HMNZS TE MANA
ASWEX
By LT Jacinda Johnston RNZN
TE MANA arrived back at Devonport on 11 December, with everyone on board looking forward to reuniting with friends and family. Our return home capped off a very successful deployment, with Exercise Bersam Lima 09 (see NT 150) as our major professional challenge.
TE MANA moved on to Western Australia in early November, for ASWEX (Anti-Submarine Exercise) 2009. This is an annual exercise hosted by the RAN, designed to focus combat ships, helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft on under-water warfare tactics.
Prior to commencing the exercise, we spent a long weekend alongside in Fremantle; our sailors happily engaged back into an English-speaking country and enjoyed the sights, shopping and seafood of Western Australia’s oldest seaport. Suitably refreshed, TE MANA made a quick stop at Fleet Base West to re-store and embark exercise torpedoes; before departing in company with HMA Ships SIRIUS, ANZAC, ARUNTA and DARWIN.
On board TE MANA, we all remained flexible throughout ASWEX, as equipment defects and adverse weather conditions affected our ever-changing program. Despite these challenges, our team gained numerous valuable training opportunities including replenishment, anti-air and anti-surface warfare, ship-handling drills, gunnery, electronic warfare and many hours tracking the submarine target.
Our most noteworthy feat of the exercise however, was demolishing a low-level aerial towed target after only two shots! For our extreme gunnery skills, TE MANA was awarded a unique trophy in the form of a large, stuffed Australian Tamar. ‘Terry’ as he is now affectionately known, is a cross somewhere between a wallaby and a small kangaroo, and will make TE MANA his home until the next trans-Tasman gunnery challenge.
Throughout our time in West Australia, we also found opportunities to run team-building expeditions, as well as compete in inter-ship sports and claim the inter-navy Lou Smith Cup for rugby. In addition, we supported ‘Movember’ in style, with many members of our ship’s company sporting hearty beards by day 30, or at least gaining points for trying!
Western Australian Expeds
By LT Cam Field RNZN
We had the opportunity to send three separate groups on a 4 day exped that was run by the WA Adventure Training Staff. The aim of the Adventure Training was to promote teamwork, esprit de corps and confidence-building by undertaking challenging recreational and character-building activities.
The exped was conducted in the Margaret River region of WA with groups of 10 and two adventure training staff led by guides Glenn and Craig.
1st Day: a 15 km bush walk down a section of the 1000 km Bimbbulmun Track. We saw some of the local wild life which included a blue tongue lizard but thankfully no snakes.
2nd Day: a bus trip down to the Big Valley campsite where we camped for two nights. Then onto the Willyabrup Cliffs for an afternoon’s abseiling. Two abseils, one 10 m and one 30 m, off the coastal cliffs overlooking the Indian Ocean. We also enjoyed seeing some sperm whales playing near the shore.
3rd Day: a flat water kayak down the Blackwood River amongst a haze of smoke from a near-by bush fire. The bush showed signs of previous season’s fire damage and that, with the smoke, really brought home how susceptible Australia is to fire.
4th Day: packed up and back to the ship, via the Giants’ Cave in Calgardup. At 575 m long and 86 m deep, it’s the largest and deepest cave in the area.
All three expeds were a huge success and would not have happened without the help of the WA Adventure Training team and without the organisation of LT Clinton Williams.
Previous | Contents | Next