Thursday Island Cousins Reunite Aboard HMAS Bathurst

For two cousins who grew up on an Island, the Royal Australian Navy was an obvious option when it came to picking what service to join in the Australian Defence Force.

ABBM Tai Nona and SMN Thomas Fuji are from Thursday Island and are now serving with the ATTACK SIX crew embarked in HMAS Bathurst.

The two cousins joined the Navy a year apart in 2011 both as Boatswains Mates and have now been reunited onboard Bathurst.

ABBM Mate Tai Nona is very excited to put his new skills to use onboard Bathurst. His tasks will include jet RHIB driving skills, weapons handling and various ship survivability skills.

“I am so happy to be at sea, it has been a steady progression since Recruit School but I am finally at sea doing the job that I trained for,” said ABBM Nona.

“I am really excited that I have been posted with my cousin and the crew have been so helpful.”

His cousin SMN Thomas Fujii feels the same way.

“It is great to be at sea, meeting new people and learning so much. My cousin and I grew up together and now that we are working together I feel it has worked out really well,” said SMN Fujii.

Since joining Bathurst, the two sailors have visited Singapore after participating in the Singaporean Navy hosted International Maritime Defence Exhibition (IMDEX) Asia 13 and the Western Multilateral Sea Exercise.

“This was my first time overseas, it was amazing to experience it with my new ship mates and my cousin,” said AB Nona.

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Press Release, May 20, 2013