The Department of Defence has announced the winners of a national competition to experience life as a submariner before possibly joining the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in its most silent of silent services.
The eight winners were selected from almost 200 entries.
Minister for Defence Personnel, Darren Chester said that among the successful entrants was Damon Dawson from Cessnock, NSW, who wanted to be an Acoustic Analyst Submariner because he aspired to be part of a team providing real-time intelligence to commanders.
“Tahlia Purdie from Melbourne is interested in the Marine Technician role because she is fascinated by submarine propulsion systems and how they work,” Mr Chester said.
‘Tahlia wants a career where she can work with her hands and apply her mind to solve problems.”
He said that for Kirkley Whiting, from Esperance, Western Australia, the best option was Electronics Engineer.
“He’s excited by the challenges of the job, the uniqueness of it and the opportunity to work on world class technologies as part of a close community of people,” Mr Chester said.
He said the competition winners had recently toured Australia’s largest Navy base, HMAS Stirling, in Garden Island, Western Australia.
“They experienced Navy simulators at the Submarine Training and Systems Centre, testing their fitness during a physical training session, honing their skills on the Weapon Training Simulation System and observing where Australia’s submariners work, on-board HMAS Sheean,” the Minister said.
“They have seen for themselves that the environment is unique and while the space is limited, the experience is vast.”
