NAVY NEWS, DECEMBER 2008 25
ne These days, RN fi re-fi ghters have hi-tech comms receptions and ‘defence industry days’. highlight of the trip.” last in the lengthy spells between ‘pit stops’.
nd kit, but in the heat of the moment – and given the Both are heavy on the manpower. Chefs and The young can move the ship’s company as much Mexican beef soup bears an uncanny resemblance
r’s noise a wall of water throws up – hand signals and stewards (sorry, logisticians (catering services as the old. to last night’s bolognese. “No, it’s Mexican beef
its kicks on doors and hatches are still the order of the (preparation/delivery))) are much in demand for the “To the schoolchildren who came on board in soup,” the steward insists.
day. receptions, their shipmates must be around for the Surabaya, this was the most exciting thing they had Quite obviously, it’s not spaghetti at the heart
f a “Have confi dence in your suit, have confi dence industry days to explain to visitors what their bit of ever done,” says Cdr Hopper. of the ‘noodles’ salad. And sweet and sour soup is
ng in your ‘waterwall’ and you’ll be fi ne,” the leading technology can do. “My sailors can’t resist dipping into their own most defi nitely a new experience.
u’ll hand assures. “You think: ‘Trip around the world, great.’,” says pockets for them – a bit of jelly and ice cream, some There are some old experiences too.
Such training obviously works, for a few minutes sonar operator AB(WS) Kelly Stone, enjoying her nutty from the Naafi . We’re all human at the end of “We’re probably the only ship in the Navy still
he later the general alarm sounds. fi rst deployment. “And we have had a lot of good the day.” using paper charts,” sighs navigator Lt Rob Lamb.
est Flood. Flood. Flood. times. And being human, the ship’s company fall victim to It’s taken 52 folios (each containing upwards of 50
he Not good. “But there’s a lot of hard work too. I actually enjoy the aches and ailments of travelling half way around charts) to carry Kent from her home to the western
ile Fire. Fire. Fire. the cocktail parties – I volunteer for the ceremonial the world. Thankfully, there’s a doctor aboard, edge of the Pacifi c Rim.
Defi nitely not good. guard. I love it. It Surg Lt Iain Wood. Electronically, the same information fits on ten
er Machinery breakdown. Machinery breakdown. makes you feel
ay Machinery breakdown. important.”
“We have had a lot of good times,
His simple advice to DVDs.
the (slightly) sick? “Electronic charts get fi tted in February, but I’m
sit Okay, really not good. Deployments to
but there’s a lot of hard work too.”
“Man up.” fi ghting against it because it makes the life of the
A burst caused an electrical fi re which in turn the Far East probably
re. caused the steering to pack up. The knee bone’s remain the jewel in
– AB Kelly Stone
You’re not really ill. navigator too easy,” deputy weapon engineer offi cer
Still feeling ill? Lt Adrian Botham comments with a wry smile.
ce connected to the leg bone… the RN crown. Can of ‘man up’. Still, he’s not had too much to smile about.
us And 15 minutes later it’s all fi xed. Phew. It’s not the runs ashore and the shopping malls of “Who goes to the doctor with a cough?” he The ship has visited Singapore three times this
Asia which leave the lasting impressions, however, protests to his wardroom comrades who rib him. deployment. Surely one coincided with Lewis
its Compared with months safeguarding the Iraqi but the Mastercard moments – things that money “Do I have a cure for the common cold? No.” Hamilton et al tearing around the streets.
ou oil platforms, or even patrols of the Med or can’t buy. There’s more to welfare than ‘man upping’, Nope.
pe Falklands, the Far East sounds like a long list “Climbing Mount Fuji is something you would however. Sailors need their morale lifting: a seven- “We’ve missed every major sporting event,” Lt
ntil of jollies. never normally get to do,” POET(WE) Gemma month deployment is a long slog. Botham laments.
And, to be sure, the port visits out here are top Davies beams. “It is an utterly amazing experience. The senior rates run a Friday night quiz on, er, “Chinese, Malaysian, Singapore grands prix,
on notch, but it’s not a case of a few days at sea, big You are looking down on the clouds, looking down Fridays (with some astute and less-than-printable Olympics, we’ve missed them all by a few days.”
tle booze up, another few days at sea, another big on aircraft. You think to yourself: I’ve climbed higher observations about their shipmates) while Sunday The planning, of course, is aimed at keeping the
rn booze up. than our helicopter can go.” evenings are sometimes devoted to barbecues and British end up, not at satiating sporting appetites
ng UK plc wants some Before arriving in Japan, the ship had hosted fi lms on the fl ight deck. (although the CO does like to follow his beloved
return from its multi- veterans of the Battle of the Java Sea and carried On any other occasion, a bunch of sailors wailing Pompey at every opportunity).
ust million pound them to the recently-discovered wreck site of HMS “We are the champions” as a Live Aid DVD blares “It would be easy to cut deployments like this,”
eir investment. It wants Exeter. out at full volume a dozen miles off the Sri Lankan Cdr Hopper says.
ey local movers and “The veterans were a great bunch with a really coast would be a bit odd… “But you ignore this part of the world at your peril
shakers impressed. great outlook on life,” CPO Nick Mulvihill recalls. – Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, the
wo It wants British “They had some truly awful stories to tell, but It takes a hell of a lot of planning to send a ship Malacca Strait.
ng fi rms to showcase also some brilliant dits – their attitude was truly to Surabaya, Qingdao, Hong Kong. There’s a “What happens here doesn’t just affect our
eir its wares, hence refreshing. They never thought they would have the small RN presence in Singapore, but apart from economy, it affects the world’s economy.
a string of chance to pay their respects to their friends in the that not much away from the hub of the Gulf. “And as far as I’m concerned, we have to
ed way they did. I don’t think there was anyone at the It demands resourcefulness tracking down fuel continue to demonstrate that we can work out here,
me service with dry eyes. (there’s no tanker accompanying the ship) and and it demonstrates to the region what it continues
ng “It was a special tracking down food. to mean to the UK.”
moment and a And it demands resourcefulness making that food ■ Next month: on the trail of pirates
● HMS Kent ‘pre-wets’ her upper decks with her sprinklers as she crosses the Indian Ocean
023-025_NN_Dec.indd 3 17/11/08 17:42:45
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