Page 120 - Australian Defence Magazine May 2022

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FROM THE SOURCE VICE ADMIRAL MICHAEL NOONAN
MAY 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
VICE ADMIRAL MICHAEL NOONAN CHIEF OF NAVY
In the lead up to the Indo Pacific 2022 conference,
ADM’s Group Editor Ewen Levick caught up with
Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Michael Noonan to learn more about the RAN’s growth in capability and what his plans are for the years ahead.
ADM: How do you regard the state of today’s Navy? Is it where you want it to be?
VADM NOONAN: My proudest reflection on my time as Chief of Navy is on the shape and size of our workforce. Our Navy is the largest it has been in almost three decades. It is also more diverse than it’s ever been, and we embrace that diversity and use it to great effect. More women and more indigenous people are serving in
lenges of the pandemic. However, it did come at a cost for our people. They were unable to take shore leave for rest and respite during foreign port visits. While they had inno- vative solutions, like sports days aboard ship, we have made it a priority to resume those regular port visits this year.
We had other solutions to manage the pandemic ashore, including vaccinations, mask wearing and work- ing from home as directed by State and Territory health advice. Garden Island Defence Precinct in Sydney was an early adopter of Rapid An- tigen Tests for those who absolutely
our Navy than ever before. Our sepa- ration rates are low, and I have been proud of our People’s service and dedi- cation over the past two challenging years. Many have been away from their family and friends for months at a time as borders remained closed.
While we have made excellent gains, the size of our Navy will need to grow significantly in the coming decades as our Fleet undergoes the biggest ex- pansion since the Second World War. When new ships and submarines come into service, we will need trained and experienced people ready to crew them. There are both challenges and oppor- tunities ahead. I would urge young Australians or people looking for a career switch to consider the exciting roles and opportunities in the Navy.
ADM: How has Navy overcome the
challenges presented by the pandemic?
VADM NOONAN: Navy’s Regional Pres-
ence deployments and Indo-Pacific
Endeavour went ahead in 2021 us-
ing COVID-safe measures. All of
our deployments and port visits were
contactless. We were still able to conduct many exercises and activities with our regional partners, including Talis- man Sabre and Exercise Malabar. Our relationships with partner navies are so important, as is working together and building interoperability. I’m very proud of what we achieved in the past two years, while managing the chal-
PROFILE
Head of Navy People
2014 Commander Border Protection Command
2012 Commodore Training
2010 Director General Operations
2009 Director Military Strategic Commitments
2008 Director Joint Effects 2006 Director Sailors Career
Management
2003 Commanding Officer HMAS Parramatta
2002 Chief of Staff – Australian National Command HQ
Operation Slipper
2018 Chief of Navy
2016 Deputy Chief of Navy &
needed to work on site.
About a third of Navy’s 15,000 peo-
ple have been deployed at some point over the past two years on Operation COVID-19 Assist, largely support- ing State and Territory police efforts with hotel quarantine, airport trans- fers, and border check points. We’ve balanced that with also maintaining Navy’s regular government-directed operations including our Regional Presence and Indo-Pacific Endeavour deployments and Operation Resolute. That has been a large workforce com- mitment for 2020 and 2021.
Our COVID-19 mitigation measures include PCR testing for Navy mem- bers pre-deployment. Where there have been cases aboard ships, sailors have been isolated and provided medi- cal treatment. Our robust mitigation measures mean Navy has successfully managed with no or minimal impact on operational outputs.
ADM: How is the requirement for Navy’s regional engage- ment activities changing or evolving?
VADM NOONAN: Navy has been conducting Indo Pacific Endeavour since 2017, which has played a great role in enhancing our relationships with our like-minded naval
2000 Director Navy Corporate Communications
1986 Graduated Royal Australian Navy College