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29 Jan 2021	Royal Navy to receive world-class autonomous minesweepers The Royal Navy is set to receive three world-class autonomous minesweepers to work on mine disposal operations and reduce the risk to sailors on these dangerous missions. The crewless system is the first of its kind in the navy and will allow personnel to neutralise mines at range while on operations around the globe. More.....
29 Jan 2021	HMS Queen Elizabeth assumes role as new fleet flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth today assumed the role of Fleet Flagship as the Royal Navy moves closer to deploying the world’s most technologically advanced carrier strike group. Fleet Commander Vice-Admiral Jerry Kyd was received on HMS Queen Elizabeth to mark the transfer of the role from HMS Albion. More.....
29 Jan 2021	Kudos for diver's brave efforts In August 2017, Australian Clearance Diving Team-1 was called on to recover three missing marines from the wreck of a United States Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey, which was ditched in 60 metres of water near Rockhampton. Over multiple days, Leading Seaman Clearance Diver Steven Palu worked to recover the remains from the wreckage, his efforts being recognised with a Conspicuous Service Medal in this year's Australia Day honours list. More.....
29 Jan 2021	Horses inspire new ideas to encourage 'joining up' A modern horse-training technique inspired new ideas for Navy’s recruiting team when they swapped their city desks for grassy paddocks during a recent planning day. The small team, which works under the Navy People Branch, held the event at Gunben, a property north-west of Canberra. More.....
28 Jan 2021	Communications sailor recognised for work Leading Seaman Christopher Sanders works in a high-tech information environment, leveraging sophisticated communications systems to enable the flow of information. But one of the most important messages of his 11-year career in the Royal Australian Navy may well still be sitting in his letterbox at home. Leading Seaman Sanders was awarded the Conspicuous Service Medal in this year's Australia Day honours. More.....
28 Jan 2021	The US Navy needs to admit it can’t outbuild China The most often quoted line of the ancient Chinese strategist Sun Tzu is that ‘supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting’. By that measure, the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army have shown themselves to be excellent by winning a bloodless battle with the US. China’s anti-access/area-denial strategy has already broken the US’s willingness to operate close to China’s coast in a conflict. It won that first battle through asymmetric means when it couldn’t match the US military in conventional might. More.....
28 Jan 2021	Sovereign shipbuilding capability retained in Hunter Class Frigate project The Morrison Government’s Hunter Class Frigate Project continues to ramp up its Australian workforce, with the graduates of Australia’s first digital shipbuilding course beginning work on the Project. The Diploma of Digital Technology, run by the prime contractor for the Hunter Class Frigate Project, BAE Systems Maritime Australia and Flinders University, was launched in March last year. More.....
27 Jan 2021
27 Jan 2021	Navy and Tickford Racing celebrate partnership Navy and Tickford Racing this month celebrated 10 years of the highly successful Navy Industry Outplacement Program. The program is a development program for technical sailors, which spans 12 months at Tickford Racing’s headquarters in Melbourne. More.....
26 Jan 2021	India Presents ‘Opportunity’ for Partnership to Counter China As the United States seeks to counter China in the Indo-Pacific, it should look to partner with countries in the region like India, according to a long-time House Armed Services Committee lawmaker. Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.),on Tuesday described India as a likely regional partner. “I think there’s great opportunity with the nation of India to continue to grow that relationship. I’ve been there to visit several times with their military leaders and they are very interested because of what China’s doing with the one Belt one road – which essentially surrounds India." More.....
26 Jan 2021	Personnel on board HMAS Adelaide play trivia
26 Jan 2021	The Updated Australian National Anthem The Royal Australian Navy Band in Melbourne record the first official version of the updated Australian National Anthem, featuring Leading Seaman Musician Tracy Kennedy on vocals.
26 Jan 2021	Defence personnel recognised in Aust Day honours The work of senior ADF officers in strengthening the ADF’s relationships with Australia’s neighbours and facilitating more than $1 billion of exports for Australian industry has been recognised in the Australia Day honours. Major General John Noble and Air Vice Marshal Leigh Gordon were awarded an Officer in the Military Division of the Order of Australia (AO). More.....
25 Jan 2021	China, US step up military activities near Taiwan China and the United States have stepped up military activities near Taiwan and the South China Sea, with both sides also trading diplomatic barbs as the incoming Biden administration signals it will continue to shore up support for the self-governing island, of which China claims as part of its territory. More.....
25 Jan 2021	Defence to invest $1bn in new long-range missile capability Royal Australian Navy vessels are set to be fitted with new advanced anti-ship missiles as part of a $1 billion investment announced by Defence Minister Linda Reynolds. The Commonwealth Government has committed to investing $1 billion in the early development of long-range anti-ship missiles, extended range surface-to-air missiles, advanced lightweight torpedoes and land strike capabilities, in a bid to bolster the naval fleet’s defences amid growing regional instability. More.....
25 Jan 2021	Defence scraps Phoenix International’s sub contract The contract to deliver a submarine rescue system for the Navy’s Collins and Attack Class submarine fleet has been axed by the Department of Defence. Defence has confirmed it has terminated Phoenix International’s $255 million contract, signed in 2018, to deliver a new sovereign air transportable Submarine Rescue Service capability to the Royal Australian Navy’s current and future submarine fleet. More.....
25 Jan 2021	Click here to download the January edition of "BROADSIDE"..... NOTE from Webmaster: If you are a member and haven't been notified that your monthly copy of 'BROADSIDE' is available to download, the email address you supplied on joining is incorrect or out of date. To correct this, contact the webmaster at: and he will copy and amend your address.
25 Jan 2021	Hitting the deck for charity marathon Running 500 laps of an Armidale-class patrol boat might seem crazy to most, but for HMAS Glenelg’s Commanding Officer it was the perfect opportunity to make a difference for the Running for Premature Babies charity. Lieutenant Commander Jared Webb ran 42km – the distance of a full marathon – as part of the Premmie Run in an effort to raise much-needed funds for lifesaving neonatal equipment and research for premature babies. More.....
23 Jan 2021	Indigenous sailors on board with program The latest recruits in the Navy Indigenous Development Program (NIDP) graduated at HMAS Cairns late last year. The graduation ceremony for Course 14 ended five months of training that tested the recruits’ physical fitness and provided education opportunities through TAFE courses. The training also exposed the recruits to a structured environment, personal cultural experiences and helped to develop confidence and important leadership skills. More.....
22 Jan 2021	Chinese Ships Seen Mapping Strategic Seabed In Indian Ocean Chinese government ships have been carrying out a systematic survey in the eastern Indian ocean. Data gathered may be particularly relevant to submarine warfare. A Chinese Survey ship, the Xiang Yang Hong 03, is currently operating in the Indian Ocean. It has already caused controversy, accused of ‘running dark’, without broadcasting its position in Indonesian territorial waters. More.....
22 Jan 2021	Chinese Navy Faces Overseas Basing Weakness, Report Says A major weakness “the largest navy in the world” has yet to solve is where Beijing will find skilled shipyard workers and modern facilities to maintain its fleet’s combat readiness far from its shores, the co-author of a major study examining Chinese vulnerabilities said Thursday. Speaking in a Center for Strategic and Budgetary Analysis online forum, Toshi Yoshihara said, “Chinese analysts can only dream about this access” to the host nation’s workforce and facilities at places such as Yokosuka in Japan and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean that the United States enjoys. More.....
22 Jan 2021	The future of robotics and autonomous systems The crystal ball is a little clearer for Defence’s logistics elements and those involved in robotics and autonomous systems with the release of two new concepts by the Vice Chief of the Defence Force Executive. Released late last year, the two concepts, developed by the Force Exploration Hub, captured ideas to assist in designing the future force. More.....
22 Jan 2021	Amphibious assets key to supply mission HMAS Adelaide showcased its sophisticated amphibious deployment system during Operation Fiji Assist. The ship transported more than 400 tonnes of disaster relief supplies to cyclone-affected areas. Leading Seaman James Rollo said operational success came down to Adelaide’s capable platform for staging and deploying amphibious assets. More.....
21 Jan 2021	Operation Fiji Assist
21 Jan 2021	Does Soviet naval strategy provide a template for China’s maritime ambitions? In 1976, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Sergei Georgyevich Gorshkov published his exposition of Soviet maritime strategy under the title The sea power of the state. The book is an argument for a rising great power to exploit the maritime domain in all its dimensions: military, political, economic and scientific. More.....
21 Jan 2021	Recognition for ADF members and families THE Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal will consider recognition for members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) who are injured, wounded or killed in or as a result of their service, and their families. Minister for Defence Personnel Darren Chester said following preliminary consultation and advice from the Council of Women and Families United by Defence Service, it was now a matter for the Tribunal to examine. More.....
20 Jan 2021	January 2021 MMHN Update A belated Happy New Year to all! Fortunately, Victoria seems to have averted yet another debilitating COVID Lockdown episode during January. With interstate and overseas travel curtailed, and ‘intra-state’ tourism booming, more Victorians spending time around coastal Victoria may result in a heightened appreciation for Victoria’s rich and diverse maritime heritage in the wider public of piers, lighthouses, piers, lighthouses, rocks and wrecks, etc. Lighthouses seem to enjoy universal appeal as examples of maritime infrastructure, but sadly, piers perhaps less so. Most of us will have strolled along, fished from and jumped off piers – but the evocative and inspirational image below of Rye Pier taken by MMHN Board member Ross Brewer celebrating the wonder of what lies beneath, may change our minds about piers! More.....
20 Jan 2021	Theodore Roosevelt Strike Group CO: Interactions with Chinese Navy Not Changing Significantly While the Chinese Navy is building up its fleet, it isn’t operating more aggressively toward U.S. ships in the region, according to the commander of a carrier strike group currently deployed to the Indo-Pacific. Rear Adm. Doug Verissimo, who commands Carrier Strike Group 9, acknowledged the build-up of the People’s Liberation Army Navy but said he is not seeing changes in how the U.S. Navy operates near the Chinese compared to his prior deployments to the region in 2017 and 2018. More.....
20 Jan 2021	American warship, F-35 jets to deploy with British fleet U.S. combat jets and a destroyer are to join the British Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier on its maiden operational deployment to the Asia-Pacific region later in 2021, after officials formally approved the deployment Tuesday. British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and U.S. acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller co-signed a joint declaration approving the deployment of U.S. Marine and U.S. Navy assets as part of a carrier strike group led by the HMS Queen Elizabeth, the British Ministry of Defence announced. More.....
20 Jan 2021	Assistant Minister for Defence urges Aussie families to stay cyber safe Assistant Minister for Defence Andrew Hastie has urged parents to be vigilant while shopping online for school essentials this month, with back-to-school shopping opening up opportunities for cyber criminals to strike. The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) leads the Australian government’s operational efforts to boost the nation’s cyber resilience and make Australia the most secure place to connect online. More.....
19 Jan 2021	Operation Fiji Assist - Return of ADF Contingent HMAS Adelaide and her crew will begin their return to Australia tomorrow marking the completion of a three-week recovery operation in Fiji following Tropical Cyclone Yasa. Members from HMAS Adelaide, the Australian Army’s 6th Engineer Support Regiment and 5th Aviation Regiment, have been working in partnership with Fijian authorities to clear debris, and repair critical infrastructure following the devastating category five cyclone. More.....
19 Jan 2021	US Navy autonomous vessel sails through transit test, participates in Dawn Blitz A Ghost Fleet Overlord unmanned surface vessel, part of a partnership between the Defense Department’s Strategic Capabilities Office and the Navy, recently travelled a distance of more than 4,700 nautical miles, almost entirely autonomously. Afterwards, it participated in Exercise Dawn Blitz where it again spent nearly all of its underway time operating autonomously. More.....
18 Jan 2021	Sailor killed in Pearl Harbor attack laid to rest in Arizona An 18-year-old U.S. Navy sailor from Arizona who died at Pearl Harbor was buried with full military honors on Friday after his remains were identified last year, about 80 years after the Japanese attack. Carl Johnson, a U.S. Navy seaman 1st Class and a Purple Heart recipient, was aboard the USS West Virginia near Hawaii when multiple torpedoes hit the side of the battleship to which he was assigned in 1941. About 100 crewman on the vessel died. More.....
16 Jan 2021	Chinese Survey Ship Caught ‘Running Dark’ Give Clues to Underwater Drone Operations A Chinese government survey ship was intercepted “running dark” without broadcasting its position via AIS (Automated Information System by Indonesian officials. The incident is latest twist in an ongoing maritime saga which has also seen Chinese uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) found in Indonesia’s territorial waters. The survey ship, Xiang Yang Hong 03, left its base at Sanya on Hainan Island, China, on the morning of Jan. 6. It was intercepted by the Indonesian Coast Guard near the Sunda Strait during the week of January 11. All ships transiting the strategically important strait are required to be on AIS and when confronted the crew Xiang Yang Hong 03claimed that its AIS was damaged, according to press reports. More.....
15 Jan 2021	NUSHIP Supply arrives in home port for first time
15 Jan 2021	Anniversary of Mallacoota evacuation
14 Jan 2021	More than $1 million to honour Australia’s military history Seventy-nine community groups and organisations from across the country will receive funding under the Saluting Their Service Commemorative Grants Program for projects that help preserve Australia’s military history. Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Darren Chester said more than $1 million would be provided to assist the successful applicants in completing projects and activities that commemorate our service personnel. More.....
12 Jan 2021	ADF up to the challenges of 2020 Last year was difficult and disruptive for our nation and was a defining year for Defence. At the beginning of 2020, as Australia burned, Defence swung into action with the largest-ever mobilisation of the ADF in response to a domestic disaster. More than 8200 personnel supported authorities in six states and territories as part of Operation Bushfire Assist. As this crisis abated another arrived in the form of a global pandemic. More.....
11 Jan 2021	Beijing steps up naval shipbuilding program with eyes on global navy It may be a new year, but 2021 has kicked off right where 2020 left off, with Beijing redoubling its efforts to establish a truly global blue water navy capable of competing with the US Navy and its allies around the world with focus on power projection, strategic deterrence and control of maritime lines of communication. More.....
11 Jan 2021	Australian Defence Force personnel progressing on Operation Fiji Assist Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel are progressing operations to support the Fijian Government with recovery efforts following Tropical Cyclone Yasa, delivering much-needed supplies to remote islands impacted by the category five cyclone. ADF personnel have been able to move on the next phase of their work, having completed their full quarantine. The majority of personnel quarantined on board HMAS Adelaide, while a small ADF construction team worked onshore in COVID-19 safe bubbles. More.....
09 Jan 2021	Our January 2021 Navy Hero As next month is the anniversary of the collision resulting in the loss of HMAS Voyager we thought it appropriate that our hero for this month is: Chief Petty Officer Coxswain Jonathan Rogers GC DSM Jonathan Rogers (1920-1964), sailor, was born on 16 September 1920 at Vroncysylite, near Llangollen, Denbighshire, Wales, fifth of seven children of Jonathan Rogers, labourer, and his wife Sarah Ellen, née Probyn. Leaving Acrefair Central School at the age of 14, he worked at the Ruabon brickyard, boxed and played soccer. On 22 November 1938 Rogers enlisted in the Royal Navy. Five ft 8 ins (173 cm) tall and heavily built, he had brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He spent most of World War II at sea in three coastal vessels: Motor Anti-Submarine Boat No.62 (1940-41), Motor Launch No.204 (1942-43) and Motor Torpedo Boat No.698 (1943-45). Promoted petty officer in 1943, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his 'coolness and leadership' under enemy fire during an action off Dunkirk, France, on the night of 23/24 May 1944. He was discharged from the R.N. on 23 January 1946. His full story can be found in our Heroes section.
08 Jan 2021/td>	Royal Australian Navy accepts first Supply-class replenishment vessel Australia’s contract with Spain’s Navantia S.A. has reached a major milestone with Ship Acceptance of the Royal Australian Navy’s First Supply-class vessel, NUSHIP Supply. Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC was pleased to announce the formal acceptance of the Auxiliary Oilier Replenishment (AOR) ship, NUSHIP Supply from Spanish shipbuilder, Navantia S.A. More.....
07 Jan 2021	Medal recognises bushfire service Many people who took part in the firefighting effort during last summer’s bushfire emergency will be awarded the National Emergency Medal with clasp. The National Emergency Medal can be awarded by the Governor-General to any person who has given sustained service during a nationally significant emergency. More.....
06 Jan 2021	Preparation underway to build new frigates Prototyping is underway at the Osborne shipyard in Adelaide in preparation for work to start on Navy's Hunter-class frigates. Defence's Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group's first assistant secretary ships Sheryl Lutz said five prototype blocks would be built in the prototyping phase to test the shipyard's production systems, develop the facilities and ensure the workforce was trained and ready to build the Hunter-class frigates. More.....
04 Jan 2021	UK Royal Navy Declares IOC for Queen Elizabeth Carrier Strike Group Ahead of Spring Deployment The U.K. Royal Navy’s first carrier strike group in 38 years has reached Initial Operating Capability (IOC) ahead of its first operational deployment later this year, the U.K. government announced today. The IOC declaration means that all elements of the CSG – from the aircraft carrier itself, to the air wing, to the surface combatants, and all their systems that operate in the air, surface and undersea domains – have been brought together and operated successfully. More.....
01 Jan 2021	FlyBy A periodical of the Fleet Air Arm Association of Australia. January issue.....
01 Jan 2021	Happy New Year To all our members and families, we wish you a safe, healthy and happy 2021.

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ON TRACK with the Right Mix mobile app from the Department of Veterans Affairs helps you to keep track of the number and types of drinks you consume; the amount of money it's costing you and lets you know about the impact the alcohol has on your wellbeing and fitness levels.

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