HMAS Sydney welcomed Head of Navy Capability Rear Admiral Stephen Hughes on board for a missile firing and flight integration before the ship embarked on a regional presence deployment.
Rear Admiral Hughes said he was impressed not only with the uplift in capability of the Hobart-class ships, but more importantly how Sydney's crew had brought to life the aspirations of the Aegis missile systems and upgraded technology on board.
"My impression of the ship's company is that they are one with their mission," he said.
"They're very relaxed and comfortable in their domain, but at the same time extremely supportive and proud of what their mission in the next few months will be.
"The other thing which does stand out, and maybe is a change from my day 20-odd years ago when I was in command, is the level of mentoring and coaching and development of either new joiners or more junior sailors.
"It's a really well-knitted team, well led, but all with a real focus on their purpose and their individual mission on board."
'I hope the crew enjoys the opportunity, the chance to work with other like-minded nations, and develop those international friendships and bonds.'
Asked if he had any advice for the ship's crew, Rear Admiral Hughes said it was not his place as an admiral to give the crew advice but, following his keen observations over a 24-hour period, he could offer the following.
"My wish for the crew is that they continue to do what they are doing. Where they are caring for each other, supporting each other, where they are focused on the mission that they continue to invest in themselves and in the ship that will be their home for the next four or five months of their deployment," Rear Admiral Hughes said.
"They will have to rely on each other, they will have to show strong leadership but also followship. If they continue to communicate and operate like I've observed - in the ops rooms and down in the stores space where there's a really good community buzz - I just wish for them to continue to do that.
"Sydney's crew have had a tough few months coming out of maintenance, implementing the new capabilities and then workups. They have built high levels of resilience and have demonstrated clear teamwork.
"My wish for them all, if you want to call it advice, is to keep working at that. Because it's going to get harder, the deployment will be tough on themselves, on their families, but also the mission is very different to the mission I grew up with.
"The Indo-Pacific has become more complex and a more demanding environment. Their transits are now contested, they are watched more by other nations in what they do and how they do it."
'It's a really well-knitted team, well led, but all with a real focus on their purpose and their individual mission on board.'
Rear Admiral Hughes said deployments had changed since his early days at sea when the focus was on international engagement, port calls and exercises.
"But now we are defending the world order, the way we live, sea lines of communication, trying to maintain a normalised presence in a more contested, more demanding environment both politically, militarily and technologically," he said.
"The Indo-Pacific is our backyard and this is where government has made it very clear where our priorities need to be. So this ship's deployment is directly in support of government's priorities around operating and maintaining our presence in the Indo-Pacific.
"At the same time, I hope the crew enjoys the opportunity, the chance to work with other like-minded nations, and develop those international friendships and bonds."
Rear Admiral Hughes, who will hand over his duties as Head Navy Capability at the end of the month, thanked the ship's company and its Commanding Officer, Commander Ben Weller, for their hospitality.
He said the opportunity to come on board a Hobart-class destroyer was especially meaningful as he had been on the Hobart-class journey from the beginning of the program.
"To see these ships alive and at the forefront of Navy's capability, it's very exciting and I just want to say thank you to Commander Weller and the team for allowing me, in the twilight of my career, an opportunity to be at sea and know that the Navy is in good hands," Rear Admiral Hughes said.
