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Changing of the guard
By LTCOL Squire
Volume 50, No. 12, July 12, 2007 |
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GULF DUTY: The Commanding Officer of HMAS Anzac, CAPT Ian Middleton, holds the weight handed to him by HMAS Toowoomba.
Photo: LTCOL Jeffery Squire |
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HMAS Anzac is now on station in the Persian Gulf having ‘taken the weight’ from HMAS Toowoomba.
Anzac’s CO, CAPT Ian Middleton, said that his ship was proud to be in the Gulf making a direct contribution to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Iraq. “The Iraqi oil platforms that we protect with our coalition partners out here account for about 85 per cent of Iraq’s gross domestic product.
By protecting these platforms we are ensuring the future of Iraq’s fledgling economy”, he said.
Anzac physically took the weight from HMAS Toowoomba when CAPT Middleton was handed a symbolic dumbbell by Toowoomba’s CO, CMDR Jaimie Hatcher.
The ‘weight’ was constructed by HMAS Darwin using 76mm shell casings at the start of 2005 and has been passed from CO to CO since that time.
CAPT Middleton praised the achievements of Toowoomba. “She has an excellent reputation in the Gulf and we have very big shoes to fill”, he said.
CAPT Middleton said the greatest challenge facing Anzac was to maintain vigilance in demanding conditions against a foe that is difficult to detect. “Finding the bad guy is the challenge here. The Gulf is an extremely busy body of water with hundreds of vessels moving every day.
“It is just as hard to pick the bad guy out here as it is on the ground in Iraq. We have well-developed procedures to meet this challenge and we are determined to achieve our mission,” he said.
CAPT Middleton said that his crew were looking forward to working as part of the coalition naval force in the Gulf.
“It is always fulfilling to work as part of a multi-national force and for the sailors to actually come here and do the job,” CAPT Middleton said. |
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