HMS Queen Elizabeth Media Day ahead of deployment
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NewsTranscript
00:00 "So Exercise Steadfast Defender is set to be a continuation from the HMS Queen Elizabeth's
00:07 recent deployment in the North Sea in September.
00:09 It is the largest NATO deployment in over a decade and is set to prepare the service
00:16 personnel for any eventuality that they may face.
00:19 It's been stressed that the exercises coming up alongside Allies will prepare them for
00:24 any eventualities.
00:25 This is Frederick Webb reporting from the Port of News on board HMS Queen Elizabeth."
00:30 "What new lessons and new tasks will you be doing in this fashion?"
00:34 "So you're right, this is a continuation from Operation Fire Drake and the successes of
00:38 that and we go again up to the high north showing our commitment to NATO and our Northern
00:44 European partners.
00:45 We are exercising with different countries, different intensity in terms of the air wing,
00:53 different ships for the surface group and we continue to move forward.
00:59 The capability is complex and you need to continuously exercise with your Allies and
01:07 partners to ensure that we are ready in all respects."
01:10 "So Adam, how excited are you for the future deployment coming up?"
01:15 "I'm looking forward to it.
01:16 It will be a good continuation from Operation Fire Drake.
01:20 For the air weapons party we got to fire live for the first time in a while and that was
01:24 my first time preparing live weapons so it will be nice to carry on with the work we
01:29 did there."
01:30 "Have you been given any more hints of what other training you'll be doing?"
01:35 "It will be a continuation of Fire Drake in preparation for the 2025 World Tour."
01:41 "OK, so what has that journey like been in the Royal Navy?
01:47 Have you always wanted to join the force?"
01:49 "Since college I decided I wanted to join.
01:54 The training was good at Raleigh and then we did Phase 2A at Salton and then Phase 2B
02:00 for me was at Cold Rose in Cornwall and then I joined here after six months of being qualified."
02:06 "So far, obviously I've been in three years.
02:15 I've had a placement in Fort Smith which has been ideal and then a placement in Phase
02:22 2 which you can't complain about.
02:25 It's been really good.
02:27 Upcoming deployment, I'm really looking forward to it.
02:30 It's my first ship, first deployment.
02:33 There's a lot of excitement but there's a few nerves there as well.
02:37 It should be really good.
02:39 It's a really good thing to be part of as well."
02:42 "What are you looking forward to most about the deployment?
02:45 Are you just excited to get going?"
02:47 "Yeah, excited to get into the swing of things, being at sea, experiencing life at sea, doing
02:51 my job in a different environment.
02:53 There's just a lot of new things I'll be learning."
02:56 "Have you always wanted to join the Royal Navy?
02:59 Have you always wanted to join the Royal Navy?"
03:01 "It's sort of been, probably in the last few years of school was when I sort of, yeah,
03:08 I want to go into the military.
03:10 I haven't looked back since I applied when I was 15 and that was the day that I just
03:14 went for it and absolutely love it."
03:17 "So what are the biggest things that you've learnt since you've been in the Royal Navy
03:20 for the past 20 years?"
03:22 "I'd say probably the little problems aren't actually, problems that you sort of think
03:30 'oh, they're really bad'.
03:31 You put them into perspective and you're like 'oh, that's not too bad' and that everything
03:36 can change at a drop of a hat so you just have to be ready for everything."
03:39 "I think it's just planning for everything really."
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