At sea, damage-control teams train daily to combat fires, floods, medical emergencies or toxic hazards. But sometimes, they practise fighting all four, everywhere, all at once.

Simulating a catastrophic impact to the ship, the entire crew of HMAS Toowoomba scrambled to carry out a whole-ship damage-control exercise, where everything that could go wrong happened simultaneously.

Toowoomba’s combat survivability training officer Lieutenant Christian Perryman declared his admiration of the attitude and excellence of the crew, who rose to overcome the never-ending challenges thrown at them.    

“There’s a strong sense of solidarity and pride on board. A lot of people like the idea that they’d be fighting to save the ship and their ‘oppos’ beside them, that’s something you can always bank on,” Lieutenant Perryman said.

Aft repair damage control instructor Leading Seaman Jonathan Hannant said, apart from enhancing the crew’s skills, the training also provided them with confidence to operate under pressure.

“These exercises give everyone reassurance and it really does help people confront it when there is an actual incident,” he said.

Leading Seaman Hannant said that carrying out so many scenarios simultaneously across the ship trained personnel beyond their specialist skill set.

“It’s extremely important. You’re not just learning a specific skill, everyone should be able to do every role, so if someone falls over or gets hurt, everyone can step up and do the job,” he said.