Ben is an experienced Mariner with over 15 years sea service in a variety of vessels both in Australia and Overseas. Ben joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1996 and spent 10 years developing his skills specialising in deck operations and people management. Ben has seen operational service in the Persian Gulf enforcing United Nations sanctions on vessels entering and leaving Iraqi territorial sea and was awarded a Commanding Officers Commendation for his work in HMAS Ballarat in 2005. Ben is skilled in Team Leadership, Personal and Professional development, Deck Operations, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Project Management and Delivery. Ben recently completed study towards and successfully gained his Master up to <24 meters Near Coastal certification.