Life in uniform

Sailors' Stories

Meet real Navy people like you

There are 2,300 personnel in the Navy. That's 2,300 individual lives being lived, and real stories being created every single day. Meet a few of them below, and see how they are taking their passions, and turning them into careers with passion and purpose.

Leading Marine Technician (Electrical)

Shotaro Hashimoto

Leading Marine Technician (Electrical) Shotaro Hashimoto is a very busy sailor on board a very busy vessel. As the ship's Electrical Maintainer, Shotaro's day-to-day work at sea is usually around fault-finding and carrying out rectifications, although remember that the downside is that at sea, resources are limited!

RNZN LMT Sailors Story
Learning Development Officer

Sophie Barry

Aligning university education with the opportunities the Royal New Zealand Navy offers, provides Westport sailor with a new career as a Navy Learning Development Officer.

RNZN LDO SAILOR STORY
Ordinary Medic

Mia Davies

Navy STEM programme launches Upper Hutt student into medic career. The opportunity to combine a love of the sea with the desire to help people has made a career in the Royal New Zealand Navy the best of both worlds for Ordinary Medic.

RNZN OMEDIC SAILOR STORY
Marine Engineer Officer

Brock Longworth

Navy offers Whangarei teen a dream opportunity. Less than a year after leaving school, the 18-year-old has completed the six-month Junior Officer Common Training (JOCT) with the Royal New Zealand Navy and will now start a four-year Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (with honours) degree to become a marine engineer.

RNZN MEO Sailor Story
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Real New Zealand Sailors' Stories

Warrant Officer Cryptologic Technician

Chris McKeich

Sailor's input to United Nations Command while deployed to South Korea in support of the Armistice Agreement between North and South Korea.

RNZN WO CT Sailor Story
Ordinary Seamanship Combat Specialist.

Tayla Taupaki

No two days are the same in the Royal New Zealand Navy and sometimes you have to eat quickly to fit all the tasks in. You never know what to expect the following day, which is the exciting thing about the service for a newly minted sailor from Whangamata.

RNZN OSCS Taupaki Sailor Story
Warfare Officer

Brock West

Brock started as a chef, then his career took him places he'd never imagined.

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Supply Officer

Erica Williams

As a dancer, Erica found her passion. In the Navy, she found her purpose.

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