Debbie Ann Butterworth, & Bar is an officer in the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

(RAN). She was

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 wre ...

, the most senior sailor of the RAN, from November 2019 to December 2022.A rewarding career leads to appointment as ninth Warrant Officer of the Navy
LEUT Dave Devlin (author), LSIS James McDougall (photographer), Navy Daily/News, 2019-11-22Royal Australian Navy woman appointed as most senior sailor
Media Release,

Minister of Defence (Australia) The Minister for Defence is the principal minister responsible for the organisation, implementation, and formulation of government policy in defence and military matters for the Australian Government. The individual who holds this office directs ...

, 2019-11-22Top sailor wants to feed minds hungry for ‘why’
Rosie Lewis,

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

, 2019-11-21

Early life

Butterworth was born in

Lilydale, Victoria Lilydale is a town and outer suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 34 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Lilydale recorded a population of 17,348 ...

, and for the first ten years of her life she travelled extensively. She then settled into school life in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

Navy career

Butterworth enlisted into the

as a Stores Naval Sailor in 1989. Butterworth has enjoyed serving in various platforms as a Stores Sailor. These include HMA Ships ''Jervis Bay'', ''Success'', ''Sydney'', ''Manoora'', ''Newcastle'', and a short time on ''Parramatta''. In 2003 and 2005, then Chief Petty Officer Butterworth deployed on HMAS ''Newcastle'' for

Operation Catalyst Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

, the Australian assistance to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Iraq. Butterworth was awarded the

Conspicuous Service Medal The Conspicuous Service Medal (CSM) is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force, and officers and instructors of the Australian Defence Force Cadets. It is awarded for meritorious achievement or dedication to d ...

(CSM) in 2006 in recognition of her service on ''Newcastle''. Promoted to

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

in July 2007, Butterworth returned to Western Australia to take up the role of Logistic Services Manager in Joint Logistic Unit (West). In 2009, Butterworth joined Sea Training Group Major Fleet Units. The role of this group is to facilitate collective training and conduct unit-level assessment of RAN Fleet Units. Butterworth left logistics roles after being awarded a

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for meritorious service to the Royal Australian Navy in the field of logistics management in 2012. Butterworth assumed the role of the Ship's Warrant Officer on HMAS ''Success'' in December 2011.Australia: ANZAC Battle Tankers March as One
NavalToday, 2013-04-25, accessed 2020-01-17 ''Success'' was an integral part of Operation Southern Indian Ocean, an activity to support the

Australian Maritime Safety Authority Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is an Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's shipping fleet and management of Australia's international maritime obligations. The authority ...

to search for Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 in April 2014. In 2014 Butterworth deployed to the Middle East and, upon return to Australia, she was awarded a Bar to her CSM in recognition of her service in ''Success''. In July 2017, Butterworth was appointed to the role of Command Warrant Officer Training Force. She served in the role until July 2019, when she was appointed to guide a team to create the Mariner Development Program to continue to develop mariners and warfighters while undertaking specialist employment training. Butterworth was appointed as the Royal Australian Navy's ninth

in November 2019. She served in the role for three years, handing over to Warrant Officer Andrew Bertoncin on 16 December 2022, and was then commissioned in the rank of commander. Butterworth was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...

in the 2023 Australia Day Honours, the award recognising her "exceptional service ... in the field of Navy People leadership and management". Butterworth holds a

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

of Military and Defence Studies. When at home, Butterworth enjoys living in Canberra.

References

External links

Navy biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butterworth, Deb Australian military personnel of the Iraq War Australian military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Living people Members of the Order of Australia People from Lilydale, Victoria Recipients of the Conspicuous Service Medal Royal Australian Navy officers Year of birth missing (living people)