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Ten of Australia’s newest prospective submariners got a hands-on experience of the job, with eyes on capitalising on the opportunities AUKUS will bring to the Navy and serving on Australia’s future fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.
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With the announcement of Australia’s optimal pathway to developing and fielding a nuclear-powered submarine fleet, the Royal Australian Navy hasn’t spared any time with the latest round of prospective submariner recruits getting a taste for the future opportunities on offer.
The realistic job preview (RJP) took place at HMAS Stirling on 14 March, just as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stood with his UK counterpart, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and US President Joe Biden to outline the details of the acquisitions under the AUKUS partnership.
The RJP is run by the Submarine Recruiting, Mentoring and Development Team on a monthly basis and includes Warrant Officer Jason Steward and Petty Officer Haydn Bonderenko.
WO Steward explained the importance of the RJP program, saying, “We provide candidates with relevant information to make an informed career choice and include a submarine tour and face-to-face discussions with serving submariners.”
The two-day course is provided to direct entry submariners and in-service personnel considering transfer to the submarine workforce from the regular fleet, which will increase in priority as the nation ramps up its efforts to crew the nuclear-powered submarine fleet.
PO Bonderenko said the AUKUS partnership and the optimal pathway to acquiring nuclear-powered submarines created many opportunities for submariners at any point in their career.
“For me, I will be looking to join the US and UK crews as part of the Submarine Rotational Force-West rotational presence in order to broaden my experiences in how a submarine is deployed and operated by our partnering nations,” PO Bonderenko said.
