4 March 2025
An Australian sailor has been commended by a senior United States Navy leader for exemplary service while deployed to Combined Maritime Forces in Bahrain.
Leading Seaman Summer Vardy received a letter of Commendation in February, presented by Commander of United States Naval Forces Central Command and Commander Combined Maritime Forces Vice-Admiral George M Wikoff.
In commending the Maritime Personnel Officer, Vice-Admiral Wikoff cited her “exemplary performance of duty as administration clerk for the Australian contingent at Combined Maritime Forces”.
The commendation recognised Leading Seaman Vardy for ensuring a smooth transition for deploying Australian personnel, citing her planning and attention to detail as enabling their rapid integration into the operation.
“Her extensive knowledge of local systems and processes greatly contributed to a reduction in downtime and enabled the team to remain mission focused,” Vice-Admiral Wikoff said.
Leading Seaman Vardy was also praised for going beyond the scope of her role, not only to support the Australian contingent, but also to assist personnel from partner nations deployed to Combined Maritime Forces.
“Leading Seaman Vardy’s exceptional professionalism, perseverance and dedication to duty reflected credit on her and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service,” Vice-Admiral Wikoff said.
Since joining the Royal Australian Navy in 2017, Leading Seaman Vardy has served in HMAS Brisbane and at HMAS Kuttabul before deploying to the Middle East for service with Combined Maritime Forces under Operation Manitou in October 2024.
'Leading Seaman Vardy’s exceptional professionalism, perseverance and dedication to duty reflected credit on her and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.'
The deployment is Leading Seaman Vardy’s first foray into the ADF joint environment, combined multinational operations and her first experience working on a foreign base using foreign systems and processes.
Leading Seaman Vardy said she had enjoyed the opportunity to work with other nations, especially working closely with the other Five-Eyes partners.
Combined Maritime Forces, a 46-nation naval partnership, is headquartered in Bahrain and is the world’s largest multinational naval partnership, committed to upholding the rules-based international order at sea.
It promotes security, stability and prosperity across about 3.2 million square miles of international waters, encompassing some of the world’s most important shipping lanes.
Operation Manitou is the ADF’s contribution to support international efforts promoting maritime security, stability and prosperity in the Middle East and East Africa regions.
On October 1, 2024, the ADF assumed command of the Combined Maritime Force’s Combined Task Force (CTF) 153 for the first time.
CTF 153’s mission is to focus on international maritime security and capacity-building efforts in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb and Gulf of Aden.
