Gary Wight | |
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Born | Liverpool, New South Wales | 21 September 1968
Allegiance | Australia |
Service/ | Royal Australian Navy |
Years of service | 1987–present |
Rank | Commander |
Commands held | Warrant Officer of the Navy |
Battles/wars | Operation Okra |
Awards | Member of the Order of Australia |
Gary William Wight, AM (born 21 September 1968) is an officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). He joined the RAN as a submariner in 1987 and rose through the ranks to become the 8th Warrant Officer of the Navy in 2016. [1] He relinquished the post in 2019 and was subsequently commissioned as an officer.
Wight was born in Liverpool, New South Wales, on 21 September 1968. He joined the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in January 1987, later completing submarine training.
As a chief petty officer, Wight served as Chief of the Boat of HMAS Sheean. He was promoted to warrant officer in 2006 and appointed Ships Warrant Officer of the frigate HMAS Darwin. [1] In September 2012 he served as Command Warrant Officer of Career Management until he deployed on Operation Okra in June 2015 as the Command Warrant Officer of Joint Task Force 633. [2]
Wight's operational service includes Special Operations Submarines, Operation Manitou and short deployments on Operation Okra and Operation Highroad. He became the 8th Warrant Officer of the Navy in 2016. [3] He relinquished the post to Warrant Officer Deb Butterworth in November 2019, and was subsequently commissioned as an officer.
Wight was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours in recognition of his "exceptional service to the Royal Australian Navy in the field of Navy People leadership and management." [4] He has been also awarded two Fleet Commander's Commendations: first for his service as Communications Capability Staff Officer, Submarine Force HMAS Stirling; and second was for service as the ship's warrant officer of HMAS Darwin. [1] He holds a Master of Business Management from the University of New South Wales, [1] is married, has four children and resides in Canberra.
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of Defence (MINDEF) and the Chief of Defence Force (CDF). The Department of Defence as part of the Australian Public Service administers the ADF.
The history of the Royal Australian Navy traces the development of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from the colonisation of Australia by the British in 1788. Until 1859, vessels of the Royal Navy made frequent trips to the new colonies. In 1859, the Australia Squadron was formed as a separate squadron and remained in Australia until 1913. Until Federation, five of the six Australian colonies operated their own colonial naval force, which formed on 1 March 1901 the Australian Navy's (AN) Commonwealth Naval Force which received Royal patronage in July 1911 and was from that time referred to as Royal Australian Navy (RAN). On 4 October 1913 the new replacement fleet for the foundation fleet of 1901 steamed through Sydney Heads for the first time.
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