The FINANCIAL -- The crew of HMAS Armidale will spend Christmas this
year patrolling northern Australian waters to detect and deter illegal
activity at sea as part of Operation RESOLUTE.
Commanding Officer of Attack 5 , Lieutenant Commander Melanie Verho, said her ship is one of a number of the Armidale Class Patrol Boats and Royal Australian Air Force assets heading out on patrol over Christmas.
Lieutenant Commander Verho said up to 300 Australian Defence Force personnel will be on patrol or on duty for Christmas Day at sea, in the air and at the Joint Task Force 639 Headquarters located at Larrakeyah Barracks in Darwin.
“We’ll celebrate Christmas Day onboard the Patrol Boat and hopefully the sea conditions will be kind so we can have a Christmas dinner and some pudding while we are at work – I am sure Santa Claus might even make a couple of surprise visits.Lieutenant Commander Verho said many of the crew would celebrate Christmas early at home with their families or on their return in the New Year.
Operation RESOLUTE is the Australian Defence Force’s contribution to the whole-of-government effort to detect and deter illegal activity in Australia’s waters.
The Navy contributes Armidale Class Patrols Boats and other larger vessels to RESOLUTE that will be assisted in the air by the Royal Australian Air Force’s AP-3C Maritime Patrol Aircraft.
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