Anzac feature: Best decision ever

Hannah Searancke describes joining the Royal New Zealand Navy as the best decision she has made.

She’s the daughter of an ex-navy gunner and granddaughter of a World War II veteran, but the path to the military was not an obvious one.

Hannah grew up in Te Kuiti and in 2018 she headed to Waikato University to study a Bachelor of Science.

Science was one of her best subjects at school and she enjoyed a trip to Otago to check out health sciences, but ultimately she decided to stick close to home by moving to Hamilton.

She said she made it through her fi rst year okay, but in her second year of the degree she realised she wanted to do something else for her career.

It was her dad, who had been in the navy himself, who reminded Hannah there were other options than university and perhaps the armed forces might be a fit.

“It’s a big decision to make, because you’re in quite deep and then you start thinking, ‘what will people think if I drop out of uni or change my path?’

“But I just did what I thought was best for me and it was the best decision I’ve made.

“I always tell people, always do what’s best for you. Don’t worry about what other people think, because it’s your life at the end of the day.”

Hannah made the decision to apply to the navy in July 2019.

In the six months that followed, she got laser eye surgery to fix what she described as some pretty bad eyesight, got her fitness up to scratch and tackled a mound of paperwork.

“I got the call in January to say that I’d made it in.”

Hannah entered basic training in early 2020, right around when Covid struck New Zealand and the country went into lockdown.

The pandemic affected multiple aspects of Hannah’s training, with her basic training at Devonport, Auckland extended by five weeks and her medic training by four months.

When she graduates and becomes qualified next month, she will have been in medic training for two years and 10 months.

The bulk of that was at Burnham Military Camp, about 28km south of Christchurch, alongside army and air force personnel.

Burnham was established 100 years ago to support New Zealand’s contribution to WWII, according to NZDF.

Hannah said she had only had good experiences in the navy.

“It’s been awesome; I love it.

“It has been cool experiencing things from other services. You learn a lot of skills.

“Everyone gets on well, there’s lots of opportunities here and everyone wants you to do better.

“I think the military just suits my personality.”

The navy appealed to Hannah more than other divisions of the New Zealand Defence Force for a couple of reasons.

She attributed part of the decision to her dad, who she said had a lot of good experiences in the navy.

“I got brought up hearing all of Dad’s stories and he’s still very close with his navy friends now.

“Seeing that just gave me more of a reason to join.”

Travel opportunities, working next to and on the water and the chance to make a solid group of friends all swayed Hannah towards the navy.

Those opportunities for travel now excited Hannah, after she originally did not want to stray too far from home.

“I’m quite close with my family, including all my cousins, so I think moving away was quite scary for me.

“But as I’ve gotten older and matured, now I’m keen to take any opportunity really.

“It has gotten to a point where I just want to experience everything.”

This piece was one of a four-part Anzac feature, focusing on the next generation to serve and protect. Others in the feature include Zoe Ball recalling her time in the navy straight from school, the benefits Joel Bradley got out of his time in the army, and a look at the knitted poppies that have been donated for local services.