First woman takes base command - The West Australian - The West Australian

The Royal Australian Navy has appointed the first female commanding officer of naval base HMAS Stirling near Rockingham.

Capt. Angela Bond, who has served in the navy for 32 years, took control of the Garden Island base yesterday.

Outgoing commanding officer Capt. Brett Wolski handed a telescope to Capt. Bond, one of his final duties after two years in charge.

A mother of four, Capt. Bond said her appointment had been a lifelong ambition. She has been appointed commanding officer for the next three years.

This is her fourth posting to HMAS Stirling. She first worked on the island in 1999 as a human resources manager for submariners.

After working at navy headquarters in Canberra for the past two years, Capt. Bond will hit the ground running in her new role as final preparations are made for the deployment of the frigate HMAS Toowoomba next week to the Middle East. "There will be something like 500 people here on the day," she said. "There will be the sailors and officers and the families farewelling them, so it's a pretty important occasion."

Capt. Wolski has been promoted to commodore and will be director-general of workforce planning in Canberra. He said the appointment of Capt. Bond was a significant milestone for the navy.

"It just shows how much the women in the defence force are taking up leadership roles," he said.