For Ian, Anzac day is a time to remember the highs and lows of armed conflict and the people he served with, looking past the hype, and focusing on personal reflection.

 “I see Anzac Day as a personal time for honest reflection about the conflicts I was involved in; those I served with; what we achieved and the great camaraderie we shared. It also makes me pause to reflect on the momentous international events I played a very small part in those I served with; what we achieved and the great camaraderie we shared.”

Though he doesn’t usually participate in marches, Ian prefers to spend Anzac Day with family. “Last year my wife and I walked down to a small memorial near where we live and stood for a few minutes to pay our respect to all the service people who lost their lives serving Australia, and their families who had to suffer because of their service. This year I’ll do much the same.

Notwithstanding my usual approach of not marching, I have on a few occasions participated in Anzac Day in Sydney with the Clearance Diving Branch and it has always been a great day and an opportunity to catch up and share a few ‘quiet ales’ with old comrades I probably would not otherwise see.”

While he never served in a conflict with the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) specifically, Ian did train and work alongside then during his overall career.

As a young Officer of the Watch on HMAS Swan, Parker’s ship spent a lot of time training with an RNZN Destroyer escort. Despite the typical rivalry between Australia and New Zealand, the two navies worked well together at sea and got along famously on shore – except for when they played rugby against each other.

Training forged friendships between the two Navies and Parker became good friends with a Kiwi diver during his Clearance Diving Course. The group flew over to New Zealand to conduct deep diving training with the Kiwi diving team on their dive boat, HMNZS Manawanui. The two-week training session was a great experience, filled with plenty of deep diving in stunning locations north of Auckland, and further cemented the bond between the Australian and New Zealand divers.

‘Despite their small size the RNZN was, and still is a very professional and highly skilled navy, and they were very good to work alongside’.

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Chaired by former Australian Consul General and Austrade Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner, Chris Oldfield, the Committee includes Rear Admiral (Rtd.) Steve Gilmore AM CSC, Rear Admiral (Rtd.) Allan du Toit AM, former Tasmanian Police Inspector Lee Renshaw and PFG CEO Robert Inches.

CMDR (Rtd.) Parker will bring invaluable insight to the Committee to ensure PFG continues to create a premium product with Defence needs in front of mind.

CMDR (Rtd.) Parker is a highly experienced and respected Royal Australian Navy Officer and reconnaissance diver. He has served our country with distinction,” explains the Chair of PFG, Chris Oldfield. “CMDR (Rtd.) Parker will bring specific operational knowledge and experience that will be highly valuable in the development of The Sentinel. This will help ensure that we are designing and building vessels that are fit for purpose and offer a high level of performance, durability and crew protection.”

CMDR (Rtd.) Parker has three decades of Defence experience. He joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1980 and specialised as a Mine Warfare Clearance Diving Officer in 1985, later he served as the Executive Officer of Clearance Diving Team (CDT). He was deployed to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as a member of Australian CDT3 for Operation Desert Storm. Afterwards he served in missions in both Iraq and East Timor. CMDR (Rtd.) Parker was posted to a secondment for the UN’s Integrated Training Service (ITS) in New York where he spent time in various UN missions in countries such as Burundi, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan.

I knew of PFG and its Sentinel range of watercraft through my long-time friend and colleague Admiral Gilmore,” CMDR (Rtd.) Parker said. ‘’I was very excited to be a part of PFG’s Advisory Committee for Defence Capability when I was offered the opportunity. I could see that The Sentinel’s highly durable HDPE construction, and innovative design features, would be great capability enhancers for the ADF.”

 

The PFG-manufactured Sentinel is used for patrols, crew transfer, rescue, first response and dive boat operations by Defence, public security, and emergency service organisations across Australia. The Sentinel is manufactured from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and delivers an inherently smooth ride at full speed due to the low centre of gravity and features shock and vibration absorbing properties, proven design and build methods. The smoother ride reduces fatigue and other safety risks to the vessel’s operators. It is these virtues that The Sentinel brings a new generation of evolved design, fast military vessels, as well as industry leading, low whole-of-life costs.

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