ONE hundred and fifty junior officers – 134 for the Royal Navy, 16 for ten of our allied and partner navies around the world – today completed 29 weeks of demanding training and passed out from Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth.

Friends and family were on hand to watch their loved ones on the famous parade ground of the spiritual home of the Royal Navy’s officer cadre – and see a Wildcat helicopter from RNAS Yeovilton pass overhead in acknowledgment of the junior leaders’ efforts.

The Guest of Honour for proceedings was Rear Admiral Rachel Singleton, Director Navy Digital, who took the salute and inspected some of the passing-out personnel, alongside the second inspecting officer, Commodore Alistair Moody, Head of Nuclear Propulsion.

“As you leave Dartmouth, you take with you far more than professional knowledge and training.” Rear Admiral Singleton told those passing out.

“You will remember the people around you now. Friendships, perhaps life-long, formed here at Dartmouth.

“And you’ll remember this moment, standing together, immaculately turned out, your friends and families looking on, bursting with pride.”

As well as cadets who’d undergone the transition from civilians to junior officers, 19 senior ratings were commissioned from the ranks.

Midshipman Lily Ann Holloway from Eastbourne has swapped life as a sailing instructor in Bermuda for a career as a warfare officer in the Submarine Service.

As someone who joined the Navy determined to “get stuck in with sports”, the 19-year-old particularly enjoyed the hands-on/active side of training, such as ‘green’ skills (living in the field) in the depths of winter.

“The most challenging part was putting on wet kit at 3am to go on sentry for an hour,” she said.

“The basic sea survival course in Portsmouth was another highlight: we got to enjoy our military lives in the civilian world, away from Dartmouth, and realise how lucky we all are to get paid to do what we do.”

Sub Lieutenant Elinor Stanyer from Tavistock in Devon will become a nursing officer – building on her previous employment as a registered nurse with the acute medical unit at North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple.

She took a boat across to the sailing regatta at the French counterpart of BRNC, the Ecole Navale in Brittany, and attended the school’s commissioning ball. She also spent a month with patrol ship HMS Tamar in Singapore.

But like Lily Ann, the formative experience of training was outdoor training on a wintry night.

“We got bumped from our tent and the rain was horizontal, it was dark and people were exhausted from the day’s tasks,” Elinor said. “We got up and had some soup with the Captain of BRNC. Looking back, I can definitely see that this shaped a lot of people.”

Among the 16 international students was 27-year-old Lieutenant Eimantas Smalakys who serves with the Lithuanian Navy in its home port of Klaipeda.

“I chose to join Britannia Royal Naval College to study in one of the most famous Naval colleges in world and experience long-lasting Royal Navy traditions, British culture and maritime warfare academics,” he said.

“The best part was to study with British and International officer cadets, sharing knowledge, experiences, doing exercises as a team member and team leader. The most challenging part was the language barrier, which made the course a bit harder for me.”

The parade was the first Captain Simon Cox, BRNC’s Captain, has presided over since taking command just a few weeks ago.

“Today marks a significant milestone for our newest Officers as they pass out from Britannia Royal Naval College and commission into the Royal Navy,” he said.

“Their success on the parade ground today reflects months of dedication, resilience and determination, supported throughout by their families, friends and the phenomenal staff here at Dartmouth.

“Each officer leaves Britannia with the ethos, skills and confidence required to lead in an increasingly complex and challenging world.”

The newly-commissioned officers will now complete training in their specialist fields before joining ships, submarines, air squadrons and Royal Marines units across the Senior Service.