The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
A female first for the Royal Navy
THE FIRST woman in the Royal Navy’s history to be selected to command a major warship is taking up her post today.
Commander Sarah West (40) joins Type 23 frigate HMS Portland at Rosyth.
In another milestone for the navy, Commander Sue Moore (43) recently became the first woman to command a squadron of minor war vessels, the First Patrol Boat Squadron (1PBS).
They are just two of the talented female officers and ratings who joined the navy to serve at sea and who are now undertaking or approaching key appointments in their careers.
The achievements of Cdr Moore and Cdr West are based on a combined 36 years of hard work and experience in the Royal Navy, with deployments ranging from the Gulf to the Balkans to counter-narcotics patrols in the Caribbean.
Since women went to sea in the navy in 1990 they have become pilots, observers and mine clearance divers.
Last December it was announced that women will join their male counterparts in submarines from next year.
Cdr Moore was one of the first two female off icers to command a navy warship, HMS Dasher, in 1998.
In addition to Cdr West taking charge of HMS Portland, it is expected that three minor war vessels will be commanded by women by the end of this year.
HMS Portland is currently in refit at Rosyth and Cdr West will face the challenge of leading the vessel from refit to operational tasking, a significant challenge for the command.
On completion of the refit, the ship will complete a series of trials before returning to her base at Devonport before the end of the year.
Cdr West said: “Taking command of HMS Portland is definitely the highlight of my 16 years in the RN so far.
“It is a challenge that I am fully trained for and ready to undertake.
“I am very proud to be taking command of a Type 23 frigate, which is an extremely flexible warship, and I’m looking forward to taking HMS Portland on operations with a professional and focused team.”
Cdr Moore has 14 P2000 Archer Class training vessels, based around the UK, under her command, with 14 University Royal Naval Units attached.
She oversees a further four P2000s which carry out maritime security operations. 1PBS, based in Portsmouth, was involved in the recent Olympic security exercise on the Thames and two P2000s will be part of the honour guard during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant.
Cdr Moore said: “The First Patrol Boat Squadron is an extremely busy component of the fleet, and as an ex-p2000 commanding officer myself, I consider it to be a privilege to be commanding such a motivated and talented group of people, and such a diverse organisation.
“My ships, sailors and university units are responsible for influencing high calibre undergraduates in military and maritime issues, but also for providing a platform for young commanding off icers to develop into the future leaders of the Royal Navy.
“It is also a once in a lifetime opportunity for my squadron to provide close support to Her Majesty the Queen during the forthcoming river pageant.”