Life as navy man or woman is indeed a tough one and it takes years of intense, backbreaking training to be the tough ones at the sea.
Recruits to the Australian Navy did expect hard days ahead when they joined as trainees, but what they did not foresee was the physical, sexual and mental abuse they would be forced to undergo.
According to media reports, a Royal Commission looking into the abuse within the Australian Navy was informed about the sexually violent 'rite of passage' the cadets had to undergo including raping each other.
The commission which was formed after reports of physical and mental abuse within the Australian Defence Force (ADF) emerged in 2013. There were as many as 24,000 such complaints.
The shocking 'rite of passage' included practices such as 'royal flush' which meant putting the heads of the recruits in the toilet and flushing it and 'blackballing' which involved smearing shoe polish on the genitals.
A former navy member, who deposed before the commission, recalled being woken up in the middle of the night and taken to a ground where he was sexually abused. He was asked to perform sexual acts on other recruits and was raped by one of the recruits.
Another recruit told the commission that he was forced to run along a corridor while others threw heavy objects at him including iron pieces and boots. He was left unconscious after this ordeal.
The commission also heard about the suicide of a 15-year-old candidate. The girl, who had a sexual relationship with an instructor who was 30-years-old, took the extreme step after she was threatened with dishonourable discharge.
