The RAAC’s First Days: Brian Agnew’s Service
Introduction ‘Baby Boomers’ come from the generation born between 1946 and 1964. I’m one of them. The generation before us
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Author: Posted by Brian Hartigan
Why bother campaigning for 1 Armd Regt to be returned to a combat role?
…the answer is easy. Those responsible can’t be allowed to continue detracting from 1st Armoured Regiment’s hard-fought heritage. A unit
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Building a brick arch
It feels great to be putting things back into my excavations instead of always taking stuff out. This week I
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Revisiting the decision to strip the tanks from 1 Armd Regt
There is a growing suggestion that the Chief of Army was pressured into finding a unit to manage new and
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Why 1st Armoured Regiment must become a tank regiment again (quickly)
Sometimes one forgets that not all readers have a complete understanding of all the important issues. Rather than emphasising significant
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Thanks to serving soldier for insightful comments re 1st Armd Regt
A current serving member of 1st Armoured Regiment recently wrote an open letter to me. (I’d previously written a similar
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Ex Talisman Sabre 2025 – 1 Armd Regt’s role
One of the consequences of the tanks being stripped from 1 Armd Regt is that it leaves 3 Brigade (designated
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2024 IRONSIDES Journal: More Uncertainty Raised
It wasn’t only the CO who suggested that it wouldn’t be long before 1st Armoured Regiment became a tank regiment
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Defence cancels 155mm forging commitment
In a positively-spun statement headlined “Defence’s commitment to domestic manufacturing of large calibre munitions”, the Department of Defence has effectively
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HMAS Arafura finally commissioned
More than six years after the ship’s keel was laid down and more than three years after she was launched,
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The Human Cost of Stripping Tanks From 1st Armoured Regiment
The RAAC RSM acknowledged in the 2024 IRONSIDES (just published) that the decision to strip the tanks from 1 Armd
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Building walls in my lift shaft
It feels great putting things back into my excavations instead of always taking things out. This week I put walls
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RAAC newsletter IRONSIDES adds confusion re 1st Armd Regt’s status
The 2024 edition of IRONSIDES was published recently. Those of us who looked for some clarity concerning the circumstances which
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The ‘Combat Experimentation Group’
On 29 Aug 24, an article in The Australian Defence Magazine [ADM] stated that: “The Army has re-roled one squadron
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1st Armoured Regiment’s Legacy
Prior to returning from Vietnam, the Commanding Officer of 4RAR/NZ, Lt Col Jim Hughes, MC (later Maj Gen) wrote to
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Troops and aircraft deployed to Middle East
To support Australians seeking to leave the Middle East, Australian Defence Force personnel and aircraft have been deployed to the
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Tackling the drainage issue in my lift shaft
Digging is finished in my lift shaft, so now I need to figure out what to do about the groundwater
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Sometimes when we copy what others do, we get it wrong…
This is what has happened with the new role that the Chief of Army designated for the 1st Armoured Regiment.
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Open letter to CO and RSM, 1st Armoured Regiment
Dear Commanding Officer and RSM, 1st Armoured Regiment You may not be aware, but the Army and (surprisingly) the Armoured
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Letter to the Minister About 3 Bde Being Incomplete
Dear Minister, Congratulations on your Government’s return to Office. As a Vietnam veteran who continues to take an interest in
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