Defence Royal Navy: Adaptable officers gain valuable insight on RFA Tidespring deployment ahead of HMS Medway duties By Freddie Webb Published 6th Aug 2024, 07:39 BST Comment Watch more of our videos on Shots! and live on Freeview channel 276 Visit Shots! now Two Royal Navy officers due to work on a Portsmouth-based warship said they gained valuable experience while on deployment on a different vessel. Sub Lieutenants Adam Whitelaw and Kieran Kitsell spent a month on board the RFA Tidespring tanker for specialist fleet time training. The pair said this allowed them to know more about the important role that the Royal Fleet Auxilliary play in fuelling and maintaining warships while on deployment.
The officers are now due to undergo operations on HMS Medway. Sub Lt Whitelaw said: “My time onboard gave me a massive appreciation to the roles that the RFA undertake in defence tasking and how close ties between all arms of the Naval Service is vital for operational output. Thankfully, we were able to integrate quickly as the bridge equipment onboard was already familiar to us, operating the same radars and types of software.
This commonality allowed us to complete vital serials before progressing onto the next stage of our career.” Sub Lieutenants Adam Whitelaw and Kieran Kitsell spent a month on board RFA Tidespring, ahead of their deployment on the Portsmouth-based warship HMS Medway. | Royal Navy Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know .