ADF People – CONTACT magazine

Personnel from RAAF Base Richmond on the Out of the Shadows Lifeline walk. Story by Flight Lieutenant Madeleine Magee. Photos by Leading Aircraftwoman Maddison Scott.

Bringing suicide prevention Out of the Shadows

30/09/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 635 Views 0 Comments Lifeline, National Suicide Prevention Day, RAAF Richmond

Earlier this month, RAAF Base Richmond participated in Lifeline’s Out of the Shadows Walk, to remember the lives of those

The Air Force Surf Riders Association’s 2025 Festival of Surfing united 40 personnel at Seal Rocks, New South Wales. Story by Wing Commander Deanna Nott. Photos by Corporal Leigh Gammie.

ADF People Health and Wellbeing

Riding waves and building bonds

23/09/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2885 Views 0 Comments Air Force Surf Riders Association (AFSRA)

The Air Force Surf Riders Association (AFSRA) united 40 Air Force personnel from across Australia for a week of competitive

ADF People History

Honouring the Air Force spirit

23/09/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 3091 Views 0 Comments Battle of Britain, WWII

For Wing Commander Jenny Robertson (retd), the Battle of Britain is more than a pivotal moment in history. It’s a

Video screenshot of a RAAF EA-18G Growler pilot flying through Brisbane CBD during Riverfire 2025.

ADF People News Royal Australian Air Force

Riverfire from the pilot’s perspective

13/09/2025 Posted by Brian Hartigan 4908 Views 0 Comments Riverfire

The Australian Defence Force has published some very cool behind-the-scenes footage of their involvement in this year’s Riverfire flypast. ADF

Sales of Legacy bears support the annual national appeal to raise awareness and funds for the families of veterans who have given their life or health in service to our country. Story by Leading Seaman Nadav Harel. Photo by Emma Taylor.

ADF People Australian Army Health and Wellbeing History Lest We Forget News Royal Australian Air Force Royal Australian Navy

Annual fundraiser a big boost for Legacy

12/09/202512/09/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 4876 Views 0 Comments Legacy Week, Vivian Bullwinkel

Across the country, sailors, soldiers and aviators took to the streets selling pin badges and bears to raise funds in

Group Captain Kath Stein is the first current serving ADF member to be president of the Australian College of Nursing. Story by Michelle Hoare.

ADF People Health and Wellbeing News

ADF nurse to lead Australian College of Nursing

12/09/202522/09/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 4407 Views 0 Comments Vivian Bullwinkel

For Group Captain Kath Stein, following in the footsteps of one of her military nursing role models is deeply meaningful.

Defence APS member Grant Tebbutt with his late grandfather Tom Foster’s recently recovered World War 2 medals and a photo album belonging to his father, Ivan. Story by Lieutenant Fenlan Miller. Photos by Lance Corporal Luke Donegan.

ADF People Archives History Lest We Forget

Defence APS member reunited with lost medals

12/09/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2736 Views 0 Comments WWII

Forty years after they vanished, a set of medals belonging to a Defence Australian Public Service member’s grandfather has been

The crew of HMAS Ballarat hold a morning tea during their regional presence deployment to raise funds and awareness for R U OK? Day. Story and photo by Sub-Lieutenant Jake Badior.

ADF People Health and Wellbeing News Royal Australian Navy

HMAS Ballarat crew checks in on R U OK? Day

12/09/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 3904 Views 0 Comments HMAS Ballarat, mental health, RUOK

The crew of HMAS Ballarat paused their busy regional presence deployment schedule to mark R U OK? Day at sea.

The immediate health and safety of ADF personnel has been the priority in the wake of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.

ADF People Health and Wellbeing

Defence prioritises health, safety in wake of report

09/09/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 383 Views 0 Comments mental health, Suicide Royal Commission

One year after the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide delivered its final report, the senior officer supporting the

Leading Seaman Ernesto Sanchez is the first Navy photographer awarded a Conspicuous Service Cross, acknowledging his dedication to capturing the stories of Australia's military personnel through imagery. Story by Leading Seaman Nadav Harel. Photo supplied.

ADF People Royal Australian Navy

From behind the lens and into the spotlight

09/09/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 3845 Views 0 Comments

Leading Seaman Ernesto Sanchez is the first Navy photographer awarded a Conspicuous Service Cross, making him the most highly decorated

Recipients of the Jonathan Church Good Soldiering Award (JCGSA) approach the Sandakan Death March Memorial in Sabah, Malaysia, while retracing the historic route. Story and photos by Sergeant Matthew Bickerton.

ADF People Australian Army History Lest We Forget Overseas

A journey of remembrance and learning in Borneo

05/09/202516/09/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 5735 Views 0 Comments Jonathan Church Good Soldiering Award, WWII

Recipients of the Jonathan Church Good Soldiering Award (JCGSA) have retraced the route of the single worst atrocity inflicted on

Signaller Ashlee Chivers with a photo of her great-grandfather’s cousin, Sergeant Henry 'Harry' James Chivers, at the Australian War Memorial. Story and photos by Warrant Officer Class 2 Max Bree.

ADF People History Lest We Forget

Last Post reading a personal one for signaller

29/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2809 Views 0 Comments AWM, Last Post, WWI

Blaring bugle sounds and reading stories of Australia’s fallen is nothing new for Signaller Ashlee Chivers. CAPTION: Signaller Ashlee Chivers with

Funeral Guard members, left to right, Leading Seaman Lindsey Young, Able Seaman Jake Clarke and Leading Seaman Bella Cummins, carry the coffin of Leading Stoker Des Jones, as Navy Chaplain David Hastie follows. Story by Lieutenant Commander Ben Robson. Photos by Lance Corporal Joseph Hess.

ADF People History Lest We Forget Royal Australian Navy

Last living link to tragedy of HMAS Canberra I

27/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 4311 Views 0 Comments HMAS Canberra, HMAS Canberra (I), WWII

On a still and cloudy afternoon, Leading Stoker Des Jones was laid to rest, carried to his gravesite on the

History and Heritage - Air Force volunteer Pamela ‘Margaret’ Wilkinson with a newspaper article from 1965 when she was serving as a nurse at RAAF Base Townsville. Story and photo by Flying Officer Casie Scott.

ADF People History

Sixty years of RAAF, love and life

27/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2762 Views 0 Comments RAAF Townsville

As Pamela ‘Margaret’ Wilkinson walks the halls of RAAF Base Townsville’s Building 51, her memories of working from the site

Chief Petty Officer Pete Morrison works on his art. Story by Flight Lieutenant Thomas McCoy. Photo by Private Alex Brown.

ADF People Health and Wellbeing

Rebuilding through art

20/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2232 Views 0 Comments ADF Arts for Recovery Resilience Teamwork and Skills (ARRTS), HMAS Harman, PTSD