Defence

Coordination and Public Affairs

Silver anniversary

By Gary Booth

Vic Jeffery, long-serving Director Public Affairs at Fleet Base West, WA, ponders the significant growth at HMAS Stirling during his 25-year Defence career.

Long-serving Director Public Affairs at Fleet Base West, Vic Jeffery, has notched up another milestone in his lengthy career. On 24 August 2006 Vic reached 25 years’ service with Defence. Not one to seek self-publicity, Vic requested that the celebrations be a low-key affair, with a light lunch celebrated with colleagues.

Vic, a staunch West Australian, is extremely proud of his achievements in promoting the Navy, and more latterly in his career, Defence activities that occur in the West. Vic has seen, recorded and reported the growth at HMAS Stirling and home porting of ships and submarines to the West—all of which now makes the base the biggest and busiest naval base in Australia.

Having spent many of his childhood holidays in Rockingham with his grandparents, Vic developed a love for the Navy as he observed up close the post–World War II reserve fleet laid up in Careening Bay, Garden Island (now the home of Fleet Base West) or refitting at the old Palm Beach naval jetty. Little did Vic envisage then that many years later he would be working on Garden Island with the Navy.

One of Vic’s great passions, and something he’s extremely proud of, is the WA Naval Museum located at HMAS Stirling, which has grown over the years under his curatorship.

Vic has experienced many highs and a few lows in his career in promoting and reporting on naval matters. One of those highs was being awarded an OAM as a Naval Reserve Officer in the Military Division in the 1997 Australia Day Honours List.

He was also awarded a Public Relations Institute of Australia Award of Excellence in the Issues and Crisis Management category for his role and work carried out during the Southern Ocean rescues of Tony Bullimore and Thierry Dubios in 1997. His saddest memory was the HMAS Westralia fire in 1998.

Vic is an honorary life member of the Naval Historical Society of Australia, Navy League of Australia and his beloved Swan Districts Football Club. He has had responsibility for the public relations effort for the departure and safe return of Navy ships to the first Gulf War and in the more recent conflict against Iraq.

When asked about the secret of his longevity in the job, Vic responded: ‘It is the quality of the people I’m privileged to work with, and my wife Marcy’s support, that keep me enthused about the role’. Vic added that one of the great joys of his job was to be able to report and promote the proud young Australians serving in the three services of today’s Defence Force.

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