I'm Lieutenant Amy McMahon and I'm a Junior Warfare Officer in the Royal Australian Navy. What that means is... pretty much I'm in charge of navigation and of the ship while we are at sea. I keep duties on the bridge as an officer of the watch, which means I'm responsible to the captain for safety of navigation personnel and administering the ship's day to day program.
I grew up in a small country town not near the water, I did cadets for five years and I always wanted to get out and see the world, earn a good income and meet lots of new people, and I believe the Navy's done that for me.
What appeals to me about being in the Navy is going and seeing new places. I've been all around Australia, I've been to overseas ports, next year we've got a world trip so I get to go to countries and ports that I never thought I would go to, meet new people, and do that with all my friends.
It's relatively easy being a woman in the Navy, our ships about 30 percent female, we all get along, I'm pretty much one of the boys... so, yeah. It's just communal harmony and getting along with everyone on board.