Running deep, but not silent

If you haven’t heard of Adroita, they are the Australian company whose business model revolves around helping other companies enter the defence industry supply chain. If you haven’t heard of Peter Scott, then you haven’t read ‘Running Deep – An Australian Submarine Life’. At a recent Adroita Thought Leaders event held at the classy Cruising Yacht Club in Sydney, I had the pleasure of meeting the author himself and hearing him speak eloquently and authoritatively about submarines in the context of modern sea power and geopolitics. It was worth the trip.

Commodore Peter Scott CSC, RANR spent a 34-year career at what is arguably the pointiest end of Australia’s strategic deterrent – the submarine arm of the Royal Australian Navy. His memoir commences with his early life in suburban Sydney and the influences that propelled him to a life of service and leadership. It then progresses from his entry into the navy, early officer training at HMAS Creswell, and his decision to volunteer for the silent service – a pivotal decision in his life.

You don’t have to know anything about submarines to enjoy this book because it is as much about the triumph of courage over human frailty and self-doubt as it is about submarines. Some chapters are surprising for their personal revelations. Some are enthralling, and some are down-right scary. Barely past the first few pages, the author recounts in gripping detail his near miss as commanding officer of HMAS Dechaineux. With the submarine below its deep diving depth and headed for the bottom, the prologue sets the stage for what will be a personal exploration of the true nature of leadership – that elusive quality which reveals itself in a select few. Under mounting pressure, with water pouring in, training and leadership conquered fear to deliver the crew of the Dechaineux to safety. Astonishingly, the same crew assembled two weeks later to sail in her again.

Throughout these hair-raising accounts, the author’s focus is clearly on people. What is most interesting to him is how human beings, galvanised by common purpose, can rise to meet any challenge. Of course, the post-traumatic impacts of such events on sailors and their families are never far away. In Running Deep, fear and loneliness are pushed down into a recurring emotional undercurrent throughout the book, with the warrior culture apparently ill-prepared to deal with the fallout. What emerges is an important message – we all have a duty of care to those in harm’s way. Let’s hope the government and ADF take note.

In the final analysis, Running Deep chronicles the life of an extraordinary Australian with a very unusual career. By the end of the book, any reader will have been convinced that the Commodore is due some well-earned shore leave, but in the age of AUKUS, something tells me he has a lot left to offer. As I said, you don’t need to be interested in submarines to enjoy this book, but if you do happen to be a submarine tragic like me, you’ll probably read it from cover to cover without putting it down.

Thanks again to Adroita (and Peter) for hosting this fabulous event.

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