History was made at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton on Thursday — three Australian submariners graduated from the U.S. Navy’s Officer Basic course.
It’s part of the trilateral defense agreement called AUKUS between Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. The program will mark the first U.S. sale of nuclear-powered submarines to another country. The U.S. will also train foreign officers on the machines.
Lieutenant Commander James Haydon, one of the graduated Australians, said it was a meaningful moment for himself and his country.
“Being able to take the unblemished nuclear safety record that the U.S. has, the culture, the outstanding principles, take that home to Australia and set the foundations for our own armed sovereign nuclear-powered submarine capability,” Haydon said. “Each of us has made a lot of personal and professional sacrifices to come here, so this course culminates in 18 months of schooling, and now we get to cut our teeth and go to sea, which we’re all very much looking forward to.”
The three Australian sailors graduated with a class of 80 American submariners.
Lieutenant Commander William Hall, another Australian graduate, described the application process.
“In about mid-2022, the applications came out, and we were all able to apply for these positions,” Hall said. “Went through a few rounds of interviews back home in Australia, and then we flew over here and spoke to NavSea 08, who’s in charge of naval reactors and did that interview process with him like all the American officers do. So, it was a long, drawn-out interview process, but it has to be rigorous.”
They will now deploy on U.S. submarines for the next phase of their training.
