By
Michael Brooke
 |
|
BON
VOYAGE: Family and friends farewell Parramatta.
|
The
Anzac-class missile frigate HMAS Parramatta (CMDR Jonathon
Mead) recently left FBE after a tearful farewell with family
and friends and is enroute to the Persian Gulf where she takes
over duties from HMAS Newcastle.
It is Parramatta’s first operational deployment.
CMDR Mead said Parramatta would continue the important
work that HMAS Newcastle had been undertaking such as monitoring,
intercepting and boarding vessels suspected of illegally trafficking
oil and other unregulated cargo that diverts much needed funds
from the Iraqi economy.
“Parramatta and her ship’s company are a capable
and professional unit who have trained hard to prepare themselves
for the challenge of this deployment,” he said.
CMDR Mead said more than 30 of the ship’s company of 180
are women and that their roles and responsibilities range from
the duties of an Able Seaman to that of an officer in charge
of navigation as well as piloting the Sea Hawk helicopter.
