For two sailors serving on Australia's most powerful warship, HMAS Canberra's arrival in Tasmania on Friday was something of a homecoming.
Leading Seaman Brandon Lee and Warrant Officer Damien Powell both grew up in the Launceston area.
Neither has called the state home since they joined the Royal Australian Navy, but both men have clearly anchored their hearts to the island.
Warrant Officer Powell, who now lives in Sydney, said it was important that his eight-year-old daughter understood her Tasmanian origins.
"I'm currently building a house on the east coast down in Bicheno, and I want my daughter, I want her to come back to Tasmania and sort of experience what I experienced growing up," he says.
"I want her to know what I experienced because I feel very privileged having grown up in Tasmania.
"It's a great place ... coming down here, I feel like you can actually breathe again."
The Landing Helicopter Dock HMAS Canberra arrived in Hobart with its 350 crew on June 26, and is scheduled to depart on Monday.
Along with its sister ship HMAS Adelaide, the aircraft carrier-like vessels are the biggest ships in the fleet, with a length of 230 metres.
They are capable of deploying eight medium-sized helicopters from hangar decks, or 18 if the vehicle deck is also used.
Leading Seaman Lee, who joined the Navy seven years ago, spent his early childhood in Dunalley before his family settled in the Launceston suburb Mowbray.
He says his pre-navy days were a mix of tech and terrain that have served him well in the military.
When he wasn't soldering components at an amateur radio club, he was deep in the bush, camping and hiking the freezing slopes of Ben Lomond and the Great Western Tiers with friends.
He is employed as a boatswain's mate - a role whose duties include helping to make sure the ship is anchored or berthed properly to ensuring the ship is safe during emergencies such as fires.
"It's a bit of a jack-of-all-trades job," he says.
For Leading Seaman Lee, the Navy is also a perfect character-building path for struggling teenagers.
"The Navy's good for character building," he says.
"It's extremely good to helping those that haven't had employment before, sort of as their first job.
"Unlike some jobs where they expect you to know what you're doing straight off the bat, [the Navy] builds you up to that point where you will be the same as everyone else with the skills you can further develop on."