The following is the farewell speech given at the Commonwealth Club in Canberra on 7 June 2023 by Lieutenant Commander Desmond Woods OAM RAN who retired from duty this month, after nearly half a century of service in three nations’ armed services. (Some formal parts have been omitted.)
I am the most fortunate officer I know. I have had a career which I could not have imagined when I joined my first Navy, the RNZN, in May 1974. This paying off party is my way of thanking my family, my colleagues and my friends for my great good fortune and having had the privilege to serve.
