Navy task group returns from East Asia Deployment – 6 December 2019

Department of Defence

NAVY TASK GROUP RETURNS FROM EAST ASIA DEPLOYMENT

Three Royal Australian Navy warships have returned to their homeport at Garden Island, Sydney following a three month deployment through East Asia.

HMA Ships Hobart, Stuart and Parramatta, the lead element of a Task Group of eleven vessels, have been deployed to the region since September.

During this time they conducted bilateral and multi-national activities and fostered Australia’s long-standing relationships with its neighbours.

Commander of the Task Group, Captain Andrew Quinn, said this was the first operational deployment for the Destroyer HMAS Hobart.

“Over the past several months our Navy people have generated presence in the East Asian region and conducted complex exercises with our partners,” Captain Andrew Quinn said.

“This has built on our respective operational skillsets and furthered our ability to work together to help keep the region secure.

“HMAS Hobart served as the host ship for the embarked Maritime Task Group Command team at sea, demonstrating the new RAN Destroyers capability to fulfil this role.

“More than a thousand sailors and officers deployed as part of this task group and a large number of them have returned home today in time for Christmas.”

Commanding Officer HMAS Hobart, Commander Ryan Gaskin, said his ship had performed exceptionally well on her first mission overseas.

“This deployment has been a real test of our preparation for and readiness to deliver Destroyer capability and is the culmination of two years of hard work,” Commander Gaskin said.

“The success of Hobart’s mission is a credit to the ship’s company, embarked staff and those working in support of the ship from ashore. They’ve all worked superbly together as an integrated team.

“We’ve proven the Hobart Class Destroyer is not only ready to perform on the multinational stage in a high-end warfare exercise context but has also proven a highly effective command platform for Task Groups at sea.”

Images of the Navy Task Group return will be available at https://images.defence.gov.au/s20193211.

/Public Release.