Royal Australian Navy coastal minehunter HMAS Diamantina during Exercise Dugong 24 in Eden, New South Wales. Photo: CPL Michael Rogers.
Members of the Australian Defence Force have taken part in an advanced mine warfare course hosted by the British Royal Navy in England.
Members of the Australian Defence Force have taken part in an advanced mine warfare course hosted by the British Royal Navy in England.
There are no more free items available for this month
To read the rest of this article, please log in.
Create a free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Two sailors from the Royal Australian Navy took part in the course on HMS Collingwood in England.
Warrant Officer Jason Lockard and Chief Petty Officer Narelle Cochrane participated in the eight-week training, which focused on how a maritime task force can plan for and eliminate the threat to maritime security and stability posed by sea mines.
Warrant Officer Lockard and Chief Petty Officer Cochrane learned several aspects of planning, including how to identify likely mined areas, what search patterns are best for identifying targets, and what disposal methods are best.
“The course is designed to help us advance practical planning for conducting mine warfare operations,” said Warrant Officer Lockard.
1
“Because we did it together with some Five Eyes partners that we may need to work with in the future, it was realistic.”
Both sailors are now qualified to work as mine warfare planners in maritime task forces.
During the course, the students conducted a final series of training at the Mine Warfare Centre for Excellence in Ostend, Belgium.
They worked as a task force to identify targets for protection against a computer-simulated mine warfare threat.
After the threats were identified, participants assigned resources such as firefighting divers or mine clearance vessels.
“I look forward to using my new knowledge and skills to meet the challenges of mine countermeasures operations,” said Chief Petty Officer Cochrane.
“The opportunity to contribute to the further development of our mine warfare tactics and strategies benefits my entire workforce.”
