HMNZS TE KAHA on Sea Trials

If you want to be a combat capable warship, there’s not really a plan for coming second. As HMNZS TE KAHA completes her sea trials in Canada, Commander Brock Symmons, Commanding Officer, talks to Navy Today about a full Ship’s Company earning the right to call themselves a TE KAHA crew.

Above: TE KAHA conducted a force protection entry on return to Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, involving armed sentries and gun crews closed up. Left: HMNZS TE KAHA as seen from HMCS CALGARY. Photo: HMCS CALGARY The concept of HMNZS TE KAHA at sea has been a long time coming for “It’s a different level CDR Symmons. of accommodation Since assuming command on 2 August 2018, he started off compared to the rest alternating between Canada and New Zealand, taking short visits to of the fleet,” he says, the ‘Keep Alive Team’ in Esquimalt as TE KAHA became a construction site. “but the team have In September 2019, two-thirds of the Ship’s Company went to Canada to done well and learnt start the process of reactivation and taking custody of the ship. But the and adapted quickly. global COVID-19 pandemic derailed the process, dropping the complement It certainly helps back to just a caretaker team. In June, the entire Ship’s Company were finally having a very good able to deploy to Canada. The Ship’s Company now live on board group of chefs to keep and for many, it’s not like it’s a return to familiar surroundings. It’s been everyone well fed.” over two years since TE KAHA was in New Zealand, and nearly half of the crew have never been on a frigate before. Warship accommodation takes some getting used to, he says.

“The weight is about the same but she feels a little sharper with the balance shifting slightly, so we seem to tip in to a turn a bit more quickly, which is always nice. I think the looks on the faces of Officers of the Watch when we throw the ship about a bit sums it up pretty well.”

CDR Symmons has a solid history with TE KAHA. He obtained his watchkeeping qualifications on her, and has served as Principal Warfare Officer, Operations Officer and Executive Officer. Seeing TE KAHA de-masted with holes in her side was an interesting experience. “To be fair, it was a bit sad seeing her in a fairly parlous state when we were in the throes of the industrial phase, but the transformation has been quite remarkable. I often think of it like building a house, where the framing and roofing coming up quickly then it seems to stall, but once you start the fit out and finishing, what seems to have been a shell is quickly restored. That has made it quite exciting as we completed the industrial work and could see the rapid transition to what she is now. I am quite partial to the new lines of the superstructure and think that she looks pretty good.” Today, the daily routine is like any other ship in the fleet, he says. “We balance training, maintenance, new system integration and the everpresent administration to build TE KAHA into something we can be proud of.” The realities of COVID-19 are ever-present as well. “The restrictions are like those of Level 2-plus that Auckland experienced and that has its challenges for all of us, but I have a very good crew who have adapted to the restrictions. They make the most of the opportunity to do cool things, with cool people, in cool places.” On a crystal-clear fine morning on 7 September, TE KAHA headed to sea for her Sea Acceptance Trials (SATs), 917 days since the ship arrived in Canada. “It was a very proud day that brings home the responsibility and privilege that comes with being given the opportunity to command at sea. A lot of people had contributed in a multitude of ways to enable the ship to sail and I think the way she went when we cleared out of harbour was a just reward for those efforts.”

TE KAHA is a fun ship to drive, he says. “The weight is about the same but she feels a little sharper with the balance shifting slightly, so we seem to tip in to a turn a bit more quickly, which is always nice. I think the looks on the faces of Officers of the Watch when we throw the ship about a bit sums it up pretty well.” CDR Symmons is excited about the new combat technology and the capability of the ship. But in terms of culture and profession, she feels the same on the inside. “What I have enjoyed the most is seeing the crew come together and build a culture of success. I think that is defining characteristic of a warship, that desire to win and win well. The Ship’s Company has invested in themselves and our Ship to make sure that we earn the right to call ourselves a TE KAHA crew. To me, that’s the most exciting, knowing the team want to be better than good and are willing to put in the effort to do that. It’s that desire that will see Naval Combat regenerated and imbue the pride in our step, showing the gunfighters are back at sea.”

Above: A Lear Jet passes overhead, helping TE KAHA conduct sensor alignment and verification trials of tracking a high-speed target. Opposite Page: Sensor alignment and verification trials, involving a Royal Canadian Navy Helicopter. TE KAHA successfully launched two Decoy Launched Floating (DLF) devices, designed to replicate the radar signature of a ship and lure incoming missiles away from the ship. The first launch of an Expendable Acoustic Device, designed to be fired into the water to seduce incoming torpedoes away from the ship.

A Sailor’s Perspective

By ASCS Kirstie Parsons

TE KAHA Sailor of the Quarter

Regenerating HMNZS TE KAHA has been filled with many highs and challenges.

In the early stages of regeneration the team involved with seamanship was very small and a large amount of responsibility fell to me to make decisions that reflected my whole department. Once COVID hit, those challenges multiplied. Though by this time I had my Petty Officer with me to help and support me, the two of us had the mammoth task of regenerating TE KAHA’s seamanship department as the only two Seaman Combat Specialists who remained behind as part of the ‘Keep Alive’ crew while the majority of Ship’s Company flew back to New Zealand. I am proud of the effort from the team who stayed, both in what we achieved for the ship and for each other. We kept each other safe and sane during lockdown and I am forever grateful to all of them. A high point for me personally was seeing the rest of Ship’s Company arrive in June, I was stoked. It seemed like the milestone of getting TE KAHA back to sea was that much closer. Once the whole team completed Sea Acceptance Readiness Checks and we commenced Sea Acceptance Trials it really felt that the months of hard work had paid off – TE KAHA was going back to sea and I knew I had had a direct part to play in that. For the period we have been at sea in the last few months, the crew has been focussed on executing Sea Acceptance Trials. For me and my team, that has meant many hours in the RHIB at high speed, manoeuvring closely with the ship to test her new radars. During this time I managed to achieve my coxswain endorsement, something I am particularly proud of. Work aside, one of the things I have most enjoyed about my time in Canada has been the opportunity to travel and see many parts of what is a spectacular country. Even after the advent of COVID, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to have seen and experienced all that I have in my time here. For those who get the opportunity, Banff is a must see; the snow, the mountains and the lakes are astonishingly beautiful.

I am extremely thankful to whoever who nominated me for Sailor of the Quarter. There have been so many stand-out members of Ship’s Company in the last few months, that to even be considered is a privilege. The challenges we all went through in these past months have developed me professionally and as a leader. I feel very accomplished with what I have contributed to regenerating TE KAHA and I cannot wait to see her home again soon.

Above: ASCS Kirstie Parsons with her Sailor of the Quarter award.

TE MANA UPDATE

Navy Today keeps up with the latest on our frigates undergoing their Frigate Systems Upgrades in Esquimalt, Canada. We talk to Able Marine Technician (Propulsion) Jacob Brown in HMNZS TE MANA.

It’s easy, with the excitement of the new-look HMNZS TE KAHA and her Ship’s Company going to sea, to forget that there’s a good reason things still work when you slip the lines. For example, for both frigates TE KAHA and TE MANA, anything that moves normally when at sea has to be kept moving while the ship is in dock or tied up for long periods, at least every so often. For TE MANA, that’s the job of her detachment team (TEMDET), effectively the ‘Keep Alive’ team that maintains the ship’s legacy equipment. If something normally rotates at sea, the team need to continue that natural movement on a regular basis to prevent it seizing or developing damage.

Left: A view of HMNZS TE MANA’s new mast, as seen from the bow.

AMT(P) Brown, who arrived in Canada The team maintain a strict sign-in, in March for his second rotation, is sign-out routine on the flight deck. It’s part of a detachment of 18. He’ll stay effectively a construction site under in Canada until TE MANA returns to the control of the contractor, so hard New Zealand, at this stage anticipated hats, safety glasses and boots are to be late 2021 – a year after TE KAHA. required in many areas. More recently, He says every day the marine technicians and weapon technicians face masks have become mandatory for the dockyard as a whole. head to the ship to conduct daily turning routines. “We start our day at 0800 with a team meeting and “We have specified delegate tasks. Examples of items to turn are the shafts and propellers, routes on the three times a week, while all air compressors, sea water pumps, hotel ship to avoid services and engines are turned weekly. We’re always scanning the people being in decks looking for minor defects to mend that we otherwise wouldn’t close proximity, have the time to fix at sea. That can take up to lunchtime and any time and we have to after that can be used for weekly paperwork or study.” keep the twoHe posted to TE MANA in 2018 and knows the ship’s systems well. “It’s metre separation strange seeing it all being stripped apart and re-arranged. However, the where possible. new capability the frigates are getting will put us ‘up there’ with the big We’re only on players on the warfare scene, and give our frigates more years of life.” board when it’s necessary.”

On the shipyard and beyond, COVID-19 limits the team significantly. There is no unnecessary travel in Canada, and no gatherings of larger than six people. Common rooms in accommodation areas are closed. Local stores that are open have social distancing rules and limits to the number of people allowed in the shop at any one time. When TE MANA’s Ship’s Company arrives in January, they’ll have to do a two-week quarantine first. But it’s not a lockdown. Personnel can stay at Naden Naval Base, but some have opted to go flatting off base. “I’ve been playing a lot of golf, finding lakes with some cliff jumps, hikes, dining and experiencing the local breweries/ pubs that are located in the Esquimalt CBD. Three of us ran the Oak Bay half marathon and managed to gather some donations for the men’s cancer foundation.”

He says left hand drive cars, for the right side of the road, take a bit of getting used to, as do the hospitality customs.“Tipping here is considered compulsory with dining and drinking, around 15 to 20 percent of your bill. The exchange rate is similar to New Zealand’s, so not a lot of guesswork when you buy things. When out in town people are very friendly and super-keen to know what part of Australia we are from!”

Left: Masks are the norm for the TEMDET team. Far Right: TE MANA’s personnel enjoying a hike in the nearby forests.