Like many young recruits, Able Seaman Jack joined the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) because he wanted to see the world. 

But becoming a submariner, and qualifying on United States Navy (USN) nuclear-powered attack submarines – where one in 10 crew members is Australian – has opened up a new universe of adventure, technology and learning.

Speaking from the torpedo room on board USS Vermont, a Virginia-class fast-attack submarine, the Machinist’s Mate – Weapons is one of the more than 170 RAN officers and sailors now qualified, or in the training pipeline, for the USN’s nuclear-powered attack submarines.

“As torpedoman, if it goes boom on a submarine, it’s essentially maintained by us,” Able Seaman Jack said.

“So everything from torpedos to Tomahawk cruise missiles, to countermeasures and small arms.”

Training to serve on board Vermont was a steep learning curve for Able Seaman Jack, who had already qualified to serve on board RAN’s Collins-class submarines.

It involved training at the Naval Submarine School in Groton, Connecticut, an active submarine base. 

In the US, Able Seaman Jack completed an eight-week Basic Enlisted Submarine School course, before completing 11 weeks of advanced training on the fundamentals of being a torpedoman.

“The nuclear submarine front is cutting edge. The capability that these boats have is really impressive,” he said.

“They’re different, they’re unique and they’re new.

“It can be challenging gaining the new level of knowledge that’s required, but I just strived to take on as much as I could so that I could do the best that I could and be an expert in my field, whatever the situation required.” 

'The nuclear submarine front is cutting edge. The capability that these boats have is really impressive.'

And the hard work is clearly paying off. 

Able Seaman Jack was part of a combined RAN-USN team that clocked one of the fastest fleet times for simultaneous reloads of all four torpedo tubes as part of a readiness evaluation at sea.

“It makes you feel proud as an Australian sailor,” Able Seaman Jack said.

“The Americans did their best, and so did I, and we came out on top.”

Vermont arrived at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia for a submarine maintenance period (SMP) in late October. 

While alongside at Fleet Base West, Australian personnel are taking on even greater responsibility for planning, coordinating and delivering complex maintenance activities on board the USN submarine to uplift RAN and industry capability.

The SMP is a major capstone event towards Australia becoming sovereign ready for owning, operating and maintaining its own conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines as part of the AUKUS partnership.