Feedback From Recent Visitors to Our Frigates…
Thanks to TE KAHA
By Tsehai Tiffin, Reporter TVNZ, Queenstown Bureau
I reported on the official keel-laying ceremony of TE KAHA in Melbourne - back in 1994 - as a young Australia Correspondent. I remember (vaguely I must admit) rather elaborate speeches about what the frigate’s proud future might be and hand-on-heart discussion about it protecting our country’s shores. Now, thanks to an invitation from the Royal Society, I got to travel in the frigate I heard so much about, for a ten day voyage to the Sub-Antarctic!
The Navy was to provide transport and support for the Department of Conservation’s mission to take 750 metres of boardwalk some 700 kms south. As for the military side of things, I’m told this is all part of the training. It transpires this is the maiden voyage in TE KAHA for 48 of the 145 sailors on board. This would be a chance to test themselves in almost guaranteed rough seas, manoeuvring through harbours that aren’t fully charted. These islands give NZ’s EEZ a good push south helping make our exclusive economic zone the fourth largest in the World – the fisheries alone are worth a fortune. It’s the Navy’s job to protect those interests. But on this trip the only other ship I see is one full of tourists! [The MV ORION. Ed]
I had expected whole areas of the frigate to be cordoned off; the media is often regarded with a degree of suspicion. But these are clearly modern times.
We were assimilated (our bunks spread throughout the various bunk rooms of the ship) we were encouraged to talk to any Navy staff, we were even put on a roster for dinner so we rotated through the ranks. We’re talking of over thirty of us civvies – DoC staff, school girls, a teacher, Royal Society, news media - a big and disparate bunch for any group to suddenly have living literally in their midst for ten days and nights, with no escape.
The media is always a high maintenance group. We have lots of questions, lots of requirements: can we email, how many photos can the system cope with, can we be first on the RHIB to the islands, can we put our gear here, can we have plugs? We spread out all over the junior ratings’ mess once dinner is over, to talk and work on our laptops. We drink endless hot tea and Milo which constantly uses up the supply of cups. All this is met with grace and good humour. I think to myself this is going to wear thin by day four. But even after several days the greetings and smiles still appear genuine as one or the other steps aside to pass in those narrow corridors.
My impression is that sailors work long, often split, shifts and on the one long night of ten metre seas where you can hardly stand up (the only possible future for me was lying down eyes shut) they continued to function, patches behind ears, up ladders, down ladders. The same faces do endless dishes early in the morning and then – especially when we’re held up on the island - late at night. In the close quarters of our narrow bunk room I’m amazed at how quiet everyone is; it’s surprisingly easy to sleep - people come and go like ghosts.
There were all the Navy traditions I’d expected, the ranks, the Wardroom (great coffee) the pipes, but this ship, the subject of so much pomp and ceremony all those years ago in Melbourne was far more open and flexible than I’d imagined. It seemed a ship at ease with a troop of strange sea riders, a very Kiwi ship, ready to go anywhere, do anything, with good heart.
And Thanks to TE MANA
By CDR Carrie A. Hasbrouck USN
“Would you like to take a tour of the TE MANA?” To a sailor on shore duty, those were words as liberating as “Shift colors, underway!” [A pipe which is heard in US Navy ships as they leave harbour. Ed]
I was in Auckland, as a US representative to the Combined Communications Electronics Board (CCEB), a multi-national contingent of like-minded communicators. Each morning of the conference started with a ferry ride from Auckland to Devonport, affording me a view of sea-going vessels of all types; sailboats, ferries, and even the QUEEN MARY II. But when LCDR Denise Potgieter, a NZ CCEB participant, offered me a tour of HMNZS TE MANA (F111), I jumped at the opportunity to be back on board a combatant ship.
A call to the ship determined a window of available time right after lunch and just before a FAST cruise, two events of great importance on board any ship anywhere. Regardless, a welcome invitation was extended. As we crossed the brow, the quarterdeck watch displayed an air of professionalism that was seen throughout the ship. We were met by the WEO, LTCDR Euan Henderson, who offered the expertise and shipboard knowledge of Petty Officer Lee Scott for the tour.
With a smile and firm handshake, we set off to see those parts of TE MANA that clearly communicates her intent – Radio, Combat, and the Weapons deck. Each space we visited showed the hallmarks of good leadership and a great command; personnel were engaged in underway preparations, the mundane (but necessary) security and safety procedures were adhered to, and every space – inside and out – was clean. Though the tour was brief, there was ample time to exchange a few sea stories and compare notes on how our respective Navies fulfilled the mission of today and prepared for tomorrow’s unknown.
We crossed the brow and headed back toward our conference, buoyed by the ship tour. In the words and actions of every sailor on board, I had confirmed for myself that what our nations have in common is a longer list than even the distance across the oceans that separate us. The conference day concluded with a ferry ride back to Auckland - just as the TE MANA set sail. Perfect.
CDR Hasbrouck is the Data and Services Applications Branch Chief, Enterprise Services Division, Joint Staff (J6). She previously served as the Combat Systems Officer on board USS ENTEPRISE (CVN 65).
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