Issue 14
June 2007

64 Pages This Issue

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CONTACT Air Land & Sea

As two replica aircraft - the Wright Flier and Chuck Yeager's sound-barrier breaking 'Glamorous Glennis' - held ground near the entrance to this year's International Airshow at Avalon, Victoria, the cream of the flying world took to the skies above, while the heavy-weights of defence and civil aviation industry showcased their wares on the ground.

Words Brian Hartigan
Pics Brian Hartigan


CONTACT Air Land & Sea

It was my very great pleasure to meet the men and women of the Australian Defence Force on duty in various locations around the Middle East Area of operations in October/November last year. In the previous two issues of CONTACT I reported on the activities and circumstances of those I met and, hopefully, gave you the reader, some sense of what day-to-day life is like for Australian service men and women on very foreign soil. In thei final wrap-up of my experience, I want to relate some of the things I found a little more exciting, interesting, unusual or noteworthy, but didn't necessarily fit into the flow of the previous reports. I cautionthat much of what is to follow is personal observation, opinion and hearsay and not necessarily verified or verifiable, but nonetheless interesting - at least to me. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story, as they say!

Words Brian Hartigan
Pics Brian Hartigan

This story is packaged for sale with Pt 1&2 for just $2

CONTACT Air Land & Sea

The male dominated world of military aviation in general and of helicopters specifically might seem a strange place for a self-proclaimed 'emerging artist' to cut her teeth but, for Queensland-based Deb Gilmartin, the world of 'Tigers, Rotors and Blokes' has proved a happy hunting ground.

Words Brian Hartigan
Pics Deb Gilmartin


CONTACT Air Land & Sea

Arriving at the US Army's home of the Airbourne - Fort Brag, North Carolina - in the middle of winter, I reflect on just how I ended up giving away a Kiwi summer for 0 Celsius.

Words Kiwi Mac
Pics US Special Operations Command


CONTACT Air Land & Sea

Lying in full combat gear, you feel your body shaking - it's minus 2 Centigrade, and the wind insn't helping - but the discomfort helps you stay awake, waiting for an enemy that may not be coming. You wonder just what the hell you're doing here and ask yourself why you're not wrapped up nice and warm instead of freezing in this swamp.

Words Kiwi Mac
Pics US Special Operations Command


CONTACT Air Land & Sea

Each year, one of Her Majesty's Australian Ships is elevated above all others to be recognised for outstanding achievement over a sustained period and awarded an honour of highest esteem - the Gloucester Cup.

Words Brian Hartigan
Pics ADF


CONTACT Air Land & Sea

Tuesday mornings are usually fairly routine for Andrew McDougall. After checking emails, the apprenticeship consultant picks up the phone and begins to make appointments with different employers for his clients. But today is different. Today Private McDougall has an F89 machinegun to clean and oil before his section sets off for another morning of patrolling south along the western coast of Malaita in the Solomon Islands.

Words Sam Eastwood
Pics Supplied by Sam Eastwood


CONTACT Air Land & Sea - Somalia

Despite having spent the past four months in what at times seemed like the twilight zone, there were still other days left you in a flat spin. One particular day late in our tour ended up being very strange indeed, though it started out quiet enough.

Words Wayne Cooper
Pics Supplied by Wayne Cooper, and ADF


Plus...

  • Army Poster
  • New SF deployment
  • Black Hawk down
  • Police and Services Clay Target Championships
  • Pentagon Report - Overseas Comparative Testing Program
  • NZ ANZAC Day para drop
  • Letters to the Editor
  • The Big Picture
  • Heads up

Plus our regular columns;

    • Military Fitness by Don Stevenson and Military Self Defence by Major Travis Faure
    • Just Soldiers by WO1 Darryl Kelly
    • Letters from the front by Private Henry Wright
    • Games reviews by Sapper Gameboy
    • Book review by Chris Jobson, and
    • competition giveaways - including combat boots and Kompressorz shorts