Royal Navy welcomes its first Fijian Officer

http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/establishments/training-establishments/hms-sultan/news/royal-navy-welcomes-first-fijian-officer/*/changeNav/6568

 

Get to know him - free holidays on Fiji

 

Well done sir, good to see there are still places in the Wardroom for switched on ratings. Will probably be the best DO young ET(ME)'s could ever hope for, better not try and pull one over on him trhough he's been there done that.

 

Does he play rugby???

 

http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/establishments/training-establishments/hms-sultan/news/royal-navy-welcomes-first-fijian-officer/*/changeNav/6568

Well, if it counts, he plays League.

 

I must admit where he comes from to me is less important than the reality the RN is still promoting able people from the lower deck

 

http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/establishments/training-establishments/hms-sultan/news/royal-navy-welcomes-first-fijian-officer/*/changeNav/6568

Well, if it counts, he plays League.

 

POL you seem to be developing a stutter.

 

Bubur, bur bugger! you’re right. It won’t let me gash the gash one either. When I sent the first one, I got the “page not found†error message. Clearly, pressing the refresh option re submits the Post. I should have learned from an earlier occasion when that happened but didn’t.

 

Still a very healthy pull through - particularly for engineers. My stats are out of date but when I was last at Collingrad it was about 30% of all WE new entry were SUY.

 

In the early 1990s promotion from the lower deck made up about 40% of officers (UY and SD/SUY combined). Someone told me that figure had remained about the same or even fallen, but that potential for BRNC was being identified far earlier in the recruitment process and being directed appropriately.

 

There are now a lot of guys (and girls) getting identified @ Raleigh and getting to the AIB at a very early stage, then getting sausage machined at BRNC. Its about time that we started identifying those with merit early on, after all there are so many who go to the careers office and get gash advice; people who should have gone straight to BRNC, who have degrees etc but who have been sadly misinformed or recruited to meet certain targets

 

Still at about 30/40% in most specialisations, but always was more coming through within engineering specs.

I must say that most of the Figians I've interviewed have been good lads/lasses.

SM

 

Good on him and BZ.

 

As Fiji relies entirely on Australia and New Zealand for its defence, he could have joined either of their navies. “I did consider them both. However, I thought the Royal Navy would offer me better job prospects alongside many amazing experiences and an extremely rewarding career. And I was keen to travel and experience life outside the Southern Hemisphere,†he said.

Actually, no it doesn't and no he couldn't. Aust and NZ cut defence ties with Fiji some time ago after the latest military coup.

But BZ to the young bloke anyway.

 

He joined prior to that.

 

Surely must be because the only officer specialisations available to Commonwealth nationals are Engineer, Traininig Management, or Doctor/Dentist/Nurse.