CMDR MacDonald joined the RAN as a sailor in 1962 and received his Commission at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth UK in 1975. CMDR MacDonald served in ten different classes of warships and instructed in two warfare training establishments. An Anti-air Warfare Specialist (AWS), he developed
Samoan citizens, service members from U.S. and partner nations, and non-governmental organization volunteers kicked off Pacific Partnership 2013 with an opening ceremony, June 1. Pacific Partnership is the largest disaster response-preparation mission in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. It will spend e
Australian Minister for Defence Stephen Smith, Japanese Minister of Defense Itsunori Onodera, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel held trilateral defence ministerial talks in Singapore June 1 on the margins of the International Institute of Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue. This was the s
Being deployed thousands of nautical miles from home brings a completely different perspective of life, especially when it comes to basic necessities. Instead of going to the grocery store, sailors have a different way of resupplying especially when at the high seas. As life onboard is tough, so is
HMAS Toowoomba (II) is making her way home to Australia after handing over maritime security and interception operations for Operation SLIPPER in the Middle East Area of Operations to HMAS Newcastle. The ship’s company of 191 completed a six-month deployment conducting counter piracy, counter narcot
Sailors from the office of Naval Meteorology and Oceanography released ten global drifter buoys belonging to the University of California, San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography from the amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52), May 28, during Pacific Partnership 2013. The buoys
Australian Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Dr Mike Kelly today announced that three Tenderers have been selected to progress Project Air 9000 Phase 7 which will provide a new helicopter aircrew training system to meet the future rotary wing training needs of the
Pacific Partnership 2013 members embarked aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52) entered the 7th Fleet area of responsibility, May 28. Pacific Partnership, the largest disaster response-preparedness mission in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, is currently en route to its firs
Australian engineering company Taylor Bros has been awarded a $15 million contract for the installation and fit-out of the living spaces for the three Air Warfare Destroyers that are under construction at Techport Australia, SA. Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) Alliance CEO Rod Equid said the contract de
The Chief of the Defence Force (CDF), General David Hurley, and the Chief of Navy (CN), Vice Admiral Ray Griggs, visited the Combat Support Ship ESPS Cantabria on 23 May, while the Spanish ship was at sea exercising with HMAS Melbourne off the coast of New South Wales. The Spanish Armada Ship ESPS C
Leading Seaman Marine Technician Nathan Cook is one of the commissioning crew for NUSHIP Canberra and is now undertaking Introduction into Service (IIS) Training at the new BAE Systems – Maritime Contractor Temporary Training Facility at Mascot, Sydney. The former warehouse has been converted to a s
OSI Maritime Systems announces the provision of an advanced Command, Control and Situational Awareness system to the Royal Australian Navy Amphibious Task Group. OSI’s Tactical Asset Control and Tracking System (T-ACT) will be equipped on two Mother Ships and 12 Landing Craft. Designed for close C2
HMAS Newcastle successfully completed ammunitioning and de-perming at the Magnetic Treatment Facility Fleet Base West before commencing Rotation 31, Operation SLIPPER, in the Middle East Area of Operations. At the Magnetic Treatment Facility the ship was provided the capability to reduce, alter and
The Naval College Class of 1953/55 took a journey down memory lane when they held their 60th Anniversary reunion at HMAS Stirling on Wednesday, 15 May 2013. Travelling from all parts of Australia, the 40 visitors who consisted of retired members, their partners and widows of former 1953 class member
