Third
tour for Newcastle
Farewell at FBE
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SISTER
ACT : LS Celeste Parker (left) from HMAS Sydney farewells
her sister SMN Alexia Di Liberto, who is bound for Operation
Catalyst onboard HMAS Newcastle.
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LINE
UP: HMAS Newcastle makes her way out of FBE bound for
her third tour of duty in The Gulf.
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Photos:
ABPH David McMahon
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Sweethearts,
parents and friends farewelled HMAS Newcastle from Sydney
on May 23 on her third tour of The Gulf.
The current CO, CAPT Trevor Jones, said his crew was “well
prepared and looking forward to the deployment” after months
of training and exercises.
He follows in the footsteps of commissioning CO, RADM Max
Hancock (Deputy Chief of Navy) and also RADM Rowan Moffitt
(Maritime Commander).
RADM Moffitt was joined by Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister for Defence, Teresa Gambaro, to farewell ship’s company
from Fleet Base East.
A later CO, CDRE Davyd Thomas, received a Commendation for
Distinguished Service as CO of Newcastle for the ship’s maritime
interdiction work in support of coalition forces enforcing
UN sanctions against Iraq in The Gulf.
During their 2003 tour of duty, while under the command of
CAPT Gerry Christian, ship’s company distinguished themselves
by pulling to safety, in a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB),
eight Iraqi crewmen whose tug foundered with 52 metric tonnes
of contraband oil on board.
The search and rescue took place on a moonless night in two
metre-plus waves.
And, under the command of the current CO on June 17 last,
Newcastle diverted at the request of the Nadi Rescue Coordination
Centre to help in the search for a missing Danish yacht, Tico
Tico, off Fiji.
Overnight sightings of a strobe light and beacon by a ship’s
helicopter led to discovery of the disabled yacht near Duff
Reef the following morning and the three-person crew and life-raft
nearby.
They were airlifted back to the ship and given medical examinations
by the ship’s surgeon.
