Lieutenant Jake West will sail in his father’s footsteps when he visits Tuvalu for Operation Render Safe next month.
The medical officer is part of a Royal Australian Navy task force travelling to the Pacific nation to safely identify explosive remnants of war.
Lieutenant West is deploying to bolster medical capabilities as HMA Ships Yarra and Diamantina undertake a technical reconnaissance survey of Nanumea Lagoon.
Twenty-five years ago, his father was part of a program delivering patrol boats to South Pacific partner nations.
The then warrant officer’s last deployment was to Tuvalu, where he supported HMTSS Te Mataili.
Now, Lieutenant West returns on board the Huon-class minehunter HMAS Yarra.
“It feels like things have come full circle,” Lieutenant West said.
“It’s really awesome to be able to give back to the same community my father once helped, especially since we’re doing something completely different.
“Hearing all his stories about Tuvalu makes me very excited to go and see what’s changed and what’s stayed the same. When I go home, I can share my stories with him.”
His father’s service in Navy helped shape the Palawa man’s sense of responsibility to community from a young age.
It steered the Kingston, Tasmania, local towards Defence and the medical profession.
‘It’s really awesome to be able to give back to the same community my father once helped, especially since we’re doing something completely different.’
In 2021, he graduated from the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Medical Science and commenced service in the Royal Australian Navy.
Studying medicine with Navy was a way to serve his country while gaining the qualifications and experience needed to support his community.
“I’m passionate about Indigenous health,” Lieutenant West said.
“My end goal after Defence is to return to community and work there – it’s what got me into medicine.”
He believes the experiences he gains in Navy will allow him to better serve his community later in his career.
“I’ve still got a big commitment to Defence – Navy is my priority now,” he said.
“I’m excited to get out of the office and into the middle of the ocean. I’m getting experiences you won’t get anywhere else.”
Under Operation Render Safe, Yarra and Diamantina will undertake a technical reconnaissance survey of Nanumea Lagoon to identify the location and extent of explosive remnants of war.
The operation builds on the partial survey of Nanumea Lagoon conducted by the Australian Defence Force, the New Zealand Defence Force and the United States Marine Corps in 2022.
