Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Mark Raymond Tandy, is an officer of 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). He joined the RAN as a radio operator in 1982 and rose through the ranks to become

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 ...

in 2008. He relinquished the post in 2012 and was subsequently commissioned as an officer.

Early years

Tandy was born in

Roebourne, Western Australia Roebourne is a town in Western Australia's Pilbara region. In Ngarluma language, Roebourne is called Yirramagardu (Ieramagadu). It is 35 km from Karratha, 202 km from Port Hedland and 1,563 km from Perth, the state's capital. It is loc ...

, and educated in Tennant Creek and Darwin. He joined the

(RAN) in 1982 as a radio operator.

Naval career

Tandy has served as either the Communications operator or supervisor at a number of establishments and ships of the RAN.Official Biography
www.navy.gov.au Shore postings have included (Nowra), (Darwin), (Canberra), (Western Port Bay), ADF Recruiting Unit (Townsville) and Strategic Headquarters (Canberra). Sea postings have included , , , , and . In December 2002, Tandy was 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 ...

and assumed the role of Operations Officer at the Naval Communications Area Master Station Australia ( NAVCAMSAUS) during the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

. In 2004, while posted as an instructor to the Royal Australian Naval College at , he received a Commanding Officer's Commendation, and a Navy Systems Command Quarterly Contribution award. On exchange with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in 2005, he spent four months at as a lead instructor at the Command and Training Group. Tandy was selected to be the sixth

in October 2008 and took up the appointment on 19 December 2008. He was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours in recognition of his "outstanding achievement" in this role.Conspicuous Service Cross
13 June 2011, Citation: ''For outstanding achievement as Warrant Officer of the Navy'', It's an Honour In July 2012 Tandy stood down as the Warrant Officer of the Navy, joining a program which allowed him to become an officer. He was appointed to the rank of

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

and served as executive officer of Naval Headquarters, South Queensland. Tandy was subsequently appointed Officer in Charge Navy Indigenous Development Program. In the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was awarded a

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

to his Conspicuous Service Cross for his "outstanding devotion to duty" in leading the Indigenous Development Program. Tandy holds a Master in Maritime Studies degree from the

Australian Command and Staff College The Australian Defence College (ADC) comprises three joint education and training organisations operated by the Australian Defence Force in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: * the War College, * the Australian Defence Force Training Cent ...

at Weston Creek (2007).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tandy, Mark Living people People from the Pilbara Recipients of the Conspicuous Service Cross (Australia) Royal Australian Navy officers Year of birth missing (living people)