Troy’s Random Ramblings

Well we’ve nearly made it to the Arabian Gulf. Only a few more days to go and we’ll be there. So far it’s been a pretty boring trip, there really isn’t anything to see in the middle of the Indian Ocean. About the only thing we’ve seen is a couple of whales and some flying fish, so a pretty uneventful trip.

Nothing too exciting at the moment. We are making our way north west across the Indian Ocean. We’ll have one brief stop for fuel on our way to the Arabian Gulf. For those not too sure where I’m headed have a look at this map. We’ll be operating mainly in the northern end of the Gulf, protecting a couple of oil terminals that belong to Iraq.

Well we’re finally on our way to the Persian Gulf to undertake our role in Operational Catalyst.

We’ve had a busy few days in Western Australia reducing the ships magnetic signature, ammunitioning, taking onboard stores and fixing our last few niggling defects.

Had a couple of good days in Fremantle, spent more than I intended to but I’m pretty sure I’ve got everything I need to the trip.

Some more boarding party training starts tomorrow, by then end of this six months I should be reasonably fit, the challenge will be maintaining that.

Yippee, Fleet has arrived! We’ve got them for the rest of the week.  They’ve given us a bit of a touch up already and I’m sure there’s more to come. Luckily this week they are here to help us and give us guidance, rather than flog us completely.

Come early February when we have them on for 3 weeks it is going to get really interesting.

Another day, another day. Sunday at sea, not one of my most favourite things to do. At least this one wasn’t too bad.

My IFF system has passed it’s flight trials. The CAA is happy with how the gear is working, which means that we are safe to run around the world for the next 2 years. Glad that one is out of the way, means I don’t have to worry about it for a while.

Spent part of the afternoon doing boarding party training. Got kitted up into our battle gear and then did some practice boarding exercises. Not too bad an afternoon. I’m not looking forward to wearing the flak jacket with ballistic protection plates in for 6 hours or more. It’s about an extra 15kgs to be lugging around, along with all the other stuff, life jacket, water, and the variety of equipment and weapons we need to carry.

Later on in the afternoon we did some more departmental training and I got to break a few more bit and pieces for the boys. Everyone is doing well at the moment and we are on the right track. Hopefully fleet agrees with us.

Busy days, time for another update. Let’s see, what day is it? Day 6, Saturday. So I guess I should start with Day 5 – Friday.

Friday … A day of sound ranging and laps of Jervis Bay. Also a day to catch up on some administration that had been left wanting for a while. It’s amazing the paperwork that you can get done when you don’t have any other interuptions.

Did some training for the Greenies today too, put a few defects on, caused a bit of grief here and there. All in all a fun day was had, although others may not think so.

Saturday … Pulled in to Two Fold Bay near Eden. Picked up some ammunition for the gun. The ammunitioning went really well, nice smooth evolution with no injuries, and we were finished ahead of schedule.

Then in the afternoon we did some Force Protection training. Basically this involves members of the crew doing various things to make sure no nasty people get on board the ship or try to do harm to the crew or the ship in any way.

My job is as boat driver, so I got to have a bit of fun today and spent the better part of the afternoon and early evening driving the ships boat around the bay. I’m getting better at controlling it now and I’m not as hesitant as I was the other day. Hopefully I’ll get a few more oportunities in the next few weeks.

Now if I had remembered to bring my card reader or even the cable for my camera I’d be able to get some photos and put them up. I’ll have to see if one of the guys on board has a gard reader, maybe tomorrow.

Things are beginning to get a little like ground hog day at the moment.  Today was more boat drills (man overboard and that sort of stuf), more damage control, had a crash on deck exercise this afternoon.

The department is coming together nicely with everyone doing fairly well in the various exercises that we have been going through. Hopefully everyone can keep their cool in the coming weeks when we have Fleet onboard giving us a hard time.

More tomorrow …

Well that was Day 3. Sonar trial finished, all good on that front. Had some damage control exercises, nothing too exciting though.

Couple of quieter days coming up now so I should be able to get into a bit of a routine. We grab some ammunition on Saturday and pick up the Fleet Wreckers on Monday – that’s when all the fun will really start.

Well, it’s actually the morning of Day 3, but since sleep was lacking, it’s still Day 2.

Sonar trial 50% complete, hopefully we get in on time tonight and can complete the rest of the trial without any hassles.

Breakfast and bed, they’re both calling. I think I’ll tackle them in that order.

Well we’re part way through day 2 of our Sea Qualification Trials, and the very beginning of or work up for deployment.

Things haven’t been too bad, yesterday was extremely busy with lots of little things needing sorting out. Most of the equipment that I am responsible for is working as it should. I’ve a couple of little faults but nothing that is going to stop us achieving what we need to.

Today I got to drive the ships RHIB for a little while. When we deploy my job when I am duty in a foreign port will be driving the RHIB, so I got some practice at sea today. I was a little hesitant at first but in the end it wasn’t all that difficult. A bit more practice and I’m sure the Buffer will let me drive his boat without having anyone else looking after me, I hope.

With any luck I’ll be able to get some photos posted too.