Chapter 6

I almost passed out and he gave me some water, still grinning.

“You don’t expect the Minister to take you around the bases without you having the basic knowledge of military life, do you? This is going to be great.”

“Great, what do you mean, great! It will be me doing all these things!”

“But it will be me, beside you, filming it all. It’s going to be interesting, and my wife is taking out some more insurance on my life. The crew will be two weeks at HMAS Creswell first, to film you being checked over by a Navy doctor to see if you’re up for the rest. Then you’ll be taking part in some training to get you fit. That’s when we can do the other things, after you have the knowledge to fit in with what comes after and follow orders.”

“You know that they tell me that I’m a leader, not a follower!”

The following Sunday, I was with the crew in the minibus as we pulled up outside the main building at Creswell as requested at two. Two navy officers were waiting for us. One lad for the males and a young lady for me and Ashley. We picked up our bags, leaving the equipment in the bus, and followed our hosts in different directions.

Ashley and I were taken to the female quarters.

“Right. I’m Sub-Lieutenant Williams. Moyra when off duty. I started here as a midshipman and was acting in this position after five months hard work. I’ve served on a number of ships and came back here on this deployment to see you through a short training session, Carol. I will be with you whenever you’re with the navy. I have accepted this as an honour, as, I believe, we’ll be joined by the Minister on occasion.”

“That’s correct. What do I call you when we’re with others?”

“It’s usually ma-am. The guys are sir. As of the morning, you will be classed as Midshipman Chivers. The rest of your crew will be civilians, except for your cameraman, who will be getting a similar talking to from his mentor. I believe that there will be a lot of things where he’ll be filming you in strange positions.”

“I believe that he’s looking forward to it, ma-am.”

“I’ve been told that you have had some experience with the military?”

“I was working on an FM station in Britain and did some DJ work in the Mildenhall and Lakenheath bases. They were USAF, one for transports and tankers, with the other for F-15s and then F-35s. During the lockdown of ’21, we were classed as official entertainers and also did shows at RAF Marham, which was also F-35s. I would be spinning records for a party while planes were taking off to go on patrol. It was exciting.”

“Were you escorted everywhere?”

“No. There were four of us in two teams, and we had lanyards that gave us unlimited entry to the bases. The only place we couldn’t go was where our RAF liaison couldn’t as well. That was a black ops unit with Ospreys.”

“It’s no wonder that I’ve been authorised to give you this. It’s an official ID lanyard that gives you access to all areas. Ashley, you get one but it’s restricted. Your cameraman will have one like yours, Carol, but the rest of the crew will get restricted ones. I believe that there will be a lot of things that the two of you will doing where the others aren’t needed.”

“Quite right. Ashley will get me looking good, and then there’s a lot I do with small cameras about my person and a small recording unit.”

“I hope that they’re waterproof. Now, both of you. On those two bunks are standard student kit. As of the morning, you will wear that unless advised of anything else. I believe that there’s a dinner on Saturday, so I hope you’ve brought something suitable.”

“Hanging in the bus, ma-am.”

She grinned.

“Put your bags down and I’ll give you a tour. Then it’s the doctor for you and the mess for dinner and an early night. You’ll be woken at five, breakfast at half-past and on the running track at six. Don’t eat or drink too much. This room is ours for the duration.”

We followed her out and joined the others to be give a complete tour of the facilities, now seeing inside some of the buildings that I had looked at when I was here before. Ashley and I were shown the female ablutions, where we would go for our toilet and shower. We had piss pots under the bed if we couldn’t get to the loo in time. We saw the classrooms, the gym, and a peek at the gun range.

Then, Bernie and I were seeing the doctors. A woman for me and a man for him. I was classed as reasonable for my age, and the various trainers would be given a list of things I would be able to do, considering that I was just a little overweight.

After that, I joined the others in the mess, and we all had a reasonable meal. Then, Bernie and I had the option of a run. Changing into sports kit, all in camouflage, I joined Williams, Bernie and SBLT Anderson to test our fitness, while the rest of the crew took it easy. The pace was easy, at first, and we didn’t increase speed, just kept on running. Bernie faded first, and I was two laps behind him. The other two only had sheens on their forehead and were breathing a little faster.

We all went for showers afterwards. Moyra was quite chirpy.

“You did well, Carol. You had a decent meal but didn’t throw up before you ran out of legs. That’s a very good pointer for the rest of your time.”

Next morning, Ashley, Moyra and I went to the ablution block in camo gowns over camo nighties and had our showers. I was told to put my hair in a bun. We dressed in the kit. Cotton bra and pants with socks, boots, trousers and shirts, all camo-coloured.

I followed orders and had a light meal. Back in our quarters, I had been given a new running kit, which I took to the running track. We changed in rooms with lockers and showers, along with fifteen other girls. On the track, I was put through a walk / sprint / walk routine until told to ‘run easy’. I had passed the distance that I had done the evening before, and was then given instruction on warming-down.

I was in the showers with Moyra when she told me that I had done extra well. Dried and redressed in fatigues, the athletic gear went into a hamper, and I was taken to the gunnery range to test my accuracy. Bernie was already there and waiting. We were given the strict instructions on how to behave and handle the weapons, and then were shown how to load the issue handgun, check it for safety, and that was followed by an hour of shooting things. I couldn’t believe how heavy the thing got as my arms got tired. Giving the gun back to the armourer, then shedding the safety glasses and earmuffs, I was ready to lie down.

Now, I was deemed ready to film the opening to the show. Ashley got me ready, and I was stood in front of the main entrance with Bernie getting his camera ready. At last, Matthew was ready to start filming. I had Moyra beside me and looked at the camera as Matthew called ‘Action’.

“This is Carol Chivers at HMAS Creswell. Some of you may have seen me here when I did a show about the Jervis Bay Territory. Today is the first day of finding out what it takes to be a female officer in the Royal Australian Navy, like Sub-Lieutenant Williams, here. She will be my mentor for the next two weeks as I sample what she took over twenty weeks doing. Today, I was out of bed at five, and have already done a number of laps of the running track, as well as two hours on the gunnery range, where the handgun that I was using seemed to get heavier with every shot. My time here will be interesting, and I’ll see you at the end of the show, I hope.”

We all had lunch, then my afternoon was taken up with a class on seamanship, now with Bernie filming some of it. The second lesson was electronics, where I surprised the instructor with my knowledge and skills. The third had me back in athletic gear, being thrown around like a rag doll, a course that they laughingly called self-defence. Bernie had a grin after that one.

And so, my time there carried on. I ran, I swam, I studied, and I think that I gained some respect in Moyra and Ashleys’ eyes. We did have a break on the Saturday evening, when I was in the officers’ wardroom, wearing a long dress, while all the crew were back in the mess for dinner. Moyra was there, in full dress uniform. Although I was a guest for this, I was still a midshipman, so had to stand as the Commodore entered, staying stood as we sang the anthem. It was an interesting meal, and I could feel Moyra, beside me, tensing as she realised that she was having a meal with at least three admirals. Her and I were the only ones at the table who weren’t flag officers, that is, officers who had served on flagships. The Commodore had been the captain of the Canberra.

After dessert, he stood, and everyone went silent.

“My fellow officers, ladies. Tonight is an unofficial thank you to Carol Chivers. I first met her when she was hosting a show about the Territory and interviewed me. At the end of the interview, she asked me about my thoughts about HMAS Melbourne and her ignominious last days. Sometime later, she had a one-hour show which brought the parlous state of our great service to the public view. By the speed in which she was interviewing the Prime Minister on the day he announced the new drone-carrier project, I am led to believe that the two of them had planned it that way. Although we don’t get a proper aircraft carrier, we do get something more suited to modern warfare. The speed at which we will get the first commissioning is remarkable. I propose a toast to Carol, an agent of change and a genuine friend to us in service. To Carol.”

They all stood and raised their glasses while I blushed. When they sat, the Commodore leaned over and whispered that a response was in order. I stood.

“Thank you for that wonderful gesture. When I arrived in Australia, some eleven years ago, I knew nothing about the history, other than it was hot and had snakes. Since then, I have grown to love the country and so has my husband, now a Detective Inspector in Nowra. As I learn more, the more I realise that things here follow other countries, especially Britain. We have the same greedy barons, the same vacuous politicians, although here we have two levels of that instead of one. The story of the Melbourne got to me, and I researched it thoroughly. After speaking to the Commodore, I talked to others. One, who I spoke to, was the Minister of Defense when he was at Albatross to announce the expansion of the terminal and airline use. His grandfather flew Trackers from the Melbourne and was certain that what eventually happened to her was treasonable. The story that I did was to highlight how easy it is to totally undermine the morale of a proud service with just one, stupid action. We showed that documentary to the PM and the Cabinet in Canberra. I believe that there are a couple here who saw that viewing. Do you remember the first thing that he said?”

One of the Admirals spoke up.

“It’s etched into my memory, Carol. He said, ‘Why am I only hearing this now’. Then the bean counter told him that it was all about budgets.”

“Thank you, sir. They thought that it would take ten years to build a carrier and that we couldn’t afford it. I was told that nobody on-sells a carrier these days, so the bean counters sat on their hands until the PM demanded action. That’s why we’re getting converted tankers to give us long-range drone capacity. It’s also why I’m here. I’ll be joining the Minister of Defence to visit most of the facilities around the country, with possible visits overseas to see what we’re looking at. It will be a series of shows to advertise the armed services and hopefully attract recruits across the board. Most of all, it will be shows that highlight the diversity of jobs in the services, with my time here preparing me for some of the things that I’m to face. Thank you, again.”

Moyra gave me a beaming smile when I sat down. The next day, we were back into training, with the main difference being that I did a lot of things with small cameras attached to me and an extra unit for sound. Bernie was also filming more, now that he could keep up. I attended some of the lessons, but the majority of my days were spent outdoors. Moyra and I ran the obstacle course a couple of times. I did some rifle shooting as well as more with the handgun. I swam, both in a costume and in a wetsuit and fins. I had basic scuba training. I learned how to right a kayak when it overturned in Jervis Bay. I learned how to control a launch and dock it without ramming the jetty. These all were easily filmed and documented.

There were many things that I didn’t do, mostly learning signalling, drill work, cross-country running with a full kit and others that were deemed to be something to hold back. Besides, I wasn’t an actual recruit and hadn’t signed on. One thing I didn’t expect was a four-hour electronics exam on the Friday afternoon. In the mess for our meal, I was told to stand to attention and the electronics trainer gave me a shoulder badge, showing that I was qualified to serve as an electronics officer, should I want to come back and do the whole course.

We were all back in civvies on Saturday morning and loading up the bus after we had filmed the show closing scene. I put my bag in and went over to Moyra.

“Thank you for looking after me, Moyra. It was hard, at first, but I leave feeling different.”

“Let me guess, Carol. You’re standing straighter and I expect that you feel that you can face anything. Do the full course and you’ll feel like I do when I’m on a ship with a couple of hundred guys. Although I’m still on the lower rungs, they bother me at their peril!”

“When do I see you again?”

“I’ll be aboard when you arrive next week. Your crew will be helicoptered onto our new Hunter Class Frigate, which is undergoing sea trials in the Bay. You have the week on board and will have fun being winched off the deck. I believe that it was thought to drop you off a launch and winch you out, but it would not be a good look on TV, with your hair wet.”

“Oh joy!”

On the way back to Nowra, I asked Matthew about the next week. He had it all planned. I was to join them at the Search and Rescue base on Monday morning. We would film me getting on the helicopter in the kit they would supply, similar to the fatigues that I’d been wearing for two weeks. They would film the take-off, then we would land again to get everyone and our kit on board for the trip out to the ship.

I had a day with my family and then was ready to go to work. Maybe Bernie was right. Maybe this life appealed to the tomboy in me. I arrived at the gate to the closed part of the base and was given an extra ID to wear.

“All the others are here, Miss Chivers. Here’s a map of the base. Hang on to it as you’ll need it next week.”

I found the right area and parked next to the bus. The others were setting up a camera on the hardstand, all in navy fatigues that we had worn last week. I was sent inside and given my own set of fatigues to change into. Then, we were all sat in a meeting room and told the rules. We were told that we may be in the helicopter with the big door open, and would have to be seated and belted, with Bernie introduced to the harness that he would wear if he wanted to film from the open door. I could see, by the grin on his face, that they would have a hard time holding him back.

Our bags and most of the equipment was stored in the helicopter. I was filmed crouched over and waddling to it as it was warming up, then helped in. I was sat in one of the pilots’ seats so that I could be seen, and we lifted off, leaving my stomach behind. We flew away and then returned to land, so that the others could board and bring the camera and audio gear aboard.

We took off again and flew around the city, heading towards the bay and the ships in the distance. I was excited with it all, as it was my first time in a helicopter, and in one of the front seats! Suddenly, the sound increased, and I heard a voice in my headphones saying the door was open. I twisted to see Bernie in the safety harness, being assisted in sitting on the edge of open air, camera hooked to his neck and making ready to film.

As we approached a very new frigate that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie, the pilot took us down, almost to sea level, and we flew past the ship, then banked around to fly past the other side. I could imagine the smile that Bernie would have, as the pictures would be fantastic. We banked again and gained a little height, then approached the landing space on the rear deck at a much slower pace, with the touch-down hardly noticeable. I was told to stay seated as the others and the kit were unloaded.

When they were clear, we took off again, going backwards to avoid the superstructure, and did a big loop around the rest of the ships in the bay, with the pilot telling me their names and a little history. Then, we went back to the frigate and landed again, with Bernie filming it. I thanked the pilot, who told me that he would see me later, and was helped out by Moyra.

I walked over to the others and the helicopter took off again, with Bernie still filming. When things were quieter, Ashley made sure that I wasn’t too windblown, and we did the opening scene of the next show. After that, we were all officially welcomed by one of the officers and our stuff was carried into the ship. I don’t know what I expected, but this was no cruise liner. The gangways were stark, the ladders were steep. I was shown how to descend one in a single bound. Our cabins were small, but well equipped.

For three days, we were integrated into the life on board. We ate with the crew; we saw the various areas where the running of the ship was carried out. This, being one of the latest, was built to operate in extreme situations, like fall-out and biological warfare. It could operate with nobody outside, and everything monitored by camera and radar. There were places we could film, and places we couldn’t. We interviewed a lot of the crew, from a cook to the fire control officer.

On the fourth day, I was kitted out with a harness and the helicopter was back, hovering over the stern as I was hooked up, then pulled into the sky. I had small cameras and audio recording, so could relate how I felt after the first surprised yelp.

We circled around with me dangling, and then was brought back to the stern and placed into the arms of a couple of beefy sailors who unclipped me. I was stood to one side as the helicopter came to land and all our gear was loaded on, with Bernie holding his camera. When it took off, with everyone on board, it came back over the stern with the cable coming down. I was hooked up again and Moyra said her cheerio as I was pulled into the sky like a fish on the end of a line.

This time, I was pulled up to the big door and saw Bernie filming me being pulled inside. The door was closed, and we were heading back to Albatross and welcome dry land. After we had filmed the closing scene, we handed over our fatigues and changed back into normal clothes. They gave me an SAR patch as a keepsake.

I had a few days getting to know my family again, and the following Monday, I was waved through the base gate and found my way to the place that was giving me the most fears. We filmed the opening scene first, in normal clothes. Because both Bernie and I had been in the training at Creswell, we were given a quick check and then were in a classroom being told what was going to happen. We would be going home at night, with the crew staying in a hotel in Nowra. Over that first day, we would get instruction on the parachute and the harness and spend a lot of time jumping off various heights onto a gym mat to make sure we could land without breaking anything. We were kitted out in paratroopers uniform and given the boots and a proper helmet.

We spent most of the day leaping off the different levels, feet together, knees slightly bent, and rolling on landing. It was very un-ladylike! There was a second cameraman recording our progress. The next day, we were back in uniform and in a small plane high over the base. Both of us were attached to the front of big blokes who had done this countless times. My first tandem jump was a revelation.

I made sure that I kept my eyes open as we seemed to fly. The voice in my ear told me that the chute was deployed, and we seemed to stop dead, before floating towards the ground. He reminded me of proper procedure as the ground suddenly rushed towards us. We landed and he told me to keep my legs up as he took the shock and ran forward as the parachute collapsed.

When Bernie landed, he had a smile as big as the Cheshire Cat. We were set free of our guardians and helped collect the chute as a truck arrived to take us back to the Parachute School. We had to sit with some tea and discuss the experience with the instructors. Then we were up to do it again, another three times, two of them with Bernie filming.

The next day, we both had instruction on how to use the lines to guide our descent, then did two jumps being the pilot, with instructions in our ears about when to pull the ripcord, what to look for and how to get there safely. The last thing we did, that day, was to jump off a tower, on a line that duplicated the normal landing speed, and land on a big mat below in the approved manner. While all this was being done, The second cameraman had been filming us from the ground.

The next day was one that I had originally feared. It was my first solo jump. The first thing was to get kitted out with all the gear, including a reserve chute in front, and practising finding the two ripcords. Our first jumps were with both of us fitted with small cameras on our helmets and audio recording. I had jumped out of this plane enough times to do it flawlessly, Bernie following. The adrenaline of being a bird almost made me forget to pull the ripcord, but I did, then came to a stop as the chute deployed. The target was below me and I concentrated hard to be as close as I could but missed by a hundred metres. I was closer than Bernie, though.

We were picked up and taken back to be given new chutes. This was to be our last jump, and I was a bit sad. Bernie was now heavier laden than me with his smallest proper camera, to film me as we jumped. Back in the air, our instructors gave us last-minute assurances and then we were tumbling into space again. I tried to guide myself so that Bernie could get a frontal view, and then we needed to find the target. This time, I was a lot closer.

When I had collapsed the chute, I stood while Bernie sorted himself out and we did the closing scene where we stood, kitted out with a chute on the ground behind me. We had done the first three shows, and there were more to come, but I doubted that they would be as exciting, frightening, or empowering as what we had done already.

Marianne Gregory © 2026