The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force. The Navy is commanded by the Chief of Navy (CN), who is subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) who commands the ADF; the current CN is Vice Admiral Michael Noonan. The CN is also directly responsible to the Minister of Defence, with the Department of Defence administering the ADF and the Navy.
The Bathurst-class corvettes were a class of general purpose vessels designed and built in Australia during World War II. Originally classified as minesweepers, but widely referred to as corvettes, the Bathurst-class vessels fulfilled a broad anti-submarine, anti-mine, and convoy escort role.
Vice Admiral Christopher Angus Ritchie is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Navy, who served as Chief of Navy from 2002 to 2005.
HMAS Cerberus is a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base that serves as the primary training establishment for RAN personnel. The base is located adjacent to Crib Point on the Mornington Peninsula, south of the Melbourne City Centre, Victoria, Australia. The base is also an official bounded locality of the Shire of Mornington Peninsula and is the only naval base to have a specific listing in the Australian census. As at the 2016 census, HMAS Cerberus had a population of 1,040.
Admiral Christopher Alexander Barrie, is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Navy, who served as Chief of the Defence Force from 4 July 1998 to 3 July 2002.
Vice Admiral Russell Edward Shalders, is a retired admiral of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). He served as Vice Chief of the Australian Defence Force from 2002 to 2005, and as Chief of Navy from 2005 to 2008.
Rear Admiral James Vincent Purcell Goldrick, is a naval historian, analyst of contemporary naval and maritime affairs, and a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Navy. He currently holds the position of fellow at the Sea Power Centre – Australia. He is also an adjunct professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences in the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy and a member of the Naval Studies Group at the Australian Centre for the Study of Armed Conflict and Society, an adjunct professor in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre of the Australian National University and a professorial fellow of the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security at the University of Wollongong. He was a visiting fellow at All Souls College, University of Oxford in the first half of 2015 and a non-resident Fellow of the Lowy Institute from 2013 to 2018.
Vice Admiral Sir Hugh David Stevenson was a senior officer of the Royal Australian Navy, serving as Chief of Naval Staff from 1973 to 1976.
Rear Admiral Davyd Rhys Thomas, is a senior officer in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve.
Rear Admiral Nigel Stephen Coates, was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy.
725 Squadron is a naval aviation squadron of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Fleet Air Arm. The squadron was originally created in August 1943 as part of the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It initially served as a fleet requirements unit, was rerolled in August 1945 as a target towing unit, then was disbanded in December 1945. In January 1958, the squadron was re-formed, as a fleet requirements and communications unit of the RAN, operating a variety of fixed-wing aircraft. The squadron was redesignated as an anti-submarine warfare training squadron in May 1959, then was decommissioned in May 1961 and absorbed into 724 Squadron. 725 Squadron was recommissioned in November 1962 as an operational anti-submarine helicopter squadron, flying the Westland Wessex. During this commission, the squadron was involved in HMAS Sydney's troop transport voyages, the rescue of personnel following the Melbourne-Voyager collision, and the Operation Navy Help Darwin relief effort post-Cyclone Tracy. The squadron was decommissioned in December 1975. 725 Squadron was commissioned for the fourth time in June 2015, this time as a training unit for MH-60R Seahawk Romeo helicopters: the squadron had been reactivated two years prior as a non-commissioned unit train on and accept into service the Romeos.
Vice Admiral Sir Guido James Willis was an officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) who rose to the rank of vice admiral. He joined the RAN in 1937, saw active service during World War II and the Korean War, and was Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) from 1979 to 1982 before retiring.
Rear Admiral Marcus Frederick Bonser, is a retired flag rank officer of the Royal Australian Navy. His final posting was as Head of the Military Justice Implementation Team for the Australian Defence Force.
Vice Admiral Raymond James Griggs, is an Australian senior public servant and a former senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy. He served as Chief of Navy from June 2011 to June 2014, before being appointed Vice Chief of the Defence Force until his transfer to the reserve in July 2018.
Commander Mark Raymond Tandy, is an officer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). He joined the RAN as a radio operator in 1982 and rose through the ranks to become Warrant Officer of the Navy in 2008. He relinquished the post in 2012 and was subsequently commissioned as an officer.
Vice Admiral Stuart Campbell Mayer, is a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy. He commanded the International Stabilisation Force in Timor-Leste from 2009 to 2010, was Commander Australian Fleet from 2014 to 2018, and served as Head Force Design within the Vice Chief of Defence Force Group from 2018 to 2019. He was appointed Deputy Commander United Nations Command, based in South Korea, from July 2019 to December 2021.
Vice Admiral Robert Andrew Kevin Walls, AO is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). In 42 years of service, Walls commanded HMA Ships Tobruk, Moreton and Brisbane, served as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff and Maritime Commander Australia, before his career culminated with his appointment as Vice Chief of the Defence Force from April 1995 until his retirement in March 1997.
Rear Admiral John Robert Lord, is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Navy who served as Maritime Commander Australia from 1999 to 2000. He later embarked on a corporate career, and is Chairman of Huawei Australia.
Rear Admiral Galfry George Ormond Gatacre, was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), who also played first-class cricket. His naval career began in 1921 and lasted until his retirement in 1964, during which time he spent a number of years on secondment to the Royal Navy. He saw action in both the Second World War and the Korean War, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Distinguished Service Order. He also played first-class cricket in England for the Royal Navy Cricket Club. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1960 and, after retirement from the navy, he became a businessman.
Vice Admiral Jonathan Dallas Mead, is a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy. He joined the navy via the Royal Australian Naval College at HMAS Creswell in 1984, and spent his early career with the Clearance Diving Branch before training as a Principal Warfare Officer. He captained HMAS Parramatta on operations in the Persian Gulf from 2006 to 2007 during the Iraq War and commanded Combined Task Force 150, overseeing maritime counter-terrorism operations around the Arabian Peninsula and Horn of Africa, from 2011 to 2012. He served as Head of Navy Capability from 2015 to 2017, Commander Australian Fleet from 2018 to 2020, Chief of Joint Capabilities from 2020 to 2021, and was appointed Chief of the Nuclear-Powered Submarine Task Force in September 2021.
