I don't really understand the thinking of the modern Australian Navy. I have never heard of anything more crazy than to tell the public that some of the navy is shutting down so the seaman can have xmas at home for about 2 months. I hope the people smugglers didn't read the article. John
I think it might also have to do with problems keeping the ships fully crewed. All they have to do is increase the salaries to make the jobs more attractive.
While on the subject, what plans do you guys have for Christmas? I'm off from Christmas Eve to January 5 which will be a nice break. A bit shorter than usual but one of the best times of the year, I reckon.
Related to the RAN taking christmas off, what exactly are their commitments? Obviously coastal defence, but where else are they deployed?
Hello Kyt I am not privy to where our ships are. We are in big trouble getting recruits to man any of our ships. It is a shame as life in the services have improved. My concern is if this a cost cutting exercise. Crewless navy welcomes fishermen | The Australian
Kyt, we've usually got at least one frigate deployed in the Persian Gulf at all times and there's the usual exercises with the neighbours including the (I think) annual trip to Hawaii for exercises with the USN. The patrol boats, the new Armidale class, are always busy in the northern third of the country on maritime patrol. We'll also have some ongoing participation around East Timor, the Solomons etc. What's a little concerning is that we're currently running about 12 frigates IIRC - eight ANZAC class and the four remaining (of six originally) Adelaide class which are US Oliver Hazzard Perry FFGs. On top of that we've got a couple of oilers, the patrol boats, minesweepers etc etc as well as the amphib ships Tobruk, Kanimbla and Manoora - the latter two being ex-USN and bought by us when already about 25 years old (have been stalwarts though). Oh, and there's the six Collins class submarines which have struggled for full crews for some time now. So, a decent-sized force, not huge, but very capable and well-trained. The concerning thing though is that, in Adelaide, we're beginning to build the three air warfare destroyers (to a Spanish design with the US AEGIS system) to replace the long gone DDGs Perth, Hobart and Brisbane. When these come on line, I reckon the remaining Adelaide ships will be paid off. However, on top of that, the Spanish are building us an LHD...in other words an amphib ship with full length flight deck so we'll effectively have a carrier again. This is great as it will greatly enhance our capabilities and I think there's also two LPDs/LSDs being built to create a serious amphib task force. How are we going to crew large ships like this? Sure, the three existing amphibs will go so there's the majority of the crew but will we have to rely on the RAAF and Army to provide the strike part of air wing beyond ASW? The new DDGs will be crewed by the "surplus" from the smaller/regular frigate fleet but, again, we're having problems NOW.
Cheers Andy. I thought they would have a presence around Timor, and that neck of the woods, and teh Persian gulf makes a sense - seems everyone's got at least one ship there protecting against pirates. So it really depends whether the rotational system for the holidays can cope with the commitments.
I'm not sure if we've got any participation in the Gulf of Aden with the recent anti-pirate task force but, like the Persian Gulf, everyone else has so...
Hello Andy Thank you for all the info you supplied re ships. Did you see the new work uniform that has been supplied to the 11000 navy personel on TV last night ? New look Navy Uniform - Royal Australian Navy
I didn't see it, John, but I read about it yesterday. No more grey overalls and perhaps something a bit more multi-tasking?
