Lieutenant Commander Jason Dawson
Lieutenant Commander Jason Dawson joined the Royal Navy in March 1985 as a young Seaman, qualifying as a Clearance Diver in 1990. He subsequently worked his way up the ranks, completing 22 years as a Royal Navy Clearance Diver, and achieved Senior Explosive Ordnance Disposal/Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (EOD/IEDD) Operator in various UK Diving Defence Elements being part of many EOD/IEDD, Engineering and Experimental Diving units, additionally fulfilling many seagoing postings to UK Mine Countermeasure Vessels (MCMVs). Early years - served on Frigates during the Cold War, and Assault Troop Carriers while working in Norway with the Royal Marines Commando.
Lieutenant Commander Dawson has fulfilled operations across the globe, working in many Joint Operational environments with several Navies within the joint interoperability space, including UK Maritime Component Command Bahrain, US Coalition Forces, NATO and other nations on Exercises and Operations in the Mediterranean, Baltic and AG. Lieutenant Commander Dawson conducted several operational deployments including - Operation TELIC, Operation TACARTE (Umm Qasr), Operation KIPION and Combined/Joint exercises - Exercise JOINT WARRIOR, International Mine Countermeasures Exercise (IMCMEX) (MEA), Exercise SHAMAL (MEA), Exercise RIMPAC and Exercise TRICRAB (Guam). He has had the privilege of serving on operations in Northern Ireland during ‘The Troubles’, Iraq during Operation TELIC, and Operation HIGHROAD in Afghanistan.
Lieutenant Commander Dawson commissioned and graduated from the Britannia Royal Naval College in 2007, and additionally attended and graduated from the Intermediate Command and Staff Course (Maritime) at the Defence College Shrivenham in 2011. His commissioned officer postings have included Gunnery Officer, Operations Officer, Executive Officer of UK MCMVs, Fleet Diving HQ Portsmouth and Southern Diving Unit Two as an EOD/IEDD Operator.
Since laterally transferring to the RAN in 2013, Lieutenant Commander Dawson has had numerous postings, the majority of which have been within the MCD Community and overseas. His first posting as the Operations Officer of Maritime Geospatial Deployable Support Team (MGDST), then the Operations Officer of Clearance Diving Team One, followed by appointment as Executive Officer of Clearance Diving Team One. He subsequently posted to HMAS Gascoyne as the Executive Officer, completing the initial Minehunter Coastal North East Asian Deployment (MHC NEAD) during the 2018 deployment. On completion of his sea posting he joined Operation HIGHROAD in Kabul, Afghanistan as a CIED Strategic Advisor within the Counter Improvised Threat Directive under Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan, where his efforts directly resulted in the increased readiness and capability within the Afghan National Army, aiding the reduction in attrition and the increase in combat effectiveness.
On returning from the Middle East Region he posted to Headquarters Joint Operations Command as an OPSCO within Maritime Operations before successful completion of Command Navigation Course and subsequently being given the greatest honour of his career to date, assuming Command of the Mighty Warship HMAS Yarra (IV).
