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Petty Officer Wayne Donoho - ON DUTY IN THE PERSIAN GULF

Local sailor Wayne Donohoe is a Canberra man through and through - he grew up here, his parents live in O'Malley and his wife and kids live in Jerrabomberra. But these days Wayne is calling the Persian Gulf home while he is serving as a Marine Technician onboard HMAS Warramunga. Wayne hopes to rejoin his family full-time when he takes up a two year posting in Canberra on return to Australia.

Wayne joined the Navy in 1992, after completing year 12 at Marist Brothers College , where he developed a keen desire to serve his country and community both domestically and internationally. He's now reached the rank of Petty Officer.

"I like being able to 'do my bit' to serve my country on the international stage whilst defending our flag," Wayne said.

Wayne has certainly been doing a fair bit of that since he joined - after his initial year of training as a Marine technician, the Navy has taken Wayne all over the world. His trips include America , Vietnam , Thailand , Malaysia , and every major port in Australia , as well as the completion of several trips to Christmas Island for Operation Relex and earlier this year to Melbourne for the Commonwealth Games.

During these voyages Wayne has achieved a Certificate IV in Marine Engineering plus other trade and industry related qualifications, and he is currently studying towards his Diploma in Marine Engineering.

Wayne and his shipmates will be hunting down blockade runners and also protecting Iraq 's oil terminals from sea-borne terrorist attack - it's a vital job as the terminals generate about 80% of the Iraqi government's revenue. This is the Royal Australian Navy's 14 th rotation through the Persian Gulf in recent times.

"I enjoy the challenges we encounters every day, and I'm grateful to be a part of the ADF's role in supporting Australia 's interests. I also hope to try and see some of what the Middle East region is like - when granted leave, of course!"

Wayne is one of the 1400 Australian Defence personnel now deployed to the Middle East to help post-Saddam Iraq get back on its feet. Known as Operation Catalyst, it is the Australian Government's contribution to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Iraq . Working with the Iraq Government and other coalition forces, the Australian Defence Force continues to help develop a secure and stable environment and assist national recovery programs.