For life at sea, there is no such thing as 'running down to the shops' at the end of the day, which is why Navy's maritime logistics (ML) department is under pressure to perform every time a vessel prepares to set sail.
After months of painstaking planning, the ML department on HMAS Toowoomba loaded their final stores for an upcoming regional presence deployment.
One of the highest-pressure jobs before leaving port, they worked with the professionalism and precision that commercial supply chains could only dream of as they prepared the ship to become a self-sufficient small city at sea.
During the deployment, the team will serve the about-200-strong crew more than 100,000 meals, storing perishable and non-perishable goods for months at a time.
Proving many hands make light work, the crew loaded more than 5500 kilograms of meat, 6200 eggs, 350 kilograms of potatoes, 850 litres of milk, and equal numbers of other food and vegetables.
It was a complex undertaking to ensure Toowoomba's workhorses are not only 'fed and watered', but that all meals meet strict ADF nutritional requirements to ensure that the crew remains focused, lethal and ready.
Toowoomba's maritime logistics officer Lieutenant Commander Kimberley Neech said it was not just about fuelling the crew, but providing them with some of the comforts of home.
"We not only have to account for all the meals on board, but we also plan for any official functions we host overseas, crew birthdays, theme nights, barbeques and all the little things we do to ensure the crew feels a little bit more like they're at home," Lieutenant Commander Neech said.
'At the end of the day, if we run out of a critical item, it could impact our ability to deliver the mission, so it comes back to us as logistics and warehousing to ensure we are stocked and ready to go.'
The ML department is also responsible for the parts, materials and medical supplies required for a Navy vessel to sustain itself for extended periods away from home.
"We have to plan to make sure we're prepared for all of the maintenance that goes on board this platform for the duration of the deployment, as well as potential defects that may arise that we weren't planning for," Lieutenant Commander Neech said.
Maritime logistics supply chain manager Petty Officer Adam Atkinson said the voyage took months of planning to ensure each department had everything it needed to carry out their mission.
"There's been some very restless nights sleeping, but we are here to get the job done, get the ship off the wharf and smooth sailing," Petty Officer Atkinson said.
It was a demanding task to prepare for every scenario, but also an essential one.
"At the end of the day, if we run out of a critical item, it could impact our ability to deliver the mission, so it comes back to us as logistics and warehousing to ensure we are stocked and ready to go," Petty Officer Atkinson said.
Toowoomba is undertaking an Indo-Pacific regional presence deployment throughout South and South-East Asia, conducting training, exercises and other engagements with Australia's regional partners.
