Warrant Officer Deb Butterworth

Warrant Officer Deb Butterworth, OAM, CSM and Bar, was born in Lilydale, Victoria, and for the first ten years of her life she travelled extensively. She then settled into school life in Perth, Western Australia. Warrant Officer (WO) Butterworth enlisted into the Royal Australian Navy as a Stores Naval Sailor in 1989. WO Butterworth has enjoyed serving in various platforms as a Stores Sailor. These include HMA Ships Jervis Bay (I), Success, Sydney, Manoora, Newcastle, and a short time in Parramatta (IV).

In 2003 and 2005, then Chief Petty Officer (CPO) Butterworth deployed in HMAS Newcastle on Operation CATALYST, the Australian assistance to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Iraq. CPO Butterworth was awarded a Conspicuous Service Medal (CSM) in 2006 in recognition of her service in Newcastle.

Promoted to Warrant Officer in July 2007, she returned to Western Australia to take up the role of Logistic Services Manager in Joint Logistic Unit (West). In 2009, WO Butterworth joined the 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. WO Butterworth left logistics roles after been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for meritorious service to the Royal Australian Navy in the field of logistics management in 2012.

WO Butterworth assumed the role as the Ship’s Warrant Officer in HMAS Success in December 2011, Success was integral Operation SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN, an activity to support the Australian Maritime and Safety Authority to search for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 in April 2014. In 2014 WO Butterworth deployed to the Middle East and upon return to Australia WO Butterworth was recognised with a bar to her CSM in recognition of her service in Success. 

In July 2017 WO Butterworth was appointed to the role of Command Warrant Officer Training Force until July 2019 where she guided a team to create the Mariner Development Program to continue to develop mariners and warfighters while undertaking specialist employment training.  

WO Butterworth holds a Master of Military and Defence Studies.

In November 2019 WO Butterworth was appointed as the Royal Australian Navy’s ninth Warrant Officer of the Navy.