The Chief Stoker's Log

Today's Log has been an effort, started at 0430 and still at it at 1930, just cannot get the words to work today and have had a few interruptions. My email tray is full and getting fuller so many items sent for the Log have not been actioned yet, please bear with me.  If you are waiting for a response or for an item to appear send me a reminder in case I have deleted it.

Been a busy week and I have had lots to do, but achieved very little.  managed to get into Gympie and pick up 4 more chickens, I was down to one adult and the chicken I bought 6 weeks ago.  It has adopted me and follows me everywhere, just like a dog but obedient.  Niggs loves playing with it and does not hurt it, but I thought Chick was gone on Tuesday.  I saw Niggs coming up the yard with something in his mouth.  I suddenly realised it was Chick and called out for him to drop it.  He lay down and spat Chick out of his mouth, Chick just shook himself and stayed with Niggs. 

The pool is starting to get a bit nippy so I have started to erect the solar heating system I bought.  The box contained 100 pieces but after trying my best with little success, I think there should have been 101.  Never was a Tiffie!!!

I stayed local for ANZAC Day, went to the Dawn Service at Tiaro and there were more names on the Honour Roll than in attendance.  It is amazing, and sad, how many of the district's young men went to wars and never returned.  Some families lost many, it must have been hard for the families, fortunately in those days families were larger than today's.  I went to Hervey Bay for the March and came straight home.

I was home for a while and discovered I needed a couple of items from the hardware so I decided to slip back into Maryborough in the afternoon.  Silly boy, I forgot where I was, and found that the hardware was closed and so was Wooly's and Coles, nothing but MacDonald's and Hungry Jacks were open.  Another wasted trip!

The photos of ANZAC Day are coming in and I have published some today, when more arrive I will set up an Album.  I was surprised that not one beret can be seen in any of the photos, were you all too shy to wear the ones that you bought?

On ANZAC Day I was in the pub in Tiaro, just outside of Bauple, when a large woman, wearing a sleeveless sun dress, walked. She raised her right arm, revealing a huge, hairy armpit as she pointed to all the people sitting at the bar and asked, "What man here will buy a lady a drink?"  The bar went silent as everyone tried to ignore her. But down at the end of the bar, an owl-eyed drunk slammed his hand down on the counter and bellowed. "Give the ballerina a drink!"

The barman poured the drink and the woman chugged it down. She turned to the patrons and again pointed around at all of them, revealing the same hairy armpit, and asked, "What man here will buy a lady a drink?"  Once again, the same little drunk slapped his money down on the bar and said, "Give the ballerina another drink!"
  
The barman approached the little drunk and said "Tell me, Billy, it's your business if you want to buy the lady a drink, but why do you keep calling her a ballerina?"  The drunk replied, "Any woman who can lift her leg that high has got to be a ballerina!"

Why not surprise everyone and turn up for a Meeting?

Can I do a deal for you.............. Mike Russell writes "I have finished in Russia now, and I am working near Perth. Kathryn and I have accommodation for 6 people, 1 x Queen Bed, 4 x Single Beds in 3 rooms. We live approx 10 mins from Fremantle by car, so Taxi travelling won't be too expensive. People coming to stay are welcomed to come from Thursday arvo till the Monday morning. First in, more drinking coupons."  Another generous offer, contact Mike ASAP to cut costs.

JJ Williams is back from his UK exchange posting. JJ is on CO Desig Course at Watson and he takes Command of HMAS Aware 1 in July and he is pleased as punch to get to drive one of those flash new patrol boats.

Ken Williams sent the following (on his PDA) "I was sitting in a Saigon bar having dinner reading the log, bloody lot of submariners in Vietnam at the moment. Anyhow I was shocked to hear of Vince passing away. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family."  Bloody yuppie tourists....

John Renwick wrote "At a dive conference at the end of last month, I met the UK diver whom is searching for the missing X5 from the attack on the TIRPTIZ...... this is the only one not found - and it was captained by an Australian. While the other X6/7 crew were awarded VCs, the crew of the X5 were not as by the book it was unclear how much they took part in the damage to the TIRPITZ. Typical hey - as X5 sunk probably as a result of gun fire from TIRPITZ!

This guy - need to check name - with the assistance of 2 RN mine sweepers had a really good look for X5 last year - and they even found an unexploded saddle charge from X6/7 under where TIRPITZ was hit! However no sign of X5. They were stumped then chatted to Max Sheean who suggested the X5 may have snuck past the TIRPITZ into a basin area behind her - pretty restricted shallow area but very likely she is there. The UK team are headed back there in July of this year to do a sweep and if they find her will be interesting and great news. They do not need any support right now - however if found they will look for sponsorship etc to film the X5. Thought to keep you in the loop and mentioned it to Tim Brown with the Institute though nothing heard back.

On another note - my mate Henry Nord Thompson - last MEO of ONSLOW is being promoted to CMDR over the ANZAC Day weekend" 

SA Branch President, David Bryant, reports that long standing member of the Port Adelaide Naval Association, Geoff Cotton, died of cancer on Thursday 16th April following a long illness. Although not a submariner, Geoff was extremely skilled in manufacturing ship’s plaques, and he made all of the crests for the Collins Class Submarines during their build phase, as well as the large dolphin plaques.

Graham Atkinson wrote "Your comments on the current recruiting ads reminded me of a time when I was XO of either Onslow or Otama. We were in Hawaii and had picked up some Australian newspapers. In one of them – a Sydney tabloid – was a full page ad. The ad was a photo taken at Broken Bay and showed a guy piggy-backing a young lady into the water toward a fully rigged Hobie cat. The caption read “In the Navy your free time is your own.” This was too much so I tore it out and placed it on the ship's company notice board with a note “Free Beer Issue to the best caption”. I removed it three minutes later as I believed that the caption “Join the Navy and have C_ _ _ s on your back the whole time.”  could not be beaten. I think we sent it to the Director of Recruiting saying that this was what serving members of the RAN thought of it. Needless to say I never saw the ad in the paper again.

Separately, a little story about home security. I thought I was pretty safe. Last Thursday I was broken into between 2200 and 0600 whilst asleep in bed. Obviously kids as only a small amount of money and my mobile phone were taken. To get in, they climbed a 5 foot high fence as all gates to the property are padlocked. There are also numerous signs saying there is a back to base alarm system. After breaking the fly screen they opened the outer door on the patio but the inner door was locked. They then removed a fly screen from the garage window, broke the window and entered via the inner door from the garage to the house which was unlocked.   Hey I was at home and this door is my escape route in case of fire. I was also asleep 3 feet away. Having rifled the small change jar and my wallet they left by the back door - they may have been scared off by the flashing of the motion detectors in the hallway.

So how did they get in. I had been doing some work outside and had left a screwdriver on the patio table. I believe they used this to lever off the flyscreen and break the garage window - the only window in the house that was not key-locked! The screwdriver is missing so I can only speculate what may have happened had I woken up and confronted them.

Lesson. Do as your mother told you and put things away when you've finished with them. needless to say everything is now double key dead locked even when I am at home. Hope there is not a fire as I now need 4 keys to open the doors!"

Graeme Draper asks "Why are raincoats yellow???" Check this out to for the answer.

Allen Francis, SA Branch Secretary, writes "Greville Knight sent this to me the other day but I didn't think anything of it at the time. Spoke to him today and it turns out the person involved in the accident is none other than our own CPOETSSM Terry (Legs) Dymond. Currently recuperating at home with a bad case of concussion bumps and bruises and a bit of hurt pride, being a senior CFS volunteer. The person scribing is none other than CPOUCSM Michael (Dinga) Bell."  Get well soon Leg's

Man in hospital after chainsaw accident
A Cudlee-Creek man is in hospital after a chainsaw accident. The man cut his head with a chainsaw when he fell out of a tree yesterday. The 59-year-old man was sawing tree limbs on his property when he slipped and fell onto the saw shortly before 1pm. CFS paramedics treated their member, yes, he is the Cudlee-Creek Safety Officer, within seven minutes of the accident.

Intensive care paramedic Dinger-Bell said the saw “kicked back”.  “He suffered a deep cut across the face,’’ he said.  “The man managed to lower himself to the ground whilst his wife called an ambulance.’’ Intensive care paramedics put a drip in his arm and gave fluids to replace the blood volume he had lost. Allegedly, the gentleman also had the piss taken from him too!

Mr Bell said the man was experienced using chainsaws, often as a result of CFS call-outs. He is in a serious but mentally unstable condition at the Modbury Hospital.

Or man in FIMA CPO Bill Mansfield has sent an update on the Orion fin. "Just a quick note to let you and your "readers" know what's happening with HMAS Orions fin. As you may know the Navy club in Rockingham acquired the fin from the scrappers and are getting it "smartened up" and placed in the Naval Memorial Park in Rockingham. I am now back in WA and working at the Fleet Support Unit (formally FIMA). I was asked to see if FSU had the ability to strip and paint the fin. Saying "ÿes" was the easy part...asking anyone to spend money was the hard part! The bottom line is that the Weapons workshop at FSU have done a great job of stripping and repainting it. As I have said providing the manpower was not a problem, getting scaffolding and paint was. A few phone calls and several e mails later Mal (the President of the Navy Club) managed to solicit the assistance of BAe Periscopes and thanks to Chris Tonkin and Glen May (of BAe) we (FSU) were able to complete the task. Everyone over here was hoping to get the fin in place for SubCon in June BUT that is looking very dodgy at the moment. Rockingham council are going to provide a plinth for the fin to sit on and this seems to be the critical path in the project. As you can see the fin is looking pretty Ship Shape and ready for the anti graffiti paint."

In a follow up email Mal Hughes said "At last I have some positive news. The earthworks for the foundation will commence shortly and the concrete contractor will start in early May"

A man went to the zoo. When he got there, there was only a dog.  It was a shitzu.

In an email from Amman Tony Critchley reported "Hello from Amman Jordan, here’s an update on my activities. Syria was an interesting busy metropolis, walking across the road has certain skill requirements. Cars in Damascus do not obey traffic lights; Syria pedestrians tackle traffic if it isn’t there. Our first few days we obeyed the system, it dawned on us (third day) we needed to own the roads like every other pedestrian. This we did becoming aggressive not passive pedestrians like all around us, cars scream to a halt or just squeeze past you. It seems to work or I should say it did when we were in Damascus.

Syria is still a little behind the iron curtain security (security, police, army carry AK 45’s loaded) is extremely tight with check points everywhere, the residing President who by the way succeeded his father, is trying to bring Syria into the 21st century. The people of Syria are very friendly and always try to help visitors not as I expected.

Amman Jordan is just down the road as we say in OZ is (Amman) very hilly and well into the 21st century a modern city compared to Damascus, one can see the Western influence in design and adjustment to dress.

My job has taken me towards and near to Aqaba at the Red Sea, a tourist destination, Aqaba is at the most southern tip of Jordan; Egypt is across the water 2 hours by boat. The Dead Sea divides the West bank home to Palestinian and Israel and Jordan; the main road south hugs the Dead Sea from start to finish. You can see the West Bank clearly most of the trip, that is the land profile not the people. The Jordanian Army patrol this border armed ready to deploy at any time.

I have been busy with my first project and will be for the foreseeable future. Organic Farming is not progressing as was intended. The reasons departments can’t agree on who will do what, there is a power struggle between government and non government departments all wanting to control organic farming.  Jordan has had European help and advice over the last 7 years on the methods to start organic farming and these advice papers are left gathering dust.

We have a fellow volunteer coming to stay next weekend we will take her to visit Petra, the scenery down south is stunning little mountain ranges reminds me of the Kimberley ranges. The colours change with the sunlight reds, oranges, yellow hues true desert country. This is the area they want me to start the first program, difficult to say the least. The people that I am to work with are Bedouins’; similar to Aborigines very similar origins however they do not have any alcohol problems."

Judith Millman wrote "I looked up your website after the article on TV about the Onslow. I am wondering if, by a long shot, you might know the whereabouts of Colin Ware? He is my cousin, born in mid 1940s, (1946/47?), spent some growing up years in Pt. Lincoln, joined the navy, I think straight from school. He went to England and Malta to train on submarines, and I think was a radio operator. He married an English girl, name unknown, and, I think, came back to Sydney. I don’t have a middle initial, so finding him via the white pages is not in my sights at this stage. My mother died in 1970, and Colin’s mother not long after, and we have lost contact with him and his brothers. There was a big reunion of our mothers’ family in “06, and the Wares were conspicuous by their absence."  Needless to say Colin has now contacted Judith.

Gail Irwin of Wellington, NZ asked "I am trying to contact (preferably via email) Ray Jamieson who was mentioned on your site last in October 2008 (birthday on 9 Oct). If he was a member of HMS Thorough and has lived in Sydney, he is supposedly a descendant of the same Jamieson family as myself & likewise has a strong interest in genealogy. Many thanks for whatever help you can give"  Gail was put in touch and followed up with "Many thanks for your help. It was indeed the correct Ray Jamieson and he has already replied to me. He had found a genealogy posting online from me and did try to make contact in 2001 but sadly by that time I had changed ISPs and as matters were in those days, also my email address. Sadly I may have been a bit too late as the true genealogist was his wife who is no longer well - but perhaps I can preserve her hard work for her. Meanwhile I can update Ray on his own family history."

Edith Walter (nee: Briggs) wrote "My father (Walter Briggs) is mentioned on your Website (Ref: "History of the Submarines Association of Australia" - Paragraph 3) He served in the Royal Navy during World War 1 on warships, and subsequently in submarines.  He was the original secretary of the "Submarine Old Comrades Association".  Do you have any additional references to his service history in the Royal Navy, or any history of his involvement in the Submarines Association of Australia?. I would certainly appreciate any information that might be available"  This was passed on to our Historian Peter Smith for comment. Anyone have any information?

Want to ride in an F/A-18 Hornet? I would love to but I know I’d throw up for sure! Follow this link

John Hillier is selling his comfortable 40ft motor home. Professionally purpose-built for two, providing all the modern comforts and conveniences of home. No expense has been spared in preparing and maintaining this vehicle in the interests of safety and reliability for long distance touring. A long list of quality features available. Contact John if interested.

My wife sat down on the settee next to me as I was flipping channels. She asked, 'What's on TV?'

I said, 'Dust.' And then the fight started...

Tony Vine may have solved the query regarding the rumour that a female submarine officer had moved to Wodonga "One of my Chiefs has just got back from Wagga where he was doing a residential period for a degree he is doing through Charles Stuart Uni. Whilst there he met a female Kellick Medic off WALLER who was doing a residential period for a nursing Degree she is doing by distance. She was still there when he left on the weekend, so she might be the "Female submarine officer" in the Albury/Wodonga (Wagga) area."

There has been a bit of mail on the subject of HMS Aurochs recently and Dan Jordan writes "Just for the record, HMS Aurochs was at S/M 4 until the end of 1958 when she left Sydney for UK via Panama (she was at "HMAS Penguin" during 1956 – 57). I was crew during a 1958 trip Up North for a combined operation/exercise with Australia, US et al. After the games the fleet (swing the lamp) proceeded to Manila for the ‘ wash-up ‘. We ( Aurochs ) were given midnight leave as the boat was under sailing orders. I decided that a run ashore was not worth the effort of changing in to # 6s particularly after seeing the horde outside the dockyard fence. My run-ashore oppo thought he would give it a go, got spruced up and off he went. Needless to say he was adrift and woke up after sleeping behind the port donk, #6s RS and minus his very good Rolex watch, a great run ashore. That San Mig is more lethal than Scrumpy.

Meanwhile I remained on board and as we were the third boat out of three alongside an Australian skimmer ( first out next day ) those on board were treated to an al fresco movie show by our American buddies with the projector on the casing ( middle boat ) using the hull of the skimmer as a screen. Endless pusser’s coffee/tea and DFs while sitting on the for’d casing in the tropical night air. I forget what the movie was but quite a unique cinema experience. Incidentally it was on the return trip to Sydney that the boat , in patrol routine, was fired upon by some antiquated air-craft while steaming through the Lombok Straits. We dived and no harm done although it made headlines as this was during the political unrest period in that area. Happy daze and almost 51 years ago, far canal, tempus fugit.  Not nit picking Norm and thought it a good chance for a dit ( I hope I’ve got my facts right after googling the grey matter)."

HEALTH & WELFARE MATTERS
Government cuts red tape for veterans and ex-service personnel
The Government has cut red tape and delays facing veterans and ex-service personnel trying to access their entitlements. The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Alan Griffin, and the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, Warren Snowdon, said today the Interdepartmental Working Group had been established and was already reducing the bureaucracy involved in making claims.

“Prior to the election I was approached by many veterans and ex-service personnel frustrated by the administrative burden created by dealing with multiple Government agencies. I promised to establish an Interdepartmental Working Group to address this issue and am pleased to report it is already having a positive effect,” Mr Griffin said.

The Interdepartmental Working Group has already:

• Reduced the medical reviews veterans must undertake;

• Commenced information sharing across DVA, Centrelink and ComSuper - resulting in around 250 DVA disability pensioners already being exempted from further ComSuper reviews;

• Published a practical transition handbook on accessing interdepartmental entitlements;

• Listed the ADF Identification Card as an acceptable Proof of Identity document across Government; and

• Commenced a trial to expand the final Defence medical examination to cover the requirements of a liability claim to DVA or ComSuper, and eliminate the need for further medical examinations in most cases.

The establishment of a Special Claims Unit at DVA has reduced average times taken to process claims. A comparison of the two financial years 2006-2007 and 2007-2008, shows processing time reductions of 15.7 per cent in VEA claims, 7.8 per cent for SRCA initial liability claims and 30.9 per cent for MRCA initial liability claims.  “The process of accessing entitlements should place minimal additional stress upon veterans and ex-service personnel, particularly as many of the people claiming are older veterans who were injured during their service,” Mr Griffin said.  “Reducing the burden of government bureaucracy on these people is an important objective.”

Mr Snowdon said he welcomed efforts to end the duplicate – even triplicate – medical examinations that separating personnel need to undergo to access entitlements. “A successful trial to expand the role of the final Defence medical examination will reduce the complexity and delays facing some of the personnel leaving the ADF each year,” Mr Snowdon said.

Mr Snowdon added while some initiatives are about simplification, like listing the ADF Identification Card as a Government Proof of Identity document, others highlight the critical importance of inter-agency co-operation.  “The protocol developed by Defence and DVA to follow in the event of a death in service or serious injury on deployment has been expanded to include Centrelink and ComSuper, ensuring senior level case management across all agencies. This means that relevant agencies are able to co-ordinate the full range of Government assistance that is available in these circumstances,” Mr Snowdon said.

The working group brings together representatives from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the Department of Defence, Centrelink, the Department of Human Services and Comsuper. Representatives from the ex-service community have also been consulted by the working group.  Mr Griffin said: “There are still issues to address, but I’m pleased we’ve already started to get results from this process.”

The VVCS – Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service can be contacted 24 hours a day, seven days a week on 1800 011 046.

Dementia Services in Western Australia.
Health Notice from Paul Meakin - Secretary SAA (WA)
"A mobile van that takes dementia testing and memory training services on the road to regional communities and suburban areas in WA has been launched. The Memory Van is run by Alzheimer's Australia WA (AAWA) and offers: free word recall/recognition memory testing; a demonstration and trial of the Posit Science Brain Training Program; information about the seven lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of dementia; a range of brochures and information on dementia and Alzheimer's Australia WA services; and access to web-based dementia information. To contact Service please call.........................................................Oh damn what was that number!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Oh Paul, what can I say........ maybe if you had worn that stupid bloody hat a few years earlier (and drank a little less of the grape juice) the old brain cells would still be working!

National Seniors Transport Agreement signed by Queensland
The National Seniors Transport Agreement was signed by Premier Bligh and sent to Prime Minister Rudd on January 21 2009. The scheme was implemented along with the states and territories on January 1 2009 (the reason for the slight delay was Queensland was still negotiating federal funding due to our size and tourism numbers).

This national agreement allows Queensland Seniors Card holders to access concession fares on public transport throughout Australia, except
Western Australia, the only state not involved with the scheme at the present time. In return, Seniors Card holders from interstate will be recognised for concession fares on Queensland urban public transport.

In the current global financial crisis, this agreement will give much needed financial relief to seniors, especially those wishing to visit friends or relatives interstate. It will also help stimulate the domestic tourism market at a time when our tourism industry is experiencing a slowdown.

In addition to concessions on public transport, Queensland Seniors Card holders will continue to be entitled to valuable concessions on electricity, motor vehicle and boat registration, dental, spectacles supply, medical aids, electricity life support and fishing permits offered by the Queensland Government.

Wearing Navy Uniform
Les Dwyer, National President of the Naval Association of Australia received the final response from the Deputy Chief of Navy, RADM Davyd Thomas, on wearing Navy uniform.  As Les says, this is a major policy shift and is promulgated for the information of everybody. Please pay particular attention the responsibility placed on the wearer for correctness and attention to detail when dressed in uniform.

The letter stated:

Les,

Thanks for your email of 3 March, in which you requested a policy statement on the wearing of naval uniform by retired personnel. Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you.

As you know I genuinely value the service of our retired people and am more than willing to allow them to wear their uniform at official RSL or Ship reunion formal dinners. Clearly this brings with it a special responsibility on the wearer, and in particular I ask that the uniform be worn as an ensemble. It would not be appropriate to allow uniform to be broken down as we will lose any sense of consistency. The worse case would be a mess undress jacket with a set of chinos ! I am also very willing to consider favourably the wearing of uniforms on ANZAC day when requested as the more people we have exposing the Navy to the community the better it is for those who serve, and the Australian Public. This can be done as simply as you wish. Intuitively, you won't get any push back from here!

ABR 81 will be amended to reflect this adjustment in policy which in short will allow you to wear uniform at official functions such as ship reunions diners and the like. For ANZAC Day we can take a bulk request if that makes it easier for you.

Please pass on my thanks to your members for their continued interest in their Navy.

Regards

Davyd Thomas
(Rear Admiral - Deputy Chief of Navy)

Davyd, your worse case scenario does not compare to mine, turning up in an old wooly Pulley like my mate here.............

Australian General Service Medal for Korea (AGSM)
The Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Support, the Hon. Dr Mike Kelly AM MP, today announced that Her Majesty The Queen had given her in-principle approval to the award of the Australian General Service Medal for Korea (AGSM). "The AGSM will be issued to those former Defence Force personnel who completed 30 days in South Korea during the post-Armistice period from 28 July 1953 to 19 April 1956", Dr Kelly said.

"The 30-day eligibility criterion for the AGSM is consistent with the recommendations of the Post-Armistice Korean Service Review Report, which was released in December 2005.

Although the AGSM has now received in-principle approval, it still needs to be formally established through the development of Letters Patent and Regulations which again require approval by Her Majesty The Queen. This, together with the process of finalising medal design and the manufacturing aspect can take some time, but Defence has made implementation of this new medal a priority so that it should begin being issued in early 2010".

Applications are now being accepted from former Defence Force personnel who served in South Korea during the above mentioned period. However, those persons who have already made application for the Returned from Active Service Badge which was announced on 21 November 2008, need not reapply. Applications should be made to the following address:

Directorate of Honours and Awards
T-1-49
Department of Defence
CANBERRA ACT 2600

If an applicant changes their address before they receive the AGSM, they should advise the Directorate of Honours and Awards of their new address as soon as possible to ensure they receive it.

A submariner and his wife were watching a Discovery Channel special about a West African bush tribe whose men all had penises 24 inches long. When the black male reaches a certain age, a string is tied around his penis and on the other end is a weight. After a while, the weight stretches the penis to 24 inches.

Later that evening, as the husband was getting out of the shower, his wife looked at him and said, "How about you trying the African string-and-weight procedure?" The husband agreed and they tied a string and a weight to his penis.

A few days later, the wife asked the husband, "How is our little tribal experiment coming along?" "Well, it looks like we're about half way there," he replied.

"Wow ! . . . You mean it's grown to 12 inches?"

"No, it's turned black!"

DEFENCE NEWS
Plaque commemorates HMAS AE2.
The Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, the Hon. Warren Snowdon MP, today unveiled a plaque commemorating the Royal Australian Navy’s WW1 submarine, HMAS AE2.  Mr Snowdon was joined at Garden Island Sydney by the Sydney Consul General for Turkey, Mr Renan Sekeroglü and the AE2 Commemorative Foundation Chairman, Rear Admiral Peter Briggs RAN (Rtd) to remember the submarine that was scuttled on 30 April 1915 after being fatally damaged in battle by the Turkish Torpedo Boat, Sultanhisar.

“As the first boatloads of ANZAC soldiers were approaching Gallipoli on the dawn of 25 April 1915, HMAS AE2, under fire from shore bombardment, dived into the heavily mined waters and against all odds succeeded in penetrating the Dardanelles,” said Mr Snowdon.

“AE2 was the first Allied submarine to penetrate the strait in an heroic effort that significantly affected the course of events of the Gallipoli Campaign.”

AE2 departed Fleet Base East just over 94 years ago. She was escort to the 2nd contingent of the AIF sent to the Middle East. Upon arrival in the Mediterranean, she was assigned to the Allied naval expeditionary force gathering off the Dardanelles. Her campaign ended on 30 April 1915 when she was hit in the engine room by gunfire from Sultanhisar. All of the crew was taken as prisoners of war.

AE2’s wreck was found in 1998, beneath the waters of the Sea of Marmara, by the Turkish ‘wreck hunter’ Mr Selçuk Kolay OAM, in cooperation with an Australian team led by Dr Mark Spencer and Mr Tim Smith.

The AE2 Commemorative Foundation was established in 2006 to preserve and protect the wreck of the AE2 and to ensure survival of the story of her role of AE2 and her crew in the Gallipoli campaign.

The Alan Saunders Memorial Apprentice of the Year Award
The Alan Saunders Memorial Apprentice of the Year Award is a new award to be presented annually to the foremost ASC apprentice who displays a strong work ethic, outstanding achievement, skill development and a commitment to ASC’s values. The award is named after former ASC employee, Alan Saunders, who sadly passed away in January this year. Alan was an integral part of ASC’s Production team during the early days of the Collins Class submarine build program and the award has been established in his honour.

At a ceremony this morning, Luke Percy was announced as the inaugural winner of the Alan Saunders Memorial Apprentice of the Year Award. Luke started at ASC in 2005 as a mechanical apprentice and has shown outstanding skills, teamwork, forward-thinking and leadership. He has now completed his apprenticeship and is working with the hydraulics crew at ASC Osborne, and is a most worthy recipient of the award. Luke was presented with his prizes – a trophy, perpetual shield and $500 from ASC – by Alan’s widow, Mrs Dorothy Saunders.

Greg Tunny, ASC's Managing Director said "ASC values the contribution its apprentices make, and I congratulate Luke on his success.

Chef on Royal Navy submarine HMS Tireless on secrets of feeding 130 under the sea
A chef on a Royal Navy hunter-killer nuclear submarine designed to destroy enemy targets has revealed the secrets of how he keeps a crew of 130 going on missions lasting up to nine months. Petty Officer Andy Bailey works all hours in a hot, cramped kitchen in the submarine, which is designed to track down and attack enemy submarines and surface ships using Spearfish torpedoes and is also armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles, for use against shore-based targets.

PO Bailey, who dishes up three meals a day, said it is essential to provide a diet high in vitamin C and nutrients when away for long periods. But he also takes pride in dishing up a variety of traditional favourites, ranging from steak and kidney pudding to fish and chips, to provide a taste of home. PO Bailey's ability to stay calm under pressure and his dedication to producing fresh, home-made food on missions have prompted his crew to compare him with Gordon Ramsay.

Now he has become a celebrity in his own right after he beat hundreds of other military cooks to be named this year's top chef in Britain's Armed Forces. He received his prestigious award at a glittering dinner in London.

PO Bailey, nicknamed "Bill Bailey" by his crew-mates after the famous music-hall song, works hard at work in the confined space of his kitchen, which measures just 12-foot square. The 39-year-old cook, from Woolingham, Surrey, said he felt "ecstatic" to have won the title at the Armed Services' top catering event, the Cost Sector Awards. In his category, sponsored by Purple Foodservice, the Ministry of Defence's worldwide food supply contractor, the judges commented: "PO Bailey's performance has been exemplary. He is a credit to the Service and to the proud tradition of the submariner chef."

On a lengthy voyage, the chef and his catering team of two sous chefs or "leading hands", four other chefs and three ship's stewards in the wardroom, may have to deliver more than 100,000 meals. A logistics expert and provisions co-ordinator, he has set "best practice" standards that have been deployed in all submarines across the fleet.

"The secret of my success is my team," he said modestly. "And planning is also a big part of it. The lads like good, home-made cooking. They are away from home and we can give them some home comforts, like steak and kidney pudding and fish and chips. We do steak on Saturdays, pizzas on Sundays. Wednesdays are Mexican and Chinese theme nights.

The award for PO Bailey came as a welcome morale boost for the crew. The submarine's Commanding Officer, Commander Ed Ahlgren was quick to acknowledge PA Bailey's contribution and the importance of catering.

Typhoon submarines may sail again
The world’s biggest nuclear powered submarines, the Typhoon-class, can again be put into ordinary operation. The two submarines Severstal and Arkhangelsk, today in reserve, can in the future be sailing for the Northern fleet.

Of the originally six submarines of the giant Typhoon-class, only one remains operational. This submarine, Dmitry Donskoi, is used as a test platform for the new Bulava sea based intercontinental missiles, as previous reported by BarentsObserver. Three submarines of the class are scrapped. The two last Typhoon-class submarines, Severstal and Arkhangelsk, remain in reserve at a Belomorsk naval base in Severodvinsk. Now, the debate has started about their future use.

Last week, on April 8th, Sergey Stepashin, the chairman of Russian Accounts Chamber visited Severodvinsk and discussed the future of the remaining Typhoon-class submarines with Nikolai Kalistratov, the director general of Sevmash shipyard, reported by Nuclear.ru. During his visit to Severodvinsk Stepashin also visited to the nearby Belomorsk naval base where he stayed on board Severstal.

All the Typhoon-class submarines were built at the Sevmash yard in Severodvinsk and the constructors today believe both Arkhangelsk and Severstal can be put into operation in the Northern fleet again.

The 175 meter (574 feet) long and 24,000 tons heavy vessel is the largest nuclear powered submarine ever built. During the Cold War the six Typhoon-class submarines were based at the naval base in Zapadnaya Litsa, only some 50 kilometres from the border to Norway. Three of the six Typhoon-class subs are decommissioned.

US Navy Admiral fires skipper of submarine in collision
The commander of the submarine that collided with an amphibious assault ship in the Persian Gulf has been relieved of duty after the admiral of the submarine group "lost confidence in his ability to command," the Navy announced Tuesday. Cmdr. Ryan Brookhart has been reassigned to desk duty in Bahrain. His submarine, the Hartford, collided with the New Orleans on March 20 in the Strait of Hormuz.

"Although the investigations into the accident are not complete, [Rear Adm. Michael J.] O'Connor determined that there was enough information to make the leadership change," the Navy said.

Brookhart was replaced by Cmdr. Chris Harkins, a veteran submariner.  Brookhart, a 1989 graduate of Iowa State University, took command of the Hartford on October 2006.

737’s lethal twin — Boeing's P-8A submarine hunter
Sometime in the next few weeks, a silver-green Boeing 737 will lift off from Renton Municipal Airport - the first flight for what’s expected to be one of Boeing’s most successful programs in years.

The aircraft isn’t the usual flying bus well-known to travelers around the world. The new jet is instead the commercial model’s killer twin: a modified 737 that will bristle with sophisticated detection equipment and weaponry, designed to find and sink submarines that could threaten aircraft carriers, the Navy’s crown jewels.

In its U.S. Navy version, it’s called the P-8A, and the Navy wants 108 of them — worth about $40 billion for Boeing over the life of the program.

Studies could mean end of 18-hour days on US subs
Since the 1960s, submariners have typically maintained 18-hour days on deployment, creating an underwater lifestyle with daily rhythms linked to meals and artificial lighting. But the Navy could end up changing that cycle back to 24 hours, as mounting research suggests the existing schedule can impair performance and cause health problems.

Studies show that even without clocks and sunlight, human biology is best suited for 24-hour cycles. Moving to 18-hour days can create conditions similar to jet lag, said Lt. Christopher Steele, the lead researcher for fatigue issues with the Submarine Medical Research Laboratory in Connecticut. “It’s like flying to Paris every day,” Steele said of the 18-hour day. “Unfortunately, that results in unpredictable rhythms for alertness.”

Steele and other researchers from his laboratory plan to go on a long-term deployment later this year to study submariners’ response to various sleeping patterns. Senior Navy leaders will not make any decisions until the study is complete.

“There are currently no plans to change the standard 18-hour watch-standing cycle onboard U.S. Navy submarines,” said Cmdr. Patrick McNally, spokesman for the Submarine Force.

A submariner’s typical day at sea revolves around six hours on watch, six hours of other duties and six hours of sleep. Previous, shorter studies aboard the ballistic-missile submarine Maryland and the attack submarine Pittsburgh during the past year suggested that dividing a 24-hour day into three eight-hour shifts resulted in better performance, Steele said.

Some more complex three-day cycles were also examined - stacking six-hour shifts, then taking larger 12 or 24 hour blocks off for sleep were not as successful, Steele said. Without optimal sleeping patterns, sailors can show lower levels of alertness, limited reaction times or irritability, Steele said.

Steele’s research is based on the study of circadian rhythms, the biochemical and physiological fluctuations that people experience every day.

The 18-hour day also could be making it more difficult for submariners to stay in good shape, Steele said.

Chronic disruption in circadian rhythms can increase risk for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, according to a study by Harvard University researchers released March 2. The study focused on civilian shift workers.

Any changes in watch schedules could come from individual submarine commanders, McNally said. “It is also important to note that commanding officers retain the authority and flexibility to adjust watch schedules as necessary to maintain the safest and most effective watch rotation given the complex environment in which submarines operate,” he said.
3 work-cycle options

Officials with the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory are studying three work-cycle options for submariners:

• 18-hour day: Six hours on watch, 12 hours off (current practice).
• 24-hour day: Eight hours on watch, 16 hours off.
• Three-day cycle: Six hours on, six off, six on, 12 off, six on, six off, six on, 24 off.

"Big Boys Toys" $5 per ticket Art Union with a prize of a 2009 Holden Colorado 4x4 Diesel Dual cab and fully equipped Stacer Easy Rider Family/Fishing boat including trailer, a 50hp Mariner outboard, fishing tackle plus full registration worth $81,352.  Information relating to tickets sales can be accessed through the website.

Boat shown is for illustration purposes only.  The raffle is for a good cause so please consider.......

Come on Boof and Nigs, my arse has fallen asleep.............

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Saturday, 25^th April 2009

LEST WE FORGET

ANZAC DAY 2009

Fred Lawrence, President of the WA Branch reported a very successful ANZAC Day in Fremantle. "About thirty of our members in were in attendance, many who haven't come to Perth in previous years. Our RN oppos (Submariners Association - Australia Branch) marched just behind us and joined us at the post march venue at Rosy O'Grady's, which was well supported.

Uniformed personnel from HMAS Collins, Waller, Rankin and the Submarine School were also in attendance .Posted USN and Canadian personnel also paraded. Shorty Horridge, a member from Queensland joined us.

My daughter, Yoli has taken some good photos of the parade.

The comments that I received after the parade were very good. The only whinge being there weren't any early openers in Freo. That aside I would welcome any comment from the WA members, for or against so that we can make a decision for next year which hopefully will suit everybody, maybe parading in both Perth and Fremantle. If the members don't communicate with their Executive, their thoughts don't get aired."

Maria Cross said "I thought you might like the photos I took today at our local ANZAC Day Service. Roy and Tony Wise laid a wreath for all submariners. Tony's daughter who is serving at HMAS Watson helped lay the wreath. We had a great day out except that  the weather was rather cold."

John MacDonald sent a couple of photos of ANZAC Day ceremonies at Yorkeys Knob Boating Club and said "Over the past couple of years the people attending have increased from an inquisitive few, to today at about 250-300 which is not bad for a small beach suburb north of Cairns. The Guard of Honour was courtesy of HMAS Shepparton, a Paluma class motor launch (survey vessel) based at HMAS Cairns.

The service was short but solemn, and wreathes were laid by local dignitaries such as the local member of parliament, deputy mayor of Cairns, Peace Keepers, National Service, Returned Servicemen, the local residents association and the local primary school. A very nice and tasty breakfast was supplied by the boat club after the service, which was very much appreciated by all who attended." A great place to spend any day!!!

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Sunday, 19^th April 2009

I take a week off and the whole world turns upside down.  We return to a week's worth of bad news and my sympathy goes to all families that have been affected by death and illness this week.

I have had a good week though, my brother came up from Sydney and once the rain eased we managed to get the boat into the water and tried our hand at fishing off Fraser Island.  If they come up with a good recipe for toads I will be laughing.  We caught a small shark and a few small whiting, but the toads spoilt the fun.  Can't get away from snakes at sea either, one was hanging around the boat.

Not long to SUBCON and I have booked my camperbvan and I am looking forward to the trip, if you have not informed WA Branch that you are attending, please do so now.

SAA NEWS  

Roger Tozer, National Secretary of the Naval Association of Australia has informed me that the Affiliation of the Submarines Association with the Naval Association of Australia has been approved by the National Council at its meeting of 04 April 2009.  The affiliation was an outstanding action from the 2008 AGM.

Members of the submarine community are reminded that the National and State Secretaries of the SAA are only too happy to provide assistance to ex-submariners to contact their old buddies. An example cited by Paul Meakin was Tom Andrews visiting WA this month and he wanted to contact Percy Jones and old shipmate from Ovens. White Pages for P. Jones in WA numbers 100 in total. He was lucky and found Percy on the second number. How much more simpler it will be for mates to contact each other after the passing of years if they sign up for membership and or pass on their details to be included in Buddies in Boats. This was a story with a happy ending, how many times is contact lost and not renewed and the opportunity to meet up again with your old mates slips by.

Last week I advised that nominations for the National Executive had been received from only two states and I hoped that the other state's responses were held up in the mail.   Not to be and the only nominations that have been received are for the current Executive.  If any of the nominees do not accept then nominations from the floor can be made at the AGM.  There are many of you out here with a lot to offer, please consider your options.

Annual subscriptions are due again and most of you that are up for renewal should have received an email or letter by now.  If you did not receive either then you are probably up to date for this coming year.

Acting National Secretary

HMAS Onlsow
Mick Carew is currently in working NHQ and has been appointed the POC for matters arising from the Onslow engine run on/toxic gas incident. He wrote: "During the Channel 7 Sunday Night program on the ONSLOW gassing incident the Deputy Chief of Navy was interviewed and took some actions in regard to Ships Company who were onboard at the time. One action was to provide and distribute a de-classified version of the BOI to ONSLOW Ships Company and another action was to provide a point of contact for DVA issues arising from the incident. I have been nominated as the POC and I am trying to contact the following ex-members of the Ships Company who were onboard at the time. Any help would be most appreciated."

I have contacted some on the list and removed them, if you are on the list please contact Mick,  or, if  know the whereabouts of someone, please let them know.

CMDR Michael Carew, RANR
Manager Navy Governance (MS)
R1-04-C126
Phone: 02 - 6265 7318  Fax: 02 - 6265 6192

Email: Michael.Carew1@defence.gov.au

AROUND THE TRAPS

It is with great sadness that I report that the Patron of the WA Branch of the Association, Lcdr Max Shean DSO* Bronze Star RANVR (rtd) , was diagnosed with bowel cancer last Friday night and had emergency surgery Saturday morning. Max's daughter Ruth said that the surgeon and anesthetist were at pains to point out that he was unlikely to survive the surgery, but he has.  However further surgery has been recommended but Max has refused.

A regular visitor at the hospital has been CDRE Steve Davies, who "I've just been to visit Max at Hollywood hospital. His wife Mary and daughters Heather and Ruth were with him. He has been moved to a general ward and is happy that the various tubes have mostly been disconnected, but is in and out of lucidity.

It was hard to see Max in this state - I prefer to remember him hanging off the shrouds of his 'Bluebell' while piping the still during the Fremantle Sailing Club opening day sailpast, or in his dinner suit at the Perisher dinner last December! Mary and Max were keen to show me some of the cards and letters he'd received from Navy friends far and wide since the word spread that he was sick. I told them about the wide range of people that had enquired after him, and they seemed touched that so many people were thinking of him.

I have also just passed a message to the Governor of WA, Dr Ken Michael, who knew Max in his post-war engineering career. Not surprisingly, to those that know him, Max had never told the Governor about his wartime exploits."

Max (Australia’s most decorated submariner pictured above) took a trip on HMAS Farncomb in 2007 and spent a solid day sharing his experiences, comparing advances in submarine design and enjoying demonstrations at diving, surfacing and conning the Navy’s most advanced and capable Collins Class submarine. Max was most enthusiastic about his trip, the people and most importantly, the Collins class. Max is always in demand to speak at meetings and dinners and after his trip he wrote a presentation that he used, he wanted everyone to know that they are not duds as the Press so often reports.

Left:  LEUT Sheean and the King Middle: Max and Mary, the love of his life Right: Max and CPO Rule, HMAS Farncomb

Roger Hardwicke's surgery, a spinal fusion and laminectomy, has given him some relief. Had a call from him this week and he is as well as can be expected.  Typical coxswain, spends most of his time on his back. Wife Denise fell and broke her arm while playing Nurse.

Merv Kidd, former business partner of Bob Bobilak, is not travelling too well. He had a lung removed time ago when he had the pub in Windsor, then he contracted Asthma. Now he has been diagnosed with Asbestosis. I know that he would like any of his old mates to give him a bell. His number is: 02 4358 8646.

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Eternal Patrol
It is with great regret and sadness that I heard of the death of NSW Member HUJ 'Heimo' Rinne in January.  His stepson rang today and I will publish details when I get them.  I was Heimo's Chief Stoker on Ovens and on one occasion we had an argument and I told him to piss off and do us all a favour.  He did!  Several months later he returned and when he fronted the table was asked 'why' and of course he told the Captain, "because the Chief told me to."

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Vale - Sandra Green

The Hardwicks and Greens in happier days.

It is with great sadness that I have to inform you of the death of Jim Green's devoted wife Sandra after a long illness. I am sure that the members of the submarine community will join me in offering our condolences to Jim and his family.

Sandra, God saw you getting tired and a cure was not to be. So He put His arms around you and whispered "come to me." With tearful eyes we watched you, and although we loved you dearly, we could not make you stay. A golden heart stopped beating, hardworking hands at rest. God broke our hearts to prove to us, He only takes the best.

In response to an email sent on behalf of the submarine community Jim said "Amanda, family and I thank you for your and the Association for the Kind message of support and the beautiful words which have provided us with comfort in our time of grief. Sandra battled sickness for four years and was very tired of the pain and suffering and is now at rest.".

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Vale - LEUT Vince 'Shorty' Carroll
It is with great regret and sadness that I heard of the death of LEUT Vince Carroll RAN.  Vince was well known to many in the Association, he was the son of the late CPOCOXNSM 'Shorty' Carroll. Vince near Newcastle died as a result of a mechanical fault causing a motorcycle accident on Thursday afternoon.

Vince was an ex CPOCOXN and changed over to Diving Officer. He saw service in Sudan with the UN and was in the throws of discharge from the RAN. Out thoughts are with his two boys Tom and Vince (Jnr) and his partner Tracy and son Jack (Jack was also injured in the accident). Vince will be missed by all that knew him.

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Vale - Michael Mills
Michael Mills, the long time guides coordinator for HMAS Ovens, passed away on Wednesday 8 April 2009. He died of a heart attack while onboard “Ovens” where he was found by another guide who attempted to resuscitate him to no avail.

Michael was born at Dagenham in Essex in 1942 and at 15 he joined the Royal Navy and did his initial training at HMS St. Vincent. He met his wife, Clare, at Gosport in 1962 and they were married at Titchfield in 1965. While not a submariner, Michael served in the electrical workshop at HMS Dolphin.

Michael left the Navy in 1969 and in 1972 the family emigrated to Australia. They settled in Newcastle and Michael worked as an electrician at the Newcastle Dockyard for the next five years, during which time he and his wife fostered over fifty children. Michael and Clare then bought and operated a milk run for several years, followed by a hamburger shop and a fish and chip shop. Following several years at the Wallarah colliery, Michael and Clare purchased and operated the Pelican Palms Motel at Belmont in New South Wales. One of Michael’s many duties was as a tour guide, driving the courtesy bus and regaling the guests with stories about the local area, many of which were fictional, or so I am told.

In 1997 Michael and Clare moved to Perth where Michael began a courier business and Clare became involved with the Animal Protection Society. Michael was very generous with his time and worked as a maintenance man for the society. When HMAS Ovens was opened to the public as a tourist attraction, Michael volunteered his time as a guide and then as an employee of the museum as the volunteer tour guide coordinator.

A devoted family man and sincere friend, Michael loved the navy and his job on the submarine, and his work with the Animal Protection Society, a fact attested to by the large turnout of museum and society management and staff at his service. Michael was 66.

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Can I do a deal for you.............. Rick Steley writes "I have acquired a small boat suitable for estuary and river fishing mainly for chasing barra. It is a 3.7 metre tinnie with a 30hp on the back which up here is ideal for getting into those local spots but not suitable for open water. The boat if fitted with a canopy and full floor, the guy I bought it off has particularly set it up for this type of fishing. It is not for hire, BUT if given some notice when members visit Darwin, I would be very pleased to take them out for a day or two's fishing. Being a small boat, it is ideally suited for two adults, three at a pinch but not recommended for three, we really do have very dangerous crocs here even in the Darwin Harbour region and visitors really need local knowledge when fishing which I am quite happy to provide. The only costs involved would be a contribution for fuel used. It would be better if visitors brought their own fishing gear, all they need is a light rod 10 to 15 lb and a few barra lures. There are strict bag limits in the Northern Territory so catch and release is the way to go and to avoid issues with Aboriginal areas which are mostly declared dry of alcohol, no alcohol in the boat." Contact Rick by email or on mobile 0429 481 404 to take advantage of this generous offer.

David Holland has informed me that Thales Australia has blocked the use of Plaxo and all contacts and future requests are also blocked. A pity, but I can understand why.

Rumour has it that a female submarine officer has moved to Wodonga? Jamie "Arnie" Arnold plays golf (not good) with a bloke who works at Hume Veterans who had said he met her.  That may add some interest to the ANZAC Day March in Wodonga.

Fred Fisher is confused and he wrote "In today’s mail I received an envelope containing a silver spoon with Dolphins on it. No name on the back of the envelope nor any message inside. Can you look on you data base and see who lives at 7 Nimrod Place, Hillarys, WA 6025. I would like to thank them. I am only hoping that the person belongs to the Association. Maybe by sending me a spoon, it’s their way of calling me a stirrer."  No one in our database at that address, if you know who is could you please contact Fred or I. In another email Fred said "Had a nice visit yesterday afternoon from Tommy Duncan & Garry Bax. Believe it or not, we only had two drinks each, that was Garry and I. Tommy sat on coffee as he was driving."  Not sure if I believe Fred, it looks like he is holding them up?

Stuart 'Milly' Milburn is currently on holidays in New Zealand and has sent a lot of interesting photos.  He said "It is interesting how so many of us submariners have disappeared into a remote country location or become grey nomad/frog. Explanation of frog:  I jump on a bus plane train and land in some distant place for a while then jump on the next moving transport. Next time I am drive down from Bundy I will turn left into the unknown and see Bauple. Last time I continued on and went into and saw Possum and Dale. It was good to catch up."

Bryce Jackson who liked boats so much the first time he has signed on again to give it another go.  Bryce flies to WA on the 20th April 09, just in time for a SM ANZAC Day. Bryce, a POMTSM served on HMAS Ovens, HMAS Orion, HMAS Farncomb and HMAS Rankin. 

Most of you will have heard about ATM skimmer devices and, like I, thought that I would notice one if fitted. Wrong! You will be amazed by the devices and methods outlined in this Commonwealth Bank presentation that shows what is being done today to ATM's used by the public. As Rick Steley points out, there is no reason to panic, just to be aware of what is happening and being used.

Henry Moulds, Ex-POETC (Hobart, Parramatta and Albatross) visited the site. "Let me start with an apology – as a skimmer I guess I was ‘trespassing’ through the SAA site but hopefully you’ll indulge me as a poor misguided soul. I was going through a stack of old images that I had scanned into my computer and came across a few I took during a ‘sea ride’ aboard HMAS Otway at the end of 1981. I can’t recall if I’ve sent these to you before but as I couldn’t find any of them on the site I thought maybe I didn’t. Hope they are of interest to you. I also did a couple of other short terms aboard O Boats whilst I was working with RANTEWSS from ’84-86. Even joined and departed Otway at sea by helo for one job."  I thought that I had received these before but couldn't find them, must have been torpedoed in one of my computer crashes.  Thanks Henry.

Chris Thomas sent the pick of You Tube this week, Sailor.  Sailor was a 1961 ht song by Petula Clark and Thommo said "You will enjoy this or your not a real "matelot". Old song and Old Ships. The email that referred the clip said "As an ex Royal Australian Navy sailor - I have memories of sailing away from loved ones. The black and white slides in this Music Video were taken by members of the Royal Australian Navy Photographic Branch in the 1960's."   Bought a tear to my eyes Thommo, I recall the great times I had on Sydney and Melbourne. I wasn't always a submariner.....

Cameron Martin, Ex POPH, said "I've been trawling through my old photos and came across a few submarine shots that may be useful for 'the Log'. I look forward to reading your log every week, it always gives me a chuckle. Keep up the good work." However, being a Phot he sent them in some exotic format that I could not open.  Have sent them back to him with a stern warning "Don't Mess with Chief Stokers"!!!  Maybe I will be able to post them next week.

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Paul Meakin asks "Trouble wi' Recruiting for Submarines?"  "Aye it weren't like that in 1985 when the Submarine Arm Recruiting Team (SMART) was composed of yours truely, CPOMTP Burt Rogge, POETS Phil Solomon and LSUC Eric Pearson. What a fearless bunch we were. On the road to HMAS Cerberus every 10 weeks, HMAS Stirling every 12 Weeks and HMAS Nirimba twice per year. But the best was at Nirimba one evening with that new breed of recruited sailor, the GS. Remember this was the sailor that joined as a general dogsbody for two years and did all the shit kicker jobs that otherwise detracted from highly skilled sailors careers. Like an ABETS 2 being a scullery hand on a DDG!. After a year at sea the GS could state a branch preference and work in that department for assessment before being released as not suitable or signing on for further training in his selected branch."

"The cinema at Nirimba was full this night with at least one hundred of these very short haired eager puppies. After a short intro I sat down at the back and watched the team put on a class act with their presentations. Good! they were so good each time they paused for breath they got a round of applause and at the end a standing ovation. When I went back up on stage and called for volunteers to come down and register their names with the Team there was an absolute stampede. It was a 101% success, every one (except the GS Instructors) volunteered. Where did the extra 1% come from you ask, well that was me I was so impressed with the teams performance that I decided to remain in Boats for the rest of my career. Ah those were the days. I wonder why they stopped that experiment, I have never seen such an enthusiastic bunch of sailors."

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A couple of weeks back I posted an  entry from a Stuart Dennis with regards to the Aurochs. ror Orkney responded "I served aboard her from February 1955 to June 1957, firstly I don't remember a Stuart Dennis, I was the tanky. Secondly, Aurochs did not arrive at HMAS Penguin until the early months of 1957 after completing an 18 month refit in Singapore. Several of us were drafted inboard for departure back to Dolphin on the S.S. Orsova. I have a photograph of 21 members of the crew on the dockside in Singapore after the re-commissioning. I am not certain but I believe the Aurochs remained in Sydney for a couple of years after 1957."  Stuart was quick to respond, the grey matter had let him down. "Sorry to put confusion amongst the Easter eggs. Checking back, I find I was in Sydney during 1958, not 56 as previously stated. My apologies."  All sorted.

Dave 'Goldie' Horne has returned safely from Vietnam and includes some pictures that he took. "I had a wonderful time there, its an amazing country and very cheap".  Another tourist still in Vietnam is terry frost who wrote "Hey Norm, how's tricks, this message is from the DMZ bar in Hue Vietnam. I'm doing a month backpacking and will have ANZAC Day at Long Tan, will send you pics and report for the Log. 3 sheets to the windn arrrrooogahhhh"

Our Man in Amman
Tony Critchely has been in business for 27 years and started winding over 4 years ago.  But a normal retirement is far from where Tony is at, his demonstrated empathy and sympathy with those in need is showing again. He started as a DVA Advocate in 2000, and although overseas at this moment he still doing a case for someone in WA. He is trying to organise a video hook-up for the VRB maybe next month, this will be his last case (we'll see). 

Tony decided that he would like to assist overseas and looked into volunteering; found an OZ organisation called Australian Volunteers International who are directly financed by AUSAID (our government) yet AVI are independent per say. He is in Amman, Jordan .

He said "The volunteer the process is rigorous. They emphasise you are representing OZ and they check your background, people you know, business referees' and  even have to do a Trick cyclist test. It takes about 6 months to go through their due diligence process. You have to have experience and qualifications in or relating to the given field you are applying for."

"My qualification are not just part three boats, after I got out I went to university and studied Horticulture and business with different activities which they where looking for; like mentoring different disadvantaged "groups of people" which I have supervised along the way."

SPONSORS OF SUBCON 2009

Register now on the  SUBCON 2009 website.

"Payment is subsistence, and our OZ dollar has crashed so a little tight financially. I was lucky this unit JRF (organisation) found me; they are the Jordan River Foundation, and they are paying. JRF patron is Queen Rania, who is very active in the organisation they of course are a NGO none profit organisation. They provide me with a driver for work related business, the office is 5 minutes in a cab however I walk most days. I am proud to represent OZ and SAA."

I had a phone call from the OZ Ambassador Glen White who wanted to meet with me and find out what I was doing in Amman Jordan. We met and discussed my volunteer position, the upshot, he explained that Anzac Day is a big event here. The light horse fought for about 2 years with an Aussie camel brigade defending the Suez Canal with the Brits fighting in and around Palestine, there was a large battle fought here in Amman. The Seventh Infantry fought in Egypt, Syria and Lebanon. It will be a moving ceremony; this Amman Anzac day.

Only an old Submariner with Vietnam as my active service, I personally feel like a little fraud compared to Army.

My old man fought in Egypt against Rommel and around this area in the Infantry in the British Army attached to the British Tank Regiment. He then joined the first British Airborne dropping on Arnhem to take those bridges, the upshot many of his fellow paratroopers where mown down as they dropped from the sky.

My old man was a prisoner of war, after trying to keep hold of the bridges; As Monty and his army never made it through to those five bridges to relief them, they run out of ammo plus the SS 7th Panzer division was in the area, not know through intelligence.
I will visit his old camp in Germany (next year) as the Germans have kept part of it as an interpretive centre many died at this camp especially Russians. I am not much of a military history buff, just a bit of conversation from Amman.

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Paul Meakin managed to put Tom Andrews in touch with Percy Jones last week and he said "Although being woken up at 0830 for the phone call (come on I am retired you know) it feels good to be able to assist Buddies in Boats to stay in touch."

WA Member Eric Jones wrote "I've got Andy Andrews (Tom... over from Mackay), and Percy Jones visiting on Monday for a few ales. A couple of ex-Ovens boys. I spoke to Tom today. Bob and Marie Stafford's kids are doing very well. I asked Tom to tell Marie that I was very proud of her and the kids for doing so well. I've virtually known the kids since they were born. It must have been a bit tough for them recently."

Roy Orkney wrote "I received a newspaper cutting from my old shipmate Derek Caldecoat from the Aurochs, I will try to get the cutting on to email but don't hold your breath.  It appears they have a new tradition in the RN submariners now. Which may now be banned with all this Health and Safety crap because of a bunch of whining wimps.  When a submariner passes his final test, he receives his submariners badge in a glass of rum, he is supposed to catch this 1 1/2 inch badge in his teeth, unfortunately he hic-cupped and swallowed the badge. The sailor was un-named and it was not disclosed if the badge was passed naturally or by an operation. The navy rum ration was abolished in 1970, so one can only assume that this was carried out ashore."   Unfortunately this is not a new tradition, it has been going on as long as I can remember.  It can be dangerous, especially if the recipient is drunk.  I don't think I would like to pass a set of Dolphins, the pins are sharp........

After writing this I came across an email from Carl Smith with the article.

It is a fine tradition among Royal Navy submariners. Recruits down a glass of rum containing a coveted silver badge, catching it in their teeth. But the ‘bonding’ ritual may be banned on health and safety grounds after a young sailor swallowed the 13⁄4inch-long emblem and was lucky not to choke to death. Horrified crewmates and officers in the mess at the Clyde Naval Base, in Faslane near Glasgow, realised the sailor – who has not been named – was in trouble.

He was taken to hospital, where an X-ray showed the Dolphins badge was halfway down his gullet, heading for his stomach. The sailor was kept in hospital for two days but the Navy is refusing to say whether the badge emerged naturally or if there was an operation to remove it. A source said: ‘The boy appeared to be quite drunk before he took the rum and seemed to hiccup as he swallowed it. He was lucky not to choke to death.’

The sailor serves aboard HMS Sceptre, a nuclear-powered submarine that carries Tomahawk cruise missiles and has a complement of 116.

Admiralty top brass are now investigating whether to ban the near 40-year-old ceremony. Another source added: ‘On health and safety grounds it may well be a ban. Everyone is talking about it along the waterfront at Faslane. To my knowledge nothing like this has happened before, and thousands of sailors have gone through rum dolphins. But this could have been so much more serious. Times have now changed. It could leave the Ministry of Defence open to legal action.’

The badge was introduced in 1972 and quickly became revered. It features two dolphins along with a crown and anchor. All submariners who pass the final part of their training are presented with it in a glass of rum, the Navy’s spirit of choice. Sailors used to get a daily rum ration until it was abolished in 1970.

Last night, Jimmy Sleith, a Scottish Area Secretary of the Royal Naval Association, said: ‘It is harmless and is a tradition that helps enormously with bonding. There are too many health and safety fuddy-duddies and I hope sense prevails.’ A Navy spokesman said: ‘This incident is subject to an investigation.’

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A lawyer arrived home late, after a very tough day trying to get a stay of execution for a client who was due to be hanged for murder at midnight. His last minute plea for clemency to the governor had failed and he was feeling worn out and depressed. As soon as he walked through the door at home, his wife started on him about, 'What time of night to be getting home is this? Where have you been? Dinner is cold and I'm not reheating it'. And on and on and on.

Too shattered to play his usual role in this familiar ritual, he went and poured himself a shot of whiskey and headed off for a long hot soak in the bathtub, pursued by the predictable sarcastic remarks as he dragged himself up the stairs. While he was in the bath, the phone rang. The wife answered and was told that her husband's client, James Wright, had been granted a stay of execution after all. Wright would not be hanged tonight.

Finally realizing what a terrible day he must have had, she decided to go upstairs and give him the good news. As she opened the bathroom door, she was greeted by the sight of her husband, bent over naked, drying his legs and feet. 'They're not hanging Wright tonight,' she said.

To which he whirled around and screamed, 'FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WOMAN, DON'T YOU EVER STOP?'

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Lcdr Max Shean DSO* Bronze Star RANVR (rtd)

Max Shean was one of that small band of gallant young men who, volunteering for "special and hazardous service", manned X-craft and Chariots and by their coolly audacious attacks on shipping and installations in harbours and inshore areas carried the sea war into the enemy's closely guarded waters. That so small a body of men were awarded no less than four Victoria Crosses, 11 Distinguished Service Orders (two of them to Shean), six Conspicuous Gallantry Medals and over 40 other fighting decorations and medals reflects the hazard faced and the successes achieved despite those hazards.

Interrupting his engineering studies at University to join the RANVR his early training in Anti-Submarine Warfare focused his interest not only on the operation of the equipment but also on its functioning. This served his corvette Bluebell well in the arduous battle protecting merchantmen against the U-boats in the Western Approaches in the often foul weather of the North Atlantic.

With his combination of engineering and seamanship skills, Max, probably without realising it, was ideally suited to submarines. He added to this the courage to volunteer for an unspecified but obviously perilous service. His engineering logical deductive approach shows clearly when you read how he tackled the problem of cutting nets effectively to allow X-craft to penetrate defences as those around Tirpitz.

The generation caught up in the great conflict of World War 11 is now dwindling and it is good when one of those involved directly records his experiences. These, though unique to each person, are stitches in the vast tapestry of that time and stitches make up the full picture. This over-modest account of an active and successful war is not only an enthralling story but it has the rare merit of being written in lucid and economical prose that is a delight to read. Do not be delayed further by me.

The above was written as the forward to our Patron, Max Shean's book, Corvettes and Submarines by Vice Admiral Sir Ian McIntosh KBE CB DSO DSC Royal Navy (ret) in November 1993. The WA Branch is very proud to have Max as its Patron and he inspires all that come into contact with him.

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PC Safety Tips - Tricks hackers' use you probably never heard about!
Looks like cybercriminals have turned social networking into a minefield of threats where one wrong move may have very serious consequences. Long gone are the days when you could avoid being scammed simply by using antivirus software. The more aware we are the harder bad guys are working on fooling us. And let me tell you, their techniques are getting more and more sophisticated! Have a look at some examples of the latest cyber criminals’ creations and how to avoid them.

• Koobface (social networking worm). It gains access to Facebook profile pages and directs you to view a video that then encourages you to update your Flash player. Malicious files such as flash_update.exe and bloivar29.exe are being downloaded and installed which results in a range of visible problems, including modifications to your Facebook profile, with the immediate result being an error message to contact support. There is also the very real potential for your identity and finances to be compromised

• Picture files carrying malware are "planted" on social networking websites and instant messaging programs. Hackers try to convince you that your friend has sent you a message or IM to view pictures. Legitimate looking URL when clicked on sends you to an illegitimate website hosting malicious files and executables, which have been modified to appear to be genuine picture files (jpg, gif or bmp). When you download and open those "pictures"; the malware unknowingly runs on your computer. It allows hacker to take control over your operating system as well as the information in it and exposes you to identity fraud and financial loss!

• UPS Delivery Threat, also known as Zbot. It delivers an illegitimate file when you are visiting a counterfeit UPS delivery site. Zbot has been known to distribute via email phishing and instant messenger. Upon informing you that you have missed a UPS delivery, the message urges you to view the invoice online, which in fact sends you to the counterfeit website which downloads a malicious program designed to bypass the firewall and then steal banking and personal information.

So how do we protect ourselves against all this and more?

• Be wary of unexpected IM messages and emails urging you to open or run an attachment or download

• Run up-to-date anti-virus and anti-spyware software with behavioural protection – such as Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus. Keep it running in the background at all times.

• Ensure you run Smart Updates and Microsoft updates regularly.

• If you are asked to update to a new version of a flash player or any other program go to producers’ website and download the update directly from it.

• Organisations usually contact you by phone or mail, so when you get an email call them back instead of clicking on any links or attachments.

Never let your guard down, it’s better to be too cautious then sorry.

A man is cupping his hand to scoop water from a Highland burn.  A Gamekeeper shouts,  'Dinnae drink tha waater! Et's foo ae coo's sheet an pish!'

The man replies,  'My Good fellow, I'm from England . Could you repeat that in English for me?'

The keeper replies,  'I said, use two hands - you spill less that way!!!

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ASW Senior Sailor's Re-union
Lofty Greig has sent advice that the 2009 ASW SS's Reunion will be held in the Nations Capital of Canberra; the dates will be Friday June 12th, Saturday June 13th and Sunday June 14th.  This is an ideal opportunity for the local submarine community to infiltrate the skimmers, so why not attend?

It was decided to hold the reunion at the very nice Ainslie Football Club because it is very central and very close to most accommodation. Also the motels etc are within close proximity to the War Memorial where the new Vietnam display has recently opened.

2009 is special because it will be 30 years since we all gathered on the cliff tops at Watson for our first ASW Senior Sailors reunion and there seems to be a certain ‘vintage’ who have been the mainstay of our reunions.

Friday evening will be the boy’s night commencing at 6pm. Dress is neat casual
Saturday evening will be the reunion dinner accompanied by our partners. Dress is coat and tie.
The reunion weekend will wind up on Sunday with a Hot and Cold Brunch and farewell in the Footy club.

Full details on this newsletter.

They say you can tell a Kiwi.........Well not much, but you can tell thum.

HEALTH & WELFARE MATTERS

April issue of e-News now online, keeping you up-to-date with news from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs

In this issue: Veterans’ and war widows’ pensions increased New Veterans’ MATES website ‘How to’ guide on mental health now available for GPs Stepping Out – coming to you in 2009 Deeming rates drop again for veterans Veterans enjoy the Queensland weather Teen dental plan to benefit veterans’ children Calling on Army Personnel 1962–75 to participate in world first research study Upcoming events and anniversaries New publications Media Releases

New publications Vetaffairs - March 2009 – DVA’s newspaper is distributed three times a year to members of the veteran and defence force community. Anzac Day poster 2009  – Australia’s efforts in restoring peace to East Timor features in this year’s Anzac Day commemorative poster, marking 10 years since the United Nations International Force – East Timor (INTERFET). M is for Mates – Animals in Wartime from Ajax to Zep  – The Department’s 2009 education resource for primary schools will help students learn about Australia’s wartime history through the animals used in wartime and peace operations. Australian Prisoners of War  – The Department’s 2009 secondary schools resource teaches students about the experiences of Australian prisoners of war using stories from the Australians at War Film Archive. DVA provides an education resource each year to all Australian schools.

Media Releases New forums for veterans Government moves to review Military Compensation Cutting red tape for veterans and ADF personnel Explosive detection dog sniffs out 'M is for Mates' $50,000 to commemorate 40th anniversary of Binh Ba $507,000 to honour veterans 2009 Anzac Day image unveiled Joint media release Gillard/Griffin - Young Simpson Prize Winners Announced Joint media release Griffin/Elliot - Happy 110th Birthday to Australia's last remaining WW1 serviceman Jack Ross

Veterans' Affairs e-News is a monthly service provided by the Department of Veterans' Affairs. To subscribe to e-News, send an email to e-news-subscribe@dvalists.aaa.net.au with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject field. Once joined, you will receive a confirmation email.

Veteran's Affairs Information Kit, from Alan Griffin's electorate office...

Go to: http://www.griffinmp.com/documents/Veterans_Affairs_KitMarch09.pdf

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John Graham has constructed a new website relating exclusively to Australian Military information titled Australian Military Superannuation.

John wrote "I must admit I have included a paper on pharmaceuticals by Sheldon Maher, a subject I feel very strongly about. I have tried to assemble papers on the problems we face. Hopefully this will enable all to understand the arguments put up by various individuals and ESOs and provide a proper understanding for individuals who may wish to make individual submissions. Of course these mainly differ from the Governments. My name appears as the author of the papers, but plainly this is not so. This is a thing in the programme that I cannot eliminate. I will work to nominate the real author as I have done for Sheldon's document.

I hope you like it, and if you do you might consider this letter on to your contacts. I would ask that ESOs consider passing it on to any affiliated associations, if you feel the site is of use. I hope the former National Servicemen in my addressees will also pass this letter on to your 'Regular' contacts. I have not finished uploading documents, this being a continuing process for a while.

DEFENCE NEWS
RAN Releases  plan to improve Australia's submarine workforce

The Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Russ Crane AM CSM, RAN, has released a plan to dramatically improve Australia's submarine workforce, after concerns a lack of numbers is placing an unacceptable strain on personnel.

"Our submariners remain a professional and ready force. By improving their working conditions we will ensure our Submarine Force remains sustainable now and into the future," Vice Admiral Crane said.

Navy's Submarine Workforce Sustainability Program will follow a five phase strategy designed to stabilise, recover and grow the submarine workforce over the next five years. The program focuses on getting more qualified submariners to sea and on improving support for them once deployed. The strain on seagoing submariners will be eased by increasing crew sizes from
46 to 58 people. A fourth submarine crew will be operating by the end of 2011.

The Submarine Workforce Sustainability Review was completed late last year.
It made twenty nine recommendations aiming to improve submariners' work/life balance. Vice Admiral Crane is implementing them all. Three recommendations are already being implemented, including new crewing arrangements, local area networks on submarines and relocation of the Submarine Communication Centre from eastern Australia to Fleet Base West in Western Australia by the end of 2009.

"The changes will improve submariners' conditions of service with better training systems, better respite at sea and ashore, and better incentives to remain in the submarine force.

"This program will safeguard the future capability of Australia's submarine fleet," Vice Admiral Crane said. "Our people must come first. This will be a key part of our New Generation Navy initiative."

An unclassified version of the Review is available at www.Navy.gov.au and http://www.defence.gov.au/header/publications.htm#S

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New pay structure roll-out for ADF
Australian Defence Force (ADF) enlisted personnel have a new pay structure with today’s roll-out of the final phase of the Graded Other Ranks Pay Structure, known as ‘GORPS’.  Over 9,000 Navy sailors and warrant officers have received their first salary payment under GORPS today, to be followed in coming weeks by Air Force, Army and Reserve other ranks members.

GORPS represents a 10-year $2.4 billion investment that will see over 37,000 ADF members from the ranks of private to warrant officer and their service equivalents placed in new pay grades based on their skills and experience and contribution to delivering ADF capability. It also offers greater reward for promotion.

The new ADF other ranks graded pay structure meets contemporary industrial standards by better recognising the work value of different military employment groups, market factors and skills shortages. It also provides a solid foundation for a more responsive pay-setting mechanism.

About half of the personnel under GORPS will be placed in higher pay grades and receive increased salaries to reflect the capability they provide the ADF. The other half will simply transition from the previous structure without a significant increase in pay, while a very small number will have their salaries protected so they do not suffer any financial detriment.

Introducing GORPS has been a major undertaking and planning for its introduction started in April last year. GORPS has required the placement of over 37,000 ADF members into the new structure following the review and validation of their individual service, training and competency records.

Great care has been taken to ensure that as far as possible each ADF other ranks member has been placed correctly under GORPS and that no one would be disadvantaged financially through the implementation of the new pay structure. However should issues arise, ADF members and their families have a range of avenues available to them to quickly resolve any concerns.

GORPS is being introduced in stages across the Navy, Air Force, Army and the Reserve elements due the extent and complexity of the task. This allows time to correct any anomalies and ensure that no one is financially disadvantaged during roll-out. Pay will be adjusted back to 4 September 2008 in line with the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal determination.

Information about GORPS is available at: www.defence.gov.au/dpe/pac

Come on Boof and Nigs, let's go and annoy the chickens.............

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Sunday, 12^th April 2009 - my wish to you all.....

The Log will not be published today, I have spent the day with family and I hope that you did with yours.

A man was blissfully driving along the highway, when he saw the Easter Bunny hopping across the middle of the road. He swerved to avoid hitting the Bunny, but unfortunately the rabbit jumped in front of his car and was hit. The basket of eggs went flying all over the place. Candy,  too.
 
  The driver, being a sensitive man as well as an animal lover, pulled over to the side of the road, and got out to see what had become of the Bunny carrying the basket. Much to his dismay, the colorful Bunny was dead.
 
  The driver felt guilty and began to cry.  A woman driving down the same highway saw the man crying on the side of the road and pulled over. She stepped out of her car and asked the man what was wrong.
 
  "I feel terrible," he explained, "I accidentally hit the Easter Bunny and killed it. What should I do?"
 
  The woman told the man not to worry. She knew exactly what to do. She went to her car trunk, and pulled out a spray can. She walked over to the limp, dead Bunny, and sprayed the entire contents of the can onto the little furry animal.
 
  Miraculously the Easter Bunny came to back life, jumped up, picked up the spilled eggs and candy, waved its paw at the two humans and hopped on down the road. 50 yards away the Easter Bunny stopped, turned around, waved and hopped on down the road another 50 yards, turned,  waved, hopped  another 50 yards and waved again!!!!
 
  The man was astonished. He said to the woman, "What in heaven's name is in your spray can?" The woman turned the can around so that the man could read the label.  It said:
 
  "Hair spray. Restores life to dead hair. Adds permanent wave."

Aren't you lucky I am not putting a Log to air today!!!

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Sunday, 5^th April 2009

I finally got my PC back on Friday afternoon and it is amazing how much I have to repatriate to the PC from my laptop.  I am trying a new backup system now that the bloody thing has been repaired. if it wasn't an almost new computer I would go and buy a new Mac, but that will have to wait, the economic downtime has us all tightening our belts. 

Things at home are going OK for a change, although my new chickens have decreased by half and I cannot find out what happened to them.  The pup, Niggs, spends hours watching them and I would not think that he would steal the odd one?  Maybe the birds that are getting the fish in my pond are also into chickens.  It is costing a fortune to replenish my livestock!

Another 50 metres of grass arriving in the morning, good exercise laying it.  This will be the last and it looks good and saves heaps of mud from getting walked through the house.

The council inspector came for final pool inspection this week and I think he must have been talking to Boot Hatfield, he picked me up for the gap under one section of fence being 20mm too high, it is only supposed to be 100mm. I could have fixed it in 10 minutes, but he could not wait.  Another $55 to get him back.  Why do I hate petty beaurocrats..........

A slight mishap with the ride on mower on the way back from getting it serviced, the bonnet flew off at 100 KPH and is in many pieces.  The cost to buy the 12 pieces that make up the bonnet is $1475 and about $175 to assemble.  I argued that as they had the bonnet off for the service they must not have secured it when finished, but they did not agree.  I think I will get some sheep.....

The RAN is finally making television ads that will generate an interest in joining the Navy.  Many of us have been saying for years to go back to the 'join the Navy and see the world' ads that most of us joined up after seeing.  The 'join the navy and get a career' ads may have excited the recruiting office, but the youngsters are no different today than they were in our times, they want to get away from home and have some excitement in foreign ports while learning a career.

Many of you will have sent me email which have been lost or mislaid during my current PC fiasco.  Then again, I may just have ditched it.  Whatever the case, if you are waiting for a response please send again. 

See you next week.

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THE 'EVEREST CHALLENGE'
The economy must be worse that we thought, even with Rudd's money being thrown at us with gay abandon, the lack of support for the Challenge has been a big surprise.  Team leader Carol Wilson reports:

As at this time the team has walked 1,032,070 steps and are just below camp 3 on the mountain. Sponsorship is at (with what I know at about) $1177.00. I would like to thank everyone who has participated and/or sponsored us. I won't have the final figures till next week as we still have today's steps to record. We are still in the top 100 which I think is a good effort for first time mountaineers.  Thanks again for your support and trying to get more support from the members, it is not too late to sponsor us, just go to the the link and scroll down to the "sponsor us" tab.

You will note that I have not entered the number of steps I have taken,  two reasons, computer dead and so is my little machine for counting steps taken, I stood on it!!!  In addition to the sponsors shown on the Everest site I have had email from some pledging a donation and I would also like to acknowledge donations received from:

• John and Mal Fisher

• Robert Lea

• Iain Burns

• I have received a donation from Naomi Belle but I have no contact details.  Naomi, could you please contact me so I can send a receipt.

You may like to sponsor either the whole team or specific individuals by logging onto the link or send a cheque or money order to me at Box 63 Bauple,  4650.  Official receipts will be issued and it is tax deductible.

THE MARCH EDITION OF IN DEPTH AVAILABLE NOW AT SUBMARINESAUSTRALIA.COM

SAA NEWS  

Nominations for the National Executive shut on the 1st April and only two states have submitted nominations, a pretty poor effort and I hope that the other state's responses are held up in the mail.   Or maybe it is that not all Branches schedule meetings to coincide with the requirement to have nominations in by the 1st, poor planning as these dates are fixed in stone?  If any of the nominees do not accept then nominations from the floor can be made at the AGM.  There are many of you out here with a lot to offer, please consider your options.

The March issue of In Depth is now online and thanks to all those that have commented on the new format.  I believe it is still too big, this month it came in at 14 pages, but the ANZAC Day muster points took up extra room.  I will try and keep it to 12 pages (6 when printed double sided) in future. 

There have been some glitches with the SUBCON page and I will be working on resolving them tonight.  If you have not registered your intentions please do so, it helps the WA Branch firm up on planning. The treasurer has requested that when making final payment by EFT that an email be sent to him informing him of the amount and functions they are attending. Also if paying by cheque enclose details of functions attending. This is necessary for validation purposes due to the registration program malfunctioning. It has been rectified.

Annual subscriptions are due again and most of you that are up for renewal should have received an email by now, although I am still trying to find some addresses.  Watch this space, a list of Members due will be posted next week.

Acting National Secretary

NOTICE OF AGM

Members are advised that the Annual General Meeting of the Submarine Association Australia will be held in Fremantle on Sunday 7th June 2008 at 1000.

ACT Branch
The ACT Branch will hold its next meeting on Monday 06th April 09 at the Canberra Services Club, Manuka commencing at 1700.

Geoff Burns has just completed Part 2 of the TIP Pension Officers Course and will complete Part3 (thought I had done that) late April and will soon appear on the SAA's list of pension officers.

Andy Galley, Gavin Dwyer, Peter Knights and Geoff Burns went to Cootamundra a couple of weeks ago to help Anne Redwood out, they spent the weekend building a kitchen for her (ably assisted by Ian & Liz Taber who lives in Coota).

After our ANZAC Day march we will be retiring to David Nicholls place for a lunch and catch up.

Contact Geoff Burns for details.

AROUND THE TRAPS

HMAS Onlsow
Mick Carew is currently in working NHQ and has been appointed the POC for matters arising from the Onslow engine run on/toxic gas incident. He wrote:

"There have been numerous enquiries post the Channel 7 Sunday Night programme and I am assisting with the handling and forwarding of information to the Ships Company who were on board at the time of the incident. At NHQ we are attempting to put together packs including the BOI and Annexes to assist any members with claims. I am trying to track down members of the Ships Company so these can be forwarded to them. Prior to this happening the complete pack must be vetted and cleared by Defence Legal.  Could you assist at all by posting my Email and details on the website? I must stress that the scope of my task is dealing with the incident and my main role is to supply information and support those members of the ONSLOW Ships company as required. This includes DVA contact and if eligible Veterans and Veterans Family Counselling Service liaison."

Michael Carew
Commander, RANR
Manager Navy Governance (MS)
R1-04-C126
Phone: 02 - 6265 7318
Fax: 02 - 6265 6192

Email: Michael.Carew1@defence.gov.au

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Greg Doodson and Terry 'Titch' Parsons have been very busy over the past couple of months after hearing that Channel 7 were doing a show on the Onslow incident in 1981 that resulted in the death of AB Chris Passlow. Initial reluctance to appear was lessened once the show's producers gave an assurance that it was not a witch hunt and all concerned hope it is of benefit to all submariners in the future.

Greg and Titch plan to continue to support all of our Onslow Crewmates and direct them to the appropriate local DVA Advocates within the Association.

Titch has made a great effort in pulling the Onslow guys together and followed up after the show by visiting POMTP3SM Paul "Wedge" Screaigh, who is alive and well in WA.  Titch said "Wedge likes to drink a color of beer called Coopers Green, much to my disgust. I am wondering how a West Australian was drinking shit from South Australia and enjoying it.

Whilst here with Wedge, we have had two old friends find Wedge as a result of the Channel Seven Program. POMTP3SM Harry "The Head" Rollinson and POMTP3SM Peter "S.O.C." Price caught up. Made for a interesting night and Wedge is still telling me stories about him and Price when they were boys. I am also pleased that we were not with Harry to partake in his Jacobs Creek Claret."

Another of the Onslow's crew that was involved in the tragedy, Terry Baker wrote:  "I saw the segment on Onslow and despite the hesitancy by some and the reopening of wounds I think the overall story was well overdue to be told. I was onboard that night and never found out the truth until recently.

It was unfortunate the Board of Inquiry found Screaigh & Parsons responsible without informing them of this or a right of reply. Guess it saves any messy appeal process. Clearly the investigation & the BOI was a surprise to them, but the story further condemned them with limited recourse to clear their names.

But it did let the Navy off very, very lightly and missed the opportunity to get some political pressure to rebuild today’s defence force in the continuing saga of the undermanned submarines. I had travelled to Sydney to be interviewed as I believed then and now that there has been a systemic failure in the navy to recruit and retain submariners. Due to time constraints driven by the biker war my interview was axed – such is the fickle nature of the media.

Geoff Burns clearly has had a tough time of it. At the time of the incident there was inconsistency around the engine panel indicator lights and how they would constantly be switched from red to green and back again. Myself along with the other engine room watch keepers commented that this was ‘an accident waiting to happen’. Little did we know how true and fatal this would be. By the time of the accident these very critical red/green light indicators were effectively redundant and could not be used with any certainty or assurance.

On the night of the incident the panel lights were in fact changed to the reverse of what had been the standard operating protocol in the previous 2 years. I believe this and several other factors could have been contributory to the incident. By the time Burns who was not watch keeping in the engine room at the time entered the space his ability to gauge whether the engines were in fact in the start or stop position using the indicator lights was simply not possible – an issue he has struggled with since. A similar analogy is imagining the red and green colours of a cities traffic lights had been changed overnight and the ensuing chaos as people drove to work the next day. This is despite intuitively knowing which ones should be red and which one should be green.

Geoff Burns most likely saw the lights but couldn’t reconcile in himself whether they indicated start or stop. When I entered the engine room, the low pressure blower I had started earlier continued to clear the air until it was possible to see the switch without reference to the indicator light so Harry Rollinson and I could start the engines. The time lapse from Geoff collapsing until this time was probably 10 minutes and indicative of how thick the fumes were.

All in all a very well constructed re-enactment and great the story has finally been told. A reopening of the BOI to fill in the gaps and investigate the root cause of how Screaigh managed to fail to stop the engines would be invaluable.

Clips from the Sunday show can be viewed at http://au.tv.yahoo.com/video/-/watch/12713226http://au.tv.yahoo.com/video/-/watch/12713226

Some naval officers obviously have too much time on their hands.  After recently returning from holidays, NOIC Tasmania Tony Vine, found time to slag off at one of our sick Members. He wrote "I reckon that Phil Solomon's surgeon was having him on. I cannot believe that a CSAW ever did enough heavy work let alone lifting, to have a hernia.  Keep up the good work we all enjoy our dose of the log every Sunday night and your efforts are appreciated - I would sack your Computer guy however I suspect that in rural Queensland you don't have many options."

Ken Chilvers son Michael was the first kid to overnight on an Australian submarine (HMAS Ovens Coffs Harbour to Sydney, CO Dave Gladman).  He said "It was probably 1987 but I stand to be corrected. Safe to dive had expired so it was passage routine all the way, however it was last night at sea and obviously "channels night". At only eleven and a bit he could not believe his eyes at some of the get ups of the boys back aft. He still talks about it."  Channels night, what horrid secrets that they hide. I was talking to Angad Singh (formerly Buck) last week and he recalled the night that Graeme Porzucek and he tied me up in a sleeping bag and left me hanging from the after escape tower.  I am sure that everyone that walked by gave me a little thump or two.  Luckily I was tired and emotional and was feeling no pain.  The following pictures were taken on channels night onboard HMAS Ovens so you can understand why he still talks about it, probably to his shrink.

Ken added "I am webmaster of our local RSL Sub-branch and find it hard to generate any interest on a week to week basis. I do lift bits and pieces from you from time to time [got your OK a fair while ago]. Part of your latest log I have taken the liberty to put on our web site, it being the bit about Mobile phones etc etc. You may like to have a look at our web site  , we are only 95 Members strong but determined.

Jack Lennon writes "I haven't been to the log this week, as I've been away for a couple of days, should be there today though, and I've probably missed your annual April 1 thingy, always look forward to those bits. All okay down here at Victor, just don't seem to have any free time now that I have retired (nearly 7 years now!). Don't know how we managed to work those ling hours at ASC and still have a life, now that I'm not working, time goes so fast, I guess that God is spinning the world a lot faster than he did when we were kids. How's the home chores going Norm, you certainly have had your share of grief around your place."  Jack was one of many that had the hide to think that I would be childish enough to play April Fool's day jokes on our Members. I am too responsible for that, and besides, my computer was dead!!!

Paul Dann wrote "Just thought I would let you know that I got a mention in the Navy news this week. I did a good deed late last year and the Navy grapevine found me out!! The article is next to the one on Jenny (side party) page 16.  Not one to boast about myself, but it's my 5 minutes of fame, ha ha ha."  Paul found and returned a set of medals that were stolen in 1985.  Unfortunately I cannot cut and paste the article, go to page 16 of Navy News and read it yourself.  Well done Paul.

Dan Jordan wrote "Thanks for the Jenny dit in the newsletter. It is quite a remarkable story and one of courage and determination. I thought. Jenny and her crew did the casing when I was in Honkers on a boat in ’58 while all the big HA sailors sat on their HAs. This link I give for your consideration. I study and research alternative medicine and this is but one area I figured may be of interest to the aging number of vulgar boatmen like myself. It concerns cancer and would provoke much ire from the professions. Make of it what you will and disregard if you feel it is of no value. I also realise you are flat out and pushed for time so won’t bother you too much. In regard to Subcon it is unlikely I will make as I am not very mobile at the moment and dealing with the problem myself."  Dan has been a long time supporter of alternative medicine and it is definitely a consideration.  It couldn't be any worse than some of the doctors I have seen of late.

This is a pretty neat hi tech "office".....  follow this link and move your cursor and you can see the whole cockpit of an Airbus A38, the largest passenger airliner in the world. It can seat more than 850 people.

Possum Adams said "BZ to SAA for their donation to John Foster OAM in his non-stop search for (what I think) is one of our S/M'S that has not been given enough publicity nor financial support from the National Government (but I bet they'll take the kudos for the find) when it finally happens - I can only hope that any other State branches take up the challenge and support this most important quest and the men who are trying to make it happen."

Stan Nimmo reports on his move to the USofA. "All good here we are gradually settling in, although we have come to the conclusion that this is not a very free country - you can't really live here without a social security number or a US state driver's licence - which you can't have without a social security number. Thankfully many government agencies and establishments cautiously accept our official passports with the A2 TDY visa as sufficient identification - but I'm sure that we have been reported to the FBI on numerous occasions as suspicious aliens/terrorists.  Anyway mate - I am comforted by your emails and the website which helps me maintain my sanity." I don't blame them, I've always thought that he was a suspicious character.

Roy Orkney received the following email after the Victorian fires "I just want you to know that I simply don't understand why the UK raises so much money for other disasters and as far as I know nothing was done for yours? I am ashamed. I suppose all concerned assumed you could take care of things yourselves. No doubt you did? But this is a reflection on how the U.K. has changed. Wot happened to the Commonwealth? At least us Ganges boys are still close and are there if needed. I am anyway. Keep them coming and I will do the same. Regards David 'Mousey' Rye, 213 Grenville, Griffin mess, 1949."  Thanks for passing this on Roy, it's nice to see the Ganges boys have a heart.

Ian Waterworth, the secretary of the West Riding Branch of the Submariners Association in the UK, is visiting Oz on the 21/4/09 till the 12/5/09 and he would be grateful of any tourist hints."  Maybe some old shipmates of his could contact him with some advice. Many thanks for doing that. He will be arriving on the 21st of April in Sydney and will be staying there until the 28th and then going to Canberra for a week then he comes back to Sydney on the 5th until he flies back on the 12th of May.

I was reading in the paper today about this dwarf that got pick pocketed. How could anyone stoop so low?

A married woman of 20 years was having lunch with two unmarried friends. One was engaged and one is a mistress.  They were chatting about putting some spice into their relationships and decided to amaze their men by wearing a black leather bra & bodice, stiletto heels and a mask over just their eyes. They agreed to meet a week later to exchange notes. Here's how it all went:

The engaged friend: The other night my boyfriend came over and found me wearing a black leather bodice, tall stilettos and a mask. He saw me and said, 'You are the woman of my dreams. I love you.' Then we made love all night long.

The mistress: Me too! The other night I met my lover at his office and I was wearing the leather bodice, heels and mask over my eyes and a raincoat. When I opened the raincoat he didn't say a word, but we had wild sex all night.

Then the married woman told her story: When my husband came home I was wearing the leather bodice, black stockings, stilettos and a mask over my eyes. As soon as he came in the door and saw me he said… "What's for dinner, Batman?"

I had a mate who was suicidal. He was really depressed, so I pushed him in front of a steam train. He was chuffed to bits.

SUBCON 2009 FREMANTLE WA 5-9th June 2009  register now

Beware of Skimmers!!!
No, not the girlie types that sail in grey boats! This Powerpoint presentation from the Commonwealth Bank has been prepared following the arrest of 3 people following the rorting of Credit Cards from ATM machines and the theft of $500,000 over several days. The practice is commonly known as Skimming whereby details of the credit/debit card are electronically stolen and then used by the perpetrators to steal your money.  The description sounds like the girlie types that sail in grey boats.

Norm O'Neill of the WAMM has a request from one of their Marine Engineer Volunteers to try and locate an ex submariner, "Blue" Delaney (MECH H.A. Delaney).  "Blue" was in the UK doing submarine Training when he qualified to do a mechanician's course at HMS Sultan (the RN Marine Engineering School ) which is where they met. When they passed out "Blue" was posted to commission HMAS Ovens in Scotland, and that was the last he heard of him. The person requesting assistance (no name given) said "I knew him a bit better than "Ships that pass in the night" as I used to visit him and his family when in the UK, and share a beer or two on the weekends. If anyone can trace his whereabouts I would be much appreciative in being able to contact him again."  If you have Blue's contact details please contact me.

I just saw that Harry Potter film. A bit unrealistic if you ask me. I mean, a ginger kid, with two friends?

Gordon Cattermole, a retired WOWTR from the RNZN involved in the Local Coastguard Unit in Auckland asked "One of the things that our younger and keener crew members do when the board a vessel to dewater it with great gusto, and often without thinking, they forget about the effect of seawater on batteries. So I was wondering if your Assn could e-mail any notes that there may be loafing around on the dangers of the gas poisoning caused by salt water mixing with the battery acid, symptoms and treatment if in time. From what you can send I’ll make them up into a training presentation for my unit and send it also to our National Federation for inclusion into our National Training Manual and in both cases acknowledging the source of the material. Who to best ask are those who always considered us Surface blokes as Targets!!! Mind you it must have been ‘orrible to be waiting to get goosed by a bloody big whale m8!!" I think I pointed him in the right direction, what is a bloody writer doing playing with batteries, they should leave it to us stokers, bloody skimmers!!!

Dave 'Goldie' Horne has arrived in Hanoi after visiting Sa Pa in the highlands. Sa Pa is nestled against a dramatic backdrop of mountains, the end of the Himalayas and is at 5,500 ft. The driving is interesting, winding roads with washouts and water buffalo to avoid. He said that the overnight train was an quite experience as well, at least they run on time, unlike Queensland Rail!!

Stuart Dennis sent this photo of HMS Aurochs (P426), developing 4300hp, with two Admiralty diesel engines, being propelled through a calm sea. Stuart served on her when she was at "HMAS Penguin" during 1956 - 57. Only one of 'A' Class not converted she was commissioned in February 1947 and scrapped in February 1967 at Troon.

Lloyd Blake added "At the risk of offending you-know-who………….Researching some A Boat history came across this Gem; “Aurochs, named after an extinct European bison, known as the ‘Woolley Bull’. HMS Aurochs crest was naturally the head of this animal and the Latin motto was ‘Taurus Excreta Sapientum Fulcreat’ (the dung of the bull causes wisdom to flee), translated by the crew as ‘bullshit baffles brains’.

I met a 14 year old girl on the internet. She was clever, funny, flirty and sexy, so I suggested we meet up. She turned out to be an undercover detective. How cool is that at her age?

---

Vale John Robson

John Robson, a former Petty Officer in the Royal Navy served on HMS Taciturn and HMS Trump. In 1965 John joined the escape tank team (Dolphin). It was in 1965 that a 10 man team including John set the world record for escaping from a submarine from a depth of 500ft (using a Mk1 Suit), in the Mediterranean.  He left the Navy in July 1966.

John was born in Alton on 21st August 1939 and passed away in the UK on the 28th January 2009 aged 69.

I received this email from our man in Noumea, Roberto Lunardo and not being able to speak French was not sure why he would be writing to me about tampons?  He wrote: "Merci Norman, Voici mon dernier travail pour la poste l'aquarelle et le tampon rien à voir avec les sous-marins' regards, Roberto." It translates roughly to: "Thank you Norman, here is my last work for the post office, a watercolour and the plug nothing to see with the submarines, Roberto." Roberto has produced several paintings of submarines and I may soon create a page for his works.

HEALTH & WELFARE MATTERS

Exercise Physiology – Information for the Veteran Community

What is Exercise Physiology?
Exercise physiology services include the delivery of clinical exercise interventions to manage chronic disease and the provision of post-acute exercise rehabilitation for people recovering from major injury or illness. Exercise physiology contributes to the management of:

• diabetes;

• cardiovascular disease;

• osteoporosis;

• arthritis;

• cancer; and

• muscular conditions of a chronic nature.

Who is eligible?
If you have a Repatriation Health Card – For All Conditions (Gold Card) the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) will pay for your exercise physiology services based on your clinical need.
If you have a Repatriation Health Card – For Specific Conditions (White Card) DVA will pay for exercise physiology services that are necessary to meet a clinical need that is associated with an accepted disability, or malignant cancer if DVA has accepted responsibility for treatment of this condition.

DVA has prepared an Exercise Physiology Fact Sheet which is available from the DVA website www.dva.gov.au/factsheets/default.htm or you can contact your local DVA office on 133 254.

UK Veterans winning fight for health cards
Four million former servicemen and women are to be given veterans' cards to ensure they get priority treatment for NHS healthcare and housing, and discounts for services such as transport.  The Ministry of Defence plans to introduce the cards at the beginning of 2010, The Independent has learnt, in an attempt to begin repairing the damage done to the military covenant between nation and armed forces under New Labour.

The launch is expected to be formally announced this autumn with the first veterans' cards handed to new armed forces leavers in spring next year, before being rolled out to the country's four million former service personnel.  The aim is to ensure that those who have risked their lives in combat get front-of-the-queue treatment and financial benefits. Similar systems in the US and France offer veterans subsidised travel and discounts from private companies.

At a time when the armed forces have been stretched to breaking point in two bloody conflicts, there has been mounting anger that the priority treatment promised by the Government 18 months ago has failed to materialise. "We now need to make it happen," the Defence minister Kevan Jones told this newspaper. "We will provide veterans' ID cards so the person can say 'I have served in the services' and get priority access to treatment." Mr Jones spoke in response to this newspaper's campaign to get better mental health treatment for traumatised troops, launched after the Victoria Cross winner Johnson Beharry – the country's most decorated serving soldier – revealed his own combat-related trauma and urged the Government to stop failing his fellow soldiers with sub-standard or non-existent care.

Lieutenant General Sir Freddie Viggers, who until last year was Adjutant-General in charge of personnel, welcomed the veterans' card. "It is about value and self worth, not about a piece of plastic," he said. "We carry these cards for the whole of our service and when we leave we are required to hand them in. Psychologically, it is a bad thing. It is a little bit of plastic but it represents who you are and what you did."

The Conservative MP Patrick Mercer, former commanding officer with the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, said: "It is about bloody time. At last, a reasonable, sensible minister [Mr Jones] who listens to ideas from across the political spectrum."

The categories in the Forces Discount Scheme currently include some retraining, sports clubs, childcare, insurance, holidays and travel.  Veterans and senior soldiers have called on the Government to acknowledge a predicted "explosion" of traumatised troops from recent conflicts and provide specialist mental healthcare. "No one is suggesting there is not a problem," Mr Jones said, "but we need a grounded debate to understand it."

He admitted that many former servicemen were "lost" in the NHS system and vowed to ensure every GP was made to record whether or not a patient had served in the forces.

However, he refused to concede that former service personnel needed separate, dedicated care and risked the wrath of charities by suggesting they should fund provision of military health advisers. "Combat Stress [the charity] gets £3m of taxpayers' money. I don't think the Government should do it all. It is not about money. It is about the system working better."

NET NURD

Conficker worm warning
Conficker, also known as Downup, Downandup, Conflicker, and Kido, is a computer worm that surfaced November 21st, 2008 with Conficker.A and targets the Microsoft Windows operating system. The worm exploits a known vulnerability (MS08-067) in the Windows Server service used by Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows 7 Beta. The latest variant (Conficker.C) will begin checking for a payload to download on March 31st, 2009. Conficker.A and Conficker.B variants continue to check for payloads each with a distinct domain generation algorithm.

The Conficker worm spreads itself primarily through a buffer overflow vulnerability in the Server Service on Windows computers. The worm uses a specially crafted RPC request to execute code on the target computer. When executed on a computer, Conficker disables a number of system services such as Windows Automatic Update, Windows Security Center, Windows Defender and Windows Error Reporting.

It receives further instructions by connecting to a server or peer and receiving a binary update. The instructions it receives may include to propagate, gather personal information and to download and install additional malware onto the victim's computer. The worm also attaches itself to certain Windows processes such as svchost.exe, explorer.exe and services.exe.

The "A" and "B" variants of Conficker will create an HTTP server and open a random port between 1024 and 10000. If the remote machine is exploited successfully, the victim will connect back to the HTTP server and download a worm copy. It will also reset System Restore points, and download files to the target computer.

Symptoms of infection

• Account lockout policies being reset automatically.

• Certain Microsoft Windows services such as Automatic Updates, BITS, Windows Defender, and Error Reporting Services are automatically disabled

• Domain controllers respond slowly to client requests.

• System network gets unusually congested. This can be checked with network traffic chart on Windows Task Manager.

• On websites related to antivirus software, Windows system updates cannot be accessed.

• Launches a brute force attack against administrator passwords to help it spread through ADMIN$ shares, making choice of sensible passwords advisable.

• Port 445/TCP scanning (A/B)

• Multicast UPnP requests

• High-port TCP and UDP P2P Activity

• Abnormal DNS lookup activity

Impact
Experts say it is the worst infection since the SQL Slammer. Estimates of the number of computers infected range from almost 9 million PCs to 15 million computers, however a conservative minimum estimate is more like 3 million which is more than enough to cause great harm. Another anti-virus software vendor, Panda Security, reported that of the 2 million computers analyzed through ActiveScan, around 115,000 (6%) were infected with this malware.

The potential scale of infection is large because 30 percent of Windows computers do not have the Microsoft Windows patch released in October 2008 to block this vulnerability.

The U.K. Ministry of Defence reported that some of its major systems and desktops were infected. The worm has spread across administrative offices, NavyStar/N* desktops aboard various Royal Navy warships and Royal Navy submarines, and Hospitals across the city of Sheffield reported infection of over 800 computers.  On February 1, 2009, Schools in the town of Rochdale, England were infected. The virus spread to 13 schools estimated to have infected 7,500 computers. On February 13, the Bundeswehr reported that some hundred of their computers were infected.

Recommendation
A working group has been established to fight this malicious worm and I recommend that you go to the web site for advice on how to handle it.

To test if you are infected go to; http://www.confickerworkinggroup.org/infection_test/cfeyechart.html

Netiquette
Netiquette primarily involves any communication you may send out or receive from the net. This short summary are recommendations, not rules:

• If your Internet access is through a corporate account, check with your employer about their policy regarding private e-mail.

• Don't assume any Internet communication is completely secure. "Never put in a mail message anything you would not put on a postcard". Likewise, independently verify any suspect mail, as addresses can be forged.

• If you are forwarding or re-posting a message, don't change the original wording.

• If you are replying to a message, quote only the relevant parts.

• Do not send abusive or heated messages (flames). If you receive a flame, it is best to ignore it.

• Take care with addressing mail.

• Allow time for mail to be received, and replied to, keeping in mind time differences around the world and other people's busy schedules.

• If you want your mail to be read, don't make it too long unless the receiver is expecting a verbose message. Over 100 lines is considered long.

• Remember the Internet is a global community, and other peoples values and outlook on life may be different to your own. Be tolerant and careful with slang or phrases that may not be understood in another country.

• Use mixed case, UPPER CASE LOOKS AS IF YOU'RE SHOUTING.

• Mail should have a subject header that reflects the content of the message.

• When attaching files try and keep as small as possible. Learn how to edit images to reduce the size (in kbs)., Not everyone is on Broadband and getting large files can be frustrating.

• Before sending on jokes, movies and other items consider if it is really going to be appreciated by the receiver, put yourself in their shoes.

Web Hint: Shrink photos before posting by email, use Shrink Pic 1.7.0, released Mar 18 2009. Shrink Pic is completely free to use. Shrink Pic for Windows 2000/XP/Vista Free download 1.14 MB (1195792 Byte)

ORDER NOW FOR ANZAC DAY Visit the Slops Van now and save on these ANZAC Day specials!
Beret with gold wire SAA logo. Not $30 only $25	Cap with SAA logo were $17.50 now $15 for ANZAC Day only	Pin on Blazer Pocket Badges. Not $35 try $30	SM Squadron ties are back, limited (18 left) number in stock. $27.50

I was walking in a cemetery earlier today and saw a bloke hiding behind a Gravestone.
I said, "Morning."
He replied, "No, just having a crap."

DEFENCE NEWS

Remnants of Kursk submarine thrown on scrapheap
A deck cabin of the infamous Kursk nuclear submarine, which sank in 2000 killing all crew members, has been found in a scrap yard near Murmansk by sheer accident. It was a group of activists of the Movement for the Support of the Russian Fleet who discovered the front part of the submarine’s cabin. They say the legendary nuclear submarine part could have been easily lost among car and ship wreckages, were it not for the clearly visible three meter high Russian coat of arms bearing the image of a golden double-headed eagle on it.

The August 2000 tragedy in the Barents Sea is widely regarded one of the biggest national tragedies during Vladimir Putin’s time as Russian president. After the submarine wreckages were raised to the surface there were numerous plans to preserve them as a monument, but the projects never saw the light of day.

The owners of the cabin are enthusiasts Vladimir Kozlovsky and Vladimir Korobkin. Murmansk region civil servant Kozlovsky himself transported the cabin from the Roslyakovo Shipyard to Murmansk. Since 2004 both men have been struggling to keep it as a monument, but could not find an understanding among the city authorities. Kozlovsky claims the cabin ended up in a scrap yard because he was not able to make the monument alone. Conflicting reports suggest that in 2008 the cabin was sold to one of Murmansk’s industrial zones for scrap, but it is still unclear who was behind it.

The mayor of Murmansk Sergey Subbotin knew nothing about the Kursk artifacts until journalists told him. He promised he would do everything in his power to find a well-deserved place for the poor cabin. “The cabin will be placed where it should be placed so that it could properly honor the deaths of the sailors, and look proper for those who would come to the monument,” Subbotin told Russia’s Channel 5.

In case Murmansk authorities don’t keep their promises, the Russian Northern fleet command is ready to take it upon themselves.

So far, monuments commemorating the Kursk tragedy have been erected in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sevastopol, Severomorsk and Kursk.

2009 Defence Salary Survey
Following the huge success of the 2007 Defence Salary Survey, Kinetic Recruitment officially launched the 2009 edition at this year’s Avalon Airshow.

The Defence sector has not been immune to the effects of an ageing population. There has been a decline in professionals with more than 16 years experience over the past two years and a surge of individuals with 6 to 15 years experience.  Salary sacrifice remains the most widely offered additional benefit in the Defence sector.

On average salaries have increased by:

• NSW 4.43%

• QLD 6.40%

• VIC 4.67%

• SA 7.82%

• WA 2.58%

• ACT 0.14%

Kinetic Recruitment has unmatched expertise delivering tailored recruitment solutions from one off contract needs, volume campaigns and global search for the Defence, Aerospace, Rail & Transport Industries. To view the 2009 Defence Salary survey go to Defence Salary Survey 2009

India should have nuclear attack submarines: France

France on Friday gave its backing to India developing a nuclear attack submarine fleet, with a senior naval officer saying it was a "legitimate" step as the country emerges as a major global force. The commander of the French Joint Forces in the Indian Ocean, Vice Admiral Gerard Valin, said India's military assets had to develop to reflect its position as a key world player, including in maintaining world stability.

Asked if that meant having nuclear attack submarines, he told reporters in Mumbai: "For me it's legitimate." "A nuclear-propelled submarine gives you mobility. France has a nuclear deterrent. To have a nuclear deterrent you must have submarines capable of ensuring the security of a large area," he added. "I think that India will be in the same situation" in the future, he said.

India's naval chief said in 2007 that the country's first domestically built nuclear-powered submarine would be ready for sea trials by this year. The vessel is expected to be an adaptation of the Russian Charlie II class submarine and capable of firing nuclear warheads.

Since then, India has test-fired nuclear-capable ballistic missiles from undersea platforms as part of an ongoing programme to develop land and sea-borne nuclear and conventional missile systems.

France and India have been steadily developing military ties. Last week the Indian and French navies took part in anti-submarine exercises off the coast of the western state of Goa, said Valin.

India's navy is also involved in the international effort to combat piracy off the Horn of Africa. Part of Valin's mandate is marine law enforcement, including targeting high seas hijacks by armed bandits in the same area. In October 2005 India signed contracts worth 2.4 billion euros (3.8 billion dollars) with Armaris, which is owned by France's Thales, and European defence firm MBDA to buy six Scorpene submarines. They are being assembled in India and are slated to begin operations from 2015.

French companies are also looking to make inroads into India's civilian atomic energy market, following the lifting last year of an embargo on nuclear deals with India imposed in 1974 after New Delhi staged nuclear tests.

Canadian Submarine heading to B.C. for refit
HMCS Chicoutimi, one of the Canadian military's four submarines, is due to arrive in Victoria in about 30 days - nine months earlier than previously scheduled. Chicoutimi, which has not been seaworthy since a 2004 fire that killed one person and injured eight others, is being brought here from Halifax aboard a heavy-lift ship. The ship is designed to carry submarines and other vessels.

Maritime Forces Pacific , said Chicoutimi is being brought to the Canadian Submarine Maintenance Group (CSMG) facility in Esquimalt where Chicoutimi will undergo "essential preservation work" prior to a refit. It was announced in 2005 that Chicoutimi's two-year refit would begin in 2010.

Dockwise U.S.A. has been subcontracted to move Chicoutimi to the West Coast. Defence Department officials didn't give an estimate of how much the move would cost.

Chicoutimi and Canada's three other Victoria-class submarines have been a point of controversy since they were bought second-hand from Britain in 1998 for $900 million. The vessels have all experienced technical problems.

The transfer of Chicoutimi to Victoria via a heavy-lift ship will allow the submarine to be brought directly to shore and placed on a temporary stand. "This capability reduces risk to the vessel, is more efficient and will more quickly free up navy resources for other high-priority work," the DND news release said.

The other three submarines are HMCS Windsor and HMCS Corner Brook, which are based in Halifax, and HMCS Victoria, which is currently undergoing work at Esquimalt's HMC Dockyard.