Barry Cable with Jenny Day and PORSSM "JJ" Bonney. Story and picture: POPH Bill McBride CSM.

Australian football legend Barry Cable MBE and his assistant, Jenny Day, recently visited HMAS STIRLING and took a tour over the COLLINS class submarine, HMAS FARNCOMB.

The ex-North Melbourne coach and life member as well as Ms Day were escorted by PORSSM "JJ" Bonney who impressed the visitors immensely with his knowledge about the submarine.

Barry is widely known and respected as an outstanding figure in the sport of Australian Rules football as both a player and coach.

He became a WA Hall of Champions Foundation member in August 1985 and was made a member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

He is now involved with the Community Development Foundation which is a non-profit, public company limited by guarantee.

The company was formed out of what was previously a division of the West Australian Football Commission Community Services Division.

The program involves identities that children and young adults relate to in an effort to encourage a healthy lifestyle and achieving the most they can out of life.

The program not only focuses on the young people aged 6 - 17 as a target group, but also the community as a whole.

The goal of the foundation is to have total community involvement and commitment, which increases the likelihood of positive change.

Part of the visit also involved discussions about the opportunities available for employment to students and youth, including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Strategy, through the Australian Defence Force recruiting unit in Perth.

Barry and Jenny were very interested to hear what training, skills and qualifications unemployed youth could aspire to through the services and the experience and confidence that is gained as well as other factors such as conditions of service, travel and good pay.

As facilitators and mediators between community groups and government agencies, including commercial interests, they will be able to raise awareness about this information to various contacts throughout Western Australia.

This will help young people, especially those in remote and rural regions, to consider a career with the ADF.

While thoroughly enjoying the visit to FARNCOMB, Barry was glad to go back on solid ground afterwards but commented how he admired all the personnel who chose to work in submarines.