Hervey Bay RSL Sub Branch

08/10/2026

👀 Woohoo! The merch cabinet is almost full again! Come on down to the Hervey Bay RSL and check out the bar runners, caps, poppy bags, stickers, medallions, lapel pins and belt buckles! We also have the 2027 Silo Art Calenders ready to go!

07/10/2026

Come on down to Scarness Park and join in the Mental Health Week Event "Connecting for Awareness". L2 Advocate Chrissy and Wellbeing Co-ordinator Lou from the Sub-Branch Pensions & Wellbeing Office are there. They have lots of information and resources to share. For those of you who don't mind a bit of trivia challenge, there is a bear to be won. Get on down now and get yourself in the draw!

06/10/2026

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06/10/2026

We are releasing a commemorative coin to mark the 25th anniversary of Australian service in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and to honour those who served.

The coin will be available at the national commemorative service, to be held at the Australian War Memorial on 11 October 2026. This service will formally recognise the service and sacrifice of all those who served in the Afghanistan War (2001–2014) and conflicts in Afghanistan (2015 to present), as well as the families of veterans.

For veterans and families who cannot attend the commemorative service in person, coins will also be available following the event. Register for delivery or collect the coin at one of the locations listed on DVA's website.

To register to attend the commemorative service, or for more information on how to collect a coin, visit the link in the comment section 👇

04/10/2026

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Paying tribute to those who serve at the striking South Brisbane Royal Australian Navy Memorial in Memorial Park! Unveiled in May 2017 by Vice Admiral Timothy Barrett, this bronze statue by Boonah artist Catherine Anderson depicts a sailor with a duffel bag. The octagonal plinth features plaques honoring Australian naval history across major conflicts, alongside the moving Naval Ode. A powerful landmark recognizing the dedication of our naval forces. ⚓🇦🇺

01/10/2026

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READ 💬: Eight clearance divers from the Royal Australian Navy completed an intensive five-month maintenance rotation at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Hawaii. Embedded directly alongside U.S. Navy dive lockers, the Australian sailors qualified in technical underwater repair procedures for nuclear-powered attack submarines. The specialized training curriculum covered flooded ballast-tank component replacements, torpedo-tube inspections, fly-by-wire system checks, rigging operations, and radiological safety certifications, marking the first time Australian personnel achieved operational maintenance qualification on U.S. Virginia-class platforms.

Geopolitically, building forward maintenance capacity advances the core objectives of the AUKUS defense agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Establishing certified Australian repair teams ensures that allied nuclear-powered submarines operating across the Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean can undergo intermediate maintenance in theater rather than making long transits back to Hawaii or the continental United States. Enhancing forward sustainment infrastructure at bases like HMAS Stirling in Western Australia strengthens collective maritime deterrence, assuring persistent undersea coverage across increasingly contested maritime choke points.

From a defense procurement and industrial workforce perspective, certifying Australian divers provides the essential technical foundation for Australia's future nuclear submarine fleet. As Australia prepares to acquire its own Virginia-class submarines ahead of introducing the jointly developed SSN-AUKUS platform, establishing sovereign maintenance, repair, and overhaul capabilities remains critical. Training clearance divers to exact U.S. nuclear shipyard standards creates a unified maintenance framework, streamlining supply chains, lowering operational lifecycle costs, and allowing Australian defense authorities to assume full stewardship of nuclear-powered assets.

Operationally, specialized diving teams resolve physical hull and mechanical faults without requiring time-consuming drydock placements. Working in cramped, zero-visibility ballast tanks and underwater hull structures allows divers to swap critical mechanical valves, inspect sensors, and repair hull fittings while the submarine remains pierside. Expanding this capability across Australian ports increases vessel availability, reduces operational downtime, and ensures allied attack submarines remain combat-ready on the front lines.

Qualifying Australian Navy clearance divers on Virginia-class maintenance establishes a vital forward sustainment capability that strengthens allied undersea readiness across the Indo-Pacific.

01/10/2026

30/09/2026

🍻 VETERANS’ DAY IS ON TODAY 1st OCT AT HERVEY BAY RSL!

Join us in the Sports Bar from 11:00am 💙

🎶 Live Music – Doug Edwards from 11:00am
🥩 Meat Tray Raffles
🧠 Trivia & Great Prizes
🍻 Plus plenty of good company!

📍 1st Oct | Sports Bar | Hervey Bay RSL

Come along, grab a cold drink and enjoy Veterans’ Day with us! 🙌