Our People in TAS
Nathan Hardwicke - Army's loss is Navy's gain as former soldier swaps bush for sea
Launceston local Nathan Hardwicke enjoyed his sea-going experience as a soldier so much he decided to change services. Now he’s aboard amphibious landing ship HMAS Kanimbla and steaming full-speed for earthquake shattered Sumatra.
He’s part of Australia's response to a request for help from the Indonesian Government in the wake of a series of devastating earthquakes earlier this month.
HMAS Kanimbla is normally based at Garden Island in Sydney. But now it is packed with relief stores and and a large team of specialist Australian Defence Force personnel who will be working closely with Indonesian authorities.
Nathan started off as a cargo specialist in the Army in 2001 so his skills will be especially useful when they have to get the hundreds of tonnes of emergency stores ashore at Padang.
Nathan served as a soldier in a number of foreign countries, including the Solomon Islands and the Middle East then came to Kanimbla as one of the small contingent of soldiers on the crew.
In 2008, after leaving Kanimbla, Nathan decided to pull the pin on his Army career and join the Navy – and since then he hasn't looked back.
After completing his training as a Boatswain's Mate, Nathan is now a Leading Seaman. He has specialized as a bosun’s mate, which means on-deck seamanship and skill with the ship’s small arms and machine-guns. He is one of the ship's small boats coxswains.
“This is a chance to put into practice the skills I’ve learned since joining the Navy,” Nathan said. "It's good to be doing the job for real.
"We'll be making a difference to other peoples' lives."