Navy Captains’ Hui

Last month 15 of our Navy Captains came together at Devonport Naval Base for the 2023 RNZN Captain’s Hui. The day was co-hosted by the Maritime Culture project team and the Office of Deputy Chief of Navy with the intent of building connection/whanaungatanga, collaboration, and communication across this important senior cohort.

The day began with breakfast and a guest speaker – Cameron George, CEO of the Warriors. Cam spoke to the group about his journey navigating the Warriors through the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of communication, putting people first, and the power of knowing who you are as an organisation and what you stand for. The message was that the Warriors’ recent success on the field was all about their culture and the work being done off the field. Next the group headed into a series of roundtable discussions with Deputy Chief of Navy, Maritime Component Commander and the Command Warrant Officers (CWOs) supported by the Junior Leadership Advisory Board (JLAB). Warrant Officer Communication Warfare Specialist

Darren Crosby, DCN’s Command Warrant Officer, said it was “a great opportunity to advise the cohort on some of the tactical and operational realities of our force, work through the challenges together and celebrate the wins. People, communication, and alignment were strengths drawn from the session”.

After lunch the group spent some time together brainstorming how to leverage opportunities and collaborate more on some of our challenges as an organisation. Maritime Culture Guardianship Group Co-Chair, Captain Simon Griffiths RNZN noted it has been some time since all available Captains had been together. “It was an awesome chance to be able to openly and honestly share perspectives and ideas, and to discuss how we can best continue to support positive change throughout the RNZN.”

The day was closed out with a team building exercise run by Sea Safety Training Squadron in the Damage Control Training Unit to further emphasise the themes of the day. It provided everyone with a refresh of key damage control skills, but more importantly reinforced the need for strong connection, smart collaboration, and clear communication. While the incident required them to abandon ship, the team were pretty competent in the flood unit, and there were plenty of laughs and smiles before, during and after the activity.