Aussie Navy is hiring
May 8th, 2012 | Australia Navy | Posted by Sam Fellman
The Australian Navy is seeking former U.S. Navy sailors and officers to man new destroyers and amphibs. // RAN
Interested in sailing with the Royal Australian Navy?
The U.S. Navy may be cutting jobs, but the Australian Navy is adding new ships — and seeking former U.S. sailors and officers to crew them.
“The Royal Australian Navy welcomes enquiries from both officers and sailors who are interested in a new career and new life in Australia,” the Australian defense department said in its recruitment posting. “In the coming decade, the RAN is delivering new capabilities in amphibious warfare, air warfare and also helicopter systems.”
They’re looking for submariners, medical officers and technicians, among others. Aegis experts are needed aboard three Hobart-class destroyers. Maintainers are needed for landing craft, planners are need for amphibious operations. Eligible applicants are 44 or younger and left the Navy within the last three years, according to the job post, recently reported on by Stars and Stripes.
Applications sent now will be considered in July and August, the defense department said.
Looking for new job … and country?
January 12th, 2012 | Australia Navy Photos Recruiting | Posted by Bill McMichael
The U.S. Navy is obviously downsizing and by many accounts losing some darn good sailors in the convoluted process — all due to the ongoing economic downturn and pressure on overall defense spending. Staunch ally Great Britain is facing the same sorts of pressures and trimming its forces.
Meanwhile, the military of another strong ally, Australia, is struggling to recruit enough able bodies — so much so that according to this report, the Royal Australian Navy has sent a delegation to Britain to hunt for engineers and submariners who’ve been cut from the force. One study cites a need for as many as 200 engineers — specialists being lost to private industry — and crew members for destroyers and landing ships.
According to the report — spotted on the U.S. Naval Institute blog — the Aussies are looking elsewhere, too: the U.S., Canada and New Zealand.
The Aussie Navy wants officers in the fields of surface warfare, submarines, engineering and medicine. Submarine sailors are needed in Cryptologic Systems and Electronic Warfare; also needed are Marine Technicians and Electronics Technicians. Surface fleet sailors are needed in multiple areas. Check the possibilities out here.
Able Seaman Liam Bateman conducts his tasks in the operation hub on board the Royal Australian Navy frigate Parramatta while deployed in the Middle East. // Photo by Sgt. Mick Davis, 1st Joint Public Affairs Unit
If you qualify, however, there’s a big catch: You have to apply for a permanent resident visa before traveling to Australia, and make a written promise to apply for Australian citizenship as soon as eligible. This normally takes two years but military expatriates will become eligible after three months’ service.
Down Under, memories of another ‘Pearl Harbor’
November 25th, 2011 | Australia Historical Liberty Navy The Pacific | Posted by Gidget Fuentes
No doubt the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor stands out as a critical turning point in our nation’s history. Next month, we mark the 70th anniversary, and the nation will join countless veterans and service members in recalling the sacrifice from that day and the amazing generation that stepped up and answered the nation’s call.
Such pivotal moments are shared by U.S. allies including the Australians, who are strengthening their ties and military relationship with the United States that goes back 60 years to World War II with an alliance that’s remained solid – and popular among U.S. sailors and Marines who get to visit the remote island continent. Most recently, President Barack Obama announced a new rotation of Marines and Air Force units to Australian military training bases that will also see more U.S. ships visiting in Darwin, in the Northern Territory, and likely other liberty ports Down Under.
At the USS Peary memorial in Darwin, Australia, President Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard pay respects to the 91 sailors who perished when the city was bombed in 1942. (AP photo)
Like our Pearl Harbor, the Aussies, too, had a pivotal moment during World War II when 260 Japanese fighters and dive bombers attacked Darwin, home to several key bases and communications stations, on Feb. 19, 1942. Although the Australian military was in the thick of the larger war, this was the first attack on Australian soil. Thick dark plumes of smoke rose over the city from oil storage tanks struck in the attack as soldiers and sailors manned anti-aircraft guns. Two Royal Australian Navy shipswere crippled in the harbor as the hulls exploded. The attack killed as many as 252 troops and local civilians and left hundreds wounded. The bombing of Darwin remains a dark day in that nation’s history. Australia recently announced a new national day of observance to mark the attack.
The enemy aircraft that day also struck the USS Peary as it sat in Darwin’s harbor, off the Timor Sea, killing 91 sailors. On his recent visit, Obama laid a wreath at a memorial dedicated to the Peary, a site anchored by one of the ship’s four-inch guns recovered after the attack. The president met Tony Duke, whose late father, Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Melvin Duke, had survived the attack, received the Purple Heart medal and later had his remains buried at the wreckage site. His son provides a poignant recollection of his father and how he learned what he went through on that fateful day.