Navy News, July 9, 2000

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July 9, 2001

		Chief's 500 - Leadership conference kicks off Five hundred uniformed Naval personnel, Defence civilians and retired Naval officers this week attended the 2001 Chief of Navy Leadership Conference in Sydney. The two-day conference began on, July 10 at the Wentworth Hotel with a keynote address by the Chief of Navy, VADM David Shackleton.

		400,000 children invited to help Navy celebrate 100 years Nearly 400,000 NSW and ACT high school children have been invited to help the Navy celebrate its 100th birthday. For 250 of them it will mean becoming an 'Admiral for a Day', spending a day at sea in a warship and having a front row seat to the show of the year, the Navy's Centenary Naval Review.

		Floating HQ adds to ADF capability The new 'command and control' centre in HMAS MANOORA may not be as large as that on USS BLUE RIDGE, but it is never-the-less "very capable", according to COMFLOT, CDRE Jim Stapleton.

		CN move rationalises shore bases The 'training command' and 'base command' roles at two of the RAN's largest shore establishments, HMAS CERBERUS and HMAS WATSON, will be amalgamated, Chief of Navy has announced.

		Westralia ride draws 200 The third HMAS WESTRALIA Memorial Ride was recently conducted in Western Australia to commemorate the four naval personnel tragically lost on May 5, 1998.

		Navy targets Penguins as Seasprite system The RAN will soon take delivery of the Penguin missile to be fitted to the Super Seasprite, according to the Australian Defence Materiel Organisation in its magazine On Target.

		Last hurrah for Brisbane The RAN's oldest warship, and the only ship still driven by steam, is making her 'last hurrah' voyage. The 4,720-tonne, heavily-armed DDG left her home port of Fleet Base East on July 2 to visit for the last time all capital cities...

		Mine expert gets world honours The development of safer and more efficient methods of clearing sea mines has been recognised with the presentation of an international award to Dr Phil Mulhearn of the Defence Science & Technology Organisation (DSTO).

		Navy training gets tick in the box The quality of the Royal Australian Navy has been recognised through its registration in the ACT as a Quality Endorsed Training Organisation (QETO) by the ACT Accreditation and Registration Council (ACTARC).

		Accommodating change to leave The broader Defence community will benefit from improvements to the Defence Force Leave Plan (DFLP) and the Defence Force Accommodation Program (DFAP), which have been upgraded to include a broader range of properties.

		Going to sea can be tiring 'SBLT' Dante Leydon, garbed in regulation '17s' and with a pacifier firmly in her mouth, fast asleep on her daddy's chest. LEUT Sean Leydon had taken Dante to sea for a family day in HMAS CANBERRA.

		Pacific mercy dash - Kanimbla delivers The RAN has dashed to the aid of 2000 Pacific Islanders whose fresh water supply had been contaminated by ash from an erupting volcano. The emergency occurred on the Island of Paama, 150 nautical miles north of Port Vila in Vanuata and involved HMAS KANIMBLA and her embarked...

		Grave site search on Christmas Island The Royal Australian Navy believes the team it sent to Christmas Island may have found the site of the grave of an unknown sailor. The body of a sailor was recovered on Christmas Island on February 6 1942 and subsequently buried in an unmarked grave.

		Chiefs push for energy savings The heads of the Defence Deparment, Dr Allan Hawke and ADML Chris Barrie have appealed to us to conserve energy. In a policy statement issued in brochure form, the executives said, "There is an increasing concern at community, national and international level about global warming and the...

		Thumbs up for ADF health - ANAO Auditors follow up on 1997 recommendations. An Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) report has commended the Department of Defence for its progress in improving the effectiveness of the ADF health services.

		DCSM takes aim at tech sailor backlog The number of provisionally protected LSET and LSMT requiring Advanced Technical Training (ATT-LS) is forecast to decrease to an acceptable level by the end of 2002, according to the Directorate of Sailors' Career Management (DSCM).

		Mobile phones blow stealth cover The once undetectable US stealth bombers may have had their cover blown by a new type of radar that uses mobile phone technology. Melbourne's Herald Sun reported that the new technology, called passive radar, watches signals from phone transmissions and when a plane passes through...

		Global Hawk plan to take off Australia has outlined plans to purchase Global Hawk to help patrol our extended air and sea approaches. Defence will seek information on the price and availability of Global Hawk with a view to seeking final approval for purchase in the year 2004/05, with delivery of the first aircraft scheduled...

		Kuttabul laid to rest at WM The wheelhouse of the depot ship HMAS KUTTABUL has been laid to rest in the Australian War Memorial's new Anzac Hall in Canberra. The historic wheelhouse earned memorial status when a midget Japanese submarine fired a torpedo at the USS CHICAGO and missed, hitting the sea wall of...

		Mine warriors pass out LEUT Paul Anstee has received the John Boyd Carter Medal as dux of the RAN's Mine Warfare Officer Course 'No Zero Eight'. Conducted at HMAS WATERHEN, the 14-week course was the first to be fully integrated with the coastal minehunter systems and training stream.

		Leadership 2001 The following stories were submitted as speeches given at the 2001 CN Leadership Conference�

		Bougainville moves in on settlement The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Alexander Downer has welcomed a joint statement issued on June 18 by the PNG National Government and Bougainville leaders that they are very close to concluding a comprehensive political settlement for the island.

		Space race comes to WA And what is NAVCAMSAUS? The RAN has significantly improved its communication links at sea and ashore with the move of its satellite ground station facility from Darwin to HMAS STIRLING.

		Letters to the Editor Equity and ISPs, Query on Op Spitfire, Whose paper is it anyway? Finally one for us, Sole Aussie survivor, Humour MIA.

		Landlocked sub looking good HMAS OTWAY, the Oberon Class submarine which now sits in a park at Holbrook in country NSW is now looking 'top class'. Thanks to a group of Sydney sailors she has undergone a 'scrub down and pretty coat'.

		South Australia rolls out the red carpet More than 8000 people immersed themselves in the spectacle of Navy Week in South Australia with two of the RAN's guided missile frigates, HMA Ships ADELAIDE and CANBERRA, visiting for the celebrations.

		Gangway Many happy returns ... ABMT Matt Bobbin and LCDR Dave Moncrieff put the birthday cake to the sword as HMAS GEELONG celebrates her 17th year of service.

		UMA debate rolls on The May 28 edition of Navy News made readers aware of a discussion paper that had been circulated to consider alternative methods of delivering Uniform Maintenance Allowance in the future.

		CERBERUS dragons The champion RAN dragon boat team has placed a close fourth in the final of the 2001 International Dragon Boat Festival in Penang, Malaysia, from June 13-20.

		CERBERUS muscles up The once humble CERBERUS Bodybuilding Competition matured to an Australia-wide ADF event when more than 200 people witnessed the 2001 ADF Bodybuilding Titles at the CERBERUS Southern Cross Cinema.

		MC commends 'JC' Nineteen years of dedication to Navy rugby as a player, team captain and finally national coach by CPO John Campbell, were recognised in Sydney last month. "Congratulations J.C," declared the Maritime Commander...

		NSW dominates ADF hockey sides New South Wales once again proved its depth in ADF hockey by successfully filling one-third of the national squad positions in both the men and women's sides.

		Champions do it hard Preparation plays part in rugby final. Limited preparation against a stubborn Army side prevented the Navy rugby union team from winning a third straight national title, going down 40-14 at North Power Stadium, Gosford on Jun 19