Gary William Wight, (born 21 September 1968) is an officer in the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

(RAN). He joined the RAN as a

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

r in 1987 and rose through the ranks to become the 8th

Warrant Officer of the Navy Warrant Officer of the Navy (WO-N) is the most senior sailor in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It is a singular appointment, being only held by one person at any time. The special insignia for the WO-N is the Australian coat of arms with a wr ...

in 2016. He relinquished the post in 2019 and was subsequently commissioned as an officer.

Early life

Wight was born in

Liverpool, New South Wales Liverpool is a suburb of South Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, south-west of the Sydney CBD. It is the administrative seat of the City of Liverpool and is in the Cumberland Plain. History Indigenous Before Bri ...

, on 21 September 1968. He joined the

(RAN) in January 1987, later completing submarine training.

Naval career

As a

chief petty officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards, usually above petty officer. By country Australia "Chief Petty Officer" is the second highest non-commissioned rank in the Royal Australian Navy ...

, Wight served as Chief of the Boat of . He was promoted to warrant officer in 2006 and appointed Ships Warrant Officer of the frigate . In September 2012 he served as Command Warrant Officer of Career Management until he deployed on

Operation Okra Operation Okra was the Australian Defence Force (ADF) contribution to the military intervention against the Islamic State. The deployed forces formed part of Joint Task Force 633 in the Middle East. The operation commenced on 31 August 2014, ...

in June 2015 as the Command Warrant Officer of Joint Task Force 633. Wight's operational service includes Special Operations Submarines, Operation Manitou and short deployments on

and Operation Highroad. He became the 8th

in 2016. He relinquished the post to Warrant Officer Deb Butterworth in November 2019, and was subsequently commissioned as an officer. Wight was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the

2019 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

in recognition of his "exceptional service to the Royal Australian Navy in the field of Navy People leadership and management." He has been also awarded two Fleet Commander's Commendations: first for his service as Communications Capability Staff Officer, Submarine Force ; and second was for service as the ship's warrant officer of . He holds a Master of Business Management from the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

, is married, has four children and resides in Canberra.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wight, Gary 1968 births Living people Members of the Order of Australia Royal Australian Navy personnel Royal Australian Navy submariners University of New South Wales alumni