The Trade by Rudyard Kipling - Royal Australian Navy
The Trade by Rudyard Kipling - Royal Australian Navy
The Trade by Rudyard Kipling - Royal Australian Navy
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A Day at Sea - from<br />
the Diary of a Submarine<br />
Captain<br />
I have been in Command of HMAS<br />
COLLINS since 4 April 2012, my third<br />
submarine Command and a submarine<br />
I have served in during three previous<br />
posting tenures over a period of seven<br />
years. As a result I know her pretty well,<br />
my wife might say far too well. COLLINS is<br />
the first and the namesake of her class of<br />
six submarines and carries the appropriate<br />
motto of ‘Vanguard’. At 78 metres and over<br />
3000 tonnes she is large as conventional<br />
submarines go, but her size belies her<br />
stealth and her exceptional manoeuvrability<br />
above and below the water. As she sits<br />
alongside the submarine wharf at the<br />
Western <strong>Australian</strong> Fleet base a calm<br />
exterior masks the frenetic activity inside as<br />
we prepare to sail on a Monday morning<br />
for deployment. We will be away for roughly<br />
three Months, fairly typical of submarine<br />
deployments but not as long as some.<br />
COLLINS herself spent over six months<br />
away on a deployment to the West Coast of<br />
the USA and Canada in 2000, a memorable<br />
trip for which I was the Executive Officer<br />
(XO) at the time.<br />
As we make final preparations for departure<br />
every one of the 60 Ships’ Company<br />
has a job to do in preparing individual<br />
departments and the boat as a whole for<br />
sea. I am greeted <strong>by</strong> the gangway sentry<br />
followed <strong>by</strong> the Officer of the day and from<br />
there a succession of personnel to brief me<br />
on everything from operational preparations<br />
to material issues and anything which may<br />
potentially impact sailing or our employment<br />
over the coming weeks.<br />
THE TRADE<br />
EDITION 2, 2012 20<br />
<strong>The</strong> crew has undergone a rigorous<br />
preparation in terms of training both ashore<br />
and at sea testing their preparedness to<br />
deal with anything from a major fire to a<br />
torpedo attack. This process takes weeks<br />
of graduated training working closely with<br />
the submarine sea training unit to ensure<br />
the crew and the platform are ready for any<br />
contingency over the coming months. I am<br />
extremely confident that we as a team are<br />
ready to go and the mood on board reflects<br />
this.<br />
As we wave good<strong>by</strong>e to family and friends<br />
attention quickly shifts to a safe departure,<br />
pilotage out to sea and finally disappearing<br />
West of Rottnest island to reappear weeks<br />
later. We will miss loved ones and be<br />
incommunicado for the majority of our<br />
time away, with a visit to Singapore mid<br />
deployment providing an opportunity for<br />
respite. Once dived we will stay dived<br />
for the majority of our time away settling<br />
immediately into the daily routine. <strong>The</strong> only<br />
reference to day or night being the lighting<br />
in the control room at periscope depth,<br />
darkened at night to facilitate periscope<br />
watchkeeping.<br />
With such a vast coastline any deployment<br />
for an <strong>Australian</strong> Submarine involves long<br />
distances, in this case we will travel over<br />
5000 nautical miles <strong>by</strong> the time we arrive<br />
home. It takes a submarine with plenty of<br />
range and endurance to do that, particularly<br />
without a nuclear reactor.<br />
<strong>by</strong> CMDR JJ Cupples, RAN<br />
Living underwater for long periods takes a<br />
particular type of individual, someone who<br />
works well within a relatively small team and<br />
can rise to a challenge while maintaining<br />
a sense of humour. Submariners undergo<br />
suitability testing prior to joining which tends<br />
to ensure the right people are recruited to<br />
the service. That said, my crew is diverse<br />
with a range of different backgrounds and<br />
personalities all of which combine well<br />
together. <strong>The</strong>re is a strong espirit d’ corps<br />
typically among submarine crews and a<br />
highly professional yet informal relationship<br />
required in such a work environment. <strong>The</strong><br />
mood is upbeat as we depart particularly<br />
for those younger crew members who have<br />
yet to experience an ‘up top’ deployment<br />
and everyone looks forward to the<br />
challenges ahead. This is one of the best<br />
times as a CO, heading overseas with a<br />
well prepared boat and crew.<br />
Once we have left the confines of the<br />
harbour I head down off the bridge and get<br />
a chance to have a chat with some of the<br />
crew as we head out to the diving position,<br />
the prospects of a ‘run ashore’ in Singapore<br />
are already the subject of discussion. My<br />
Ships’ Company consists of a range of<br />
different ranks and employment categories,<br />
male and female to manage the many<br />
complex onboard systems, everything<br />
from operating and maintaining the various<br />
sensors to running the diesels and other<br />
machinery.<br />
<strong>The</strong> food onboard is excellent, prepared<br />
<strong>by</strong> two cooks and a steward in a small but<br />
well equipped galley, four square meals a<br />
day and little opportunity for exercise at sea<br />
ensures that our better halves see more of<br />
us literally when we return alongside. Most<br />
of the crew operate in two watches, six<br />
hours on, six off in a 24 hour rotation. When<br />
off watch the crew can entertain themselves<br />
with movies or music, play station and<br />
similar games or exercise on the limited<br />
equipment carried, I tend to read a lot when<br />
I’m away.<br />
As the Captain I’m the only person onboard<br />
with my own cabin, a ten foot <strong>by</strong> five foot<br />
space with room for a bunk, a sink, a TV<br />
and a small fold out desk. Most of the<br />
crew sleep in five or six berth cabins which<br />
are pretty cosy with larger communal<br />
areas (messes) for eating, watching TV or<br />
whatever.<br />
<strong>The</strong> weather as we dive is good with a light<br />
breeze and gentle swell from the South<br />
West, I sign off on the orders to the crew for<br />
the next 24 hours with the focus on settling<br />
into the dived transit profile. Each day at<br />
sea is different and there are many factors<br />
which need consideration in everything that<br />
we do, some of which include the weather<br />
and its effect on the boat, the nature and<br />
depth of the water we are operating in,<br />
surface contacts in the area, biologics<br />
(whales and fish) and many others. <strong>The</strong>se<br />
will influence how we operate, how fast<br />
we go, what depth we maintain, when we<br />
snort 1 (to charge the battery) and for how<br />
long. In a three dimensional environment<br />
there is a lot to consider.<br />
Getting the boat underwater and heading<br />
North is a good feeling, back in her natural<br />
environment the boat is at home and will be<br />
our home for the next few months. Living<br />
and working in a submarine is challenging<br />
but also extremely rewarding and everyone<br />
onboard is here because they want to be,<br />
doing an important job well.<br />
Also, answers to a couple of<br />
questions you may have always<br />
wanted to ask ….<br />
How long do you get to be on land after<br />
deployment?<br />
Normally we will enjoy a couple of weeks<br />
alongside following a deployment, usually<br />
a short self maintenance period and an<br />
opportunity to take some leave.<br />
How often on average do you talk with<br />
your commanders back in Australia?<br />
Not often once we have sailed. We tend<br />
not to transmit once we are away for<br />
security reasons. We can receive messages<br />
via signal at sea regularly and we have<br />
a system where<strong>by</strong> we can receive and<br />
sometimes send messages from and to<br />
family through our headquarters which<br />
works well. We currently don’t have access<br />
to other forms of two way communication<br />
such as email although this will probably<br />
change in the future.<br />
Do you get claustrophobic ever or miss<br />
the open air? What do you miss most?<br />
No, not claustrophobic, but you miss the<br />
ability to do normal everyday activities and<br />
FEATURE<br />
your personal space is limited. Aside from<br />
missing family and friends it’s difficult to<br />
keep fully abreast of what’s happening in<br />
the world, aside from the occasional news<br />
broadcast and that can sometimes be<br />
frustrating. I missed the Sydney Olympics<br />
back in 2000 and ended up with about 50<br />
tape cassettes from people sending me<br />
different events. Not quite the same if you<br />
know the results.<br />
What do you think is the most common<br />
misconception about submarines?<br />
Probably simple things such as the idea<br />
that you can look out a porthole and see<br />
the fish or that we go around pinging away<br />
on our sonar as you see in the movies.<br />
Submarines don’t have windows and in<br />
any case its pretty black in the depths of<br />
the ocean, sonar for submarines is largely<br />
a passive tool that we listen out on for<br />
ships and other submarines. Pinging or<br />
going active on our sonar would give the<br />
submarines position away.<br />
What changes have you seen during<br />
your time as Captain?<br />
Plenty of changes for the better, particularly<br />
in looking after our people. <strong>The</strong>re are a<br />
number of fairly recent initiatives which<br />
ensure a better work life balance for the<br />
crew, less work when we are alongside and<br />
more flexibility to do professional courses or<br />
take leave even with the boat at sea. <br />
1 Snort – drawing air through a mast at periscope depth<br />
to enable the running of diesel generators whilst dived.<br />
21<br />
THE TRADE<br />
EDITION 2, 2012