supply Officers.

The new Officers performed a ceremonial sunset for their friends and families on last night, ahead of the Graduation ceremony on Today.

During her visit the Governor General officially opened two new buildings at HMAS Creswell which were recently completed as part of an 83.6-million-dollar facility upgrade project.