While the Naval Police seems a natural fit for a former police officer and child protection worker, it was not Lieutenant Mitchell Graham's first choice on joining the Navy.
He signed up in 2020 as a maritime warfare officer, doing the New Entry Officers Course and phase one of his maritime warfare training before his wife's life-changing medical diagnosis put a halt on his maritime warfare officer career.
"After exploring all options, naval police coxswain officer [NPCO] appealed to me, particularly with my investigations and policing background," Lieutenant Graham said.
But first, with Navy's blessing, the devoted husband and father took 12 months' leave without pay to support his wife and then-four-year-old daughter.
Returning to the Navy, Lieutenant Graham successfully completed his six-week military police officer basic course and six-week military investigators course before graduating from the Defence Force School of Policing at Holsworthy Barracks and taking out the Instructors Award.
After a three-month stint with the Joint Military Police Unit (JMPU) in Sydney, Lieutenant Graham posted to Navy Security Operations East in September 2023, where he is responsible for physical security for Sydney Navy fleet units and establishments.
'We're the big picture, supporting fleet and establishments to better protect our assets against threats.'
Assessing and managing security risks to ADF assets, people and facilities is a key part of the NPCO role, and Lieutenant Graham keeps busy with fleet security audits, protective security advisory visits and physical security certification inspections of Navy units.
"I assist in making sure units are upholding their physical security requirements and fleet units and buildings are secure and certified," Lieutenant Graham explained.
The security specialist has welcomed a recent Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal decision to approve a pay increase aligned to NPCOs' technical mastery, as well as a significant improvement in career progression.
"It gives us defined goals to work towards and makes us more competitive as a workgroup," Lieutenant Graham said.
Director of Policing and Security - Navy, Captain Michael Nipperess, said the ruling was significant as it "directly addresses a long-standing issue of equitable remuneration and career progression through technical mastery".
"Knowing their commitment and expertise are properly acknowledged through their pay will contribute to increased job satisfaction and a stronger connection to their roles and Navy," Captain Nipperess said.
"It will undoubtedly boost morale, significantly enhance our ability to retain skilled and experienced NPCOs and potentially attract members into the workgroup."
NPCOs move between security and policing postings, and Lieutenant Graham will post to Canberra's JMPU policing operations next year.
"It's the variety of the job that I appreciate the most, getting on to ships and working with security officers and the regular contact with units," Lieutenant Graham said.
"We're the big picture, supporting fleet and establishments to better protect our assets against threats."
