#shipmates

This is me and Gemma.

When I joined the Royal Navy back in January 2000, Gemma was effectively my sea mum and mentor, she had done a term of training and was there to guide the rest of us in surviving initial officer training.

Gemma left the Royal Navy a number of years ago and transferred to the Royal Australian Navy. I was fortunate enough to find myself leaving the office in Canberra one day and bumping into Gemma in the lift, and we agreed to go for a catch-up beer.

In all honesty, it’s really been at least 17 years and, quite frankly, a whole lot of life in between. But Dartmouth does something to you, it creates family and links for life. Maturity and understanding. Shared history.  So a night out with a glass of wine with new Australian friends feels no different to a periodic catchup with old friends in the Royal Navy years ago.

I loved tonight for a number of reasons.  Old friends and new.  Women sharing stories of success in Defence (not as easy as you may think).  But shared experiences and histories, no matter what country you were Born and Grew Up in.