Sunday, February 1, 2026
Latest:
  • VALE Major Bill Burton, OAM, RAAC
  • Dust collector move pt2
  • Incompatibility: 2 Cav Regt’s recon and close fire support roles
  • Supporting those who serve
  • AUKUS pact represents long family legacy

CONTACT magazine

Australia's best free military news site

  • NEWS
  • Poetry
  • Podcasts
  • Fitness
  • Videos
  • Archives
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • Write to us
CONTACT magazine

Author: Posted by Brian Hartigan

Group Captain Adam Saber gives a farewell gift to outgoing Commander Air Mobility Group, Air Commodore Bradley Clarke at a Change of Command ceremony at RAAF Base Richmond. Photo by Leading Aircraftwoman Mikaela Fernlund.
News Royal Australian Air Force 

Change of command at Air Mobility Group

10/01/202610/01/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 919 Views 0 Comments

Air Mobility Group (AMG) aviators marched on the tarmac at RAAF Base Richmond on December 10 to farewell the outgoing

Read more
Warrant Officer of the Air Force Warrant Officer Ralph Clifton presents acting Flight Lieutenant Thomas James Carmody’s Australian Service Medal 1939–1945 and War Medal 1939–1945 to Julie Carmody. Photo: Aircraftman Jakob Reid.
News Royal Australian Air Force Veterans 

War hero’s medals awarded 80 years late

10/01/202610/01/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 930 Views 0 Comments

Fire, exploding ammunition and a collapsing aircraft hangar didn’t stop acting Flight Lieutenant Tom Carmody (deceased) during the Second World

Read more
An Australian Army trooper from the 1st Armoured Regiment remotely controls a weapon system on an optionally crewed armoured vehicle during a demonstration in Puckapunyal, Victoria. Photo by Sergeant Tristan Kennedy.
Letters to the Editor 

Demise of 1st Armoured Regiment: Cases for and against

10/01/202610/01/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 426 Views 0 Comments

Arguments that have been made in support of 1st Armoured Regiment becoming an experimentation unit include those set out below:

Read more
Chief of Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart addresses the audience at the Chief of Army Symposium 2024 in Melbourne, Victoria. Photo by Corporal Cameron Pegg.
Letters to the Editor 

Why Chief of Army can’t be allowed to get away with it!

05/01/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 960 Views 5 Comments

Get away with what?  With throwing 1st Armoured Regiment under a bus and pretending that nothing’s happened … that’s what!

Read more
file photo
News Veterans 

National Commemorative Service to honour Nashos

03/01/202603/01/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2500 Views 6 Comments

On 14 February 2026, National Servicemen’s Day, a National Commemorative Service in Canberra will mark 75 years since the inception of

Read more
Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Canadian Air Force members participate in Virtual Flag: Coalition 26-1 at the 705th Combat Training Squadron, also known as the Distributed Mission Operations Center, at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.
Australian Army News Royal Australian Air Force USA 

Coalition enhanced on virtual Red Flag

03/01/202603/01/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1341 Views 0 Comments

The Virtual Flag: Coalition exercise, hosted annually by the 705th Combat Training Squadron, also known as the Distributed Mission Operations

Read more
ChatGPT-generated image
Editor's Blog News 

CONTACT sets massive new record

03/01/202603/01/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1007 Views 0 Comments

CONTACT has set a massive new record for the number of pages viewed on its web site in a calendar

Read more
Australian Army officer Captain Steve Ceccato, a dentist in the field hospital facility at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in North Queensland during Exercise Talisman Saber. Photo by Leading Seaman Jake Badior.
News Veterans 

New veteran dental-care arrangements

03/01/202603/01/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 3298 Views 2 Comments

New dental-care arrangements for veterans will see easier access to more dental providers and increase the money veterans can access

Read more
Soldiers of 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Townsville pull a 62-tonne Abrams tank – for PT.
Letters to the Editor 

Why is the RAAC so subservient?

03/01/202603/01/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 572 Views 1 Comment

The letter below asks questions related to the Royal Australian Armoured Corps, but what is the RAAC and who represents

Read more
Editor's Vlog 

Installing a 2025 time capsule

03/01/202603/01/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 445 Views 0 Comments Make-n-Do

I started this element of my bunker build more than six months ago. But, of course, I had to hold

Read more
An Australian Army M1A1 Abrams fires its 120mm cannon during a live-fire serial for the Coral Balmoral Cup 2024 at the Puckapunyal Military Area, Victoria. Photo by Corporal Johnny Huang.
Letters to the Editor 

Honesty is always the best policy

01/01/202601/01/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 444 Views 0 Comments

Let’s look at what the Chief of the Defence Force and Minister have said were the reasons for the tanks

Read more
Letters to the Editor 

Why won’t the Chief of Army answer this question?

27/12/202527/12/2025 Posted by Brian Hartigan 856 Views 1 Comment

Why was the need for a unit to evaluate emerging technologies so urgent that it justified demoting Army’s most senior

Read more
Australian Army soldiers from 2nd Cavalry Regiment perform a counter attack demonstration during the T4 (D Squadron) Raising Ceremony at Lavarack Barracks, Townsville, Queensland. Photo by Private essica Gray.
Letters to the Editor 

Is the Chief of Army just a figurehead?

20/12/202520/12/2025 Posted by Brian Hartigan 919 Views 1 Comment

In the famous words of Julius Sumner Miller: Why is This so?   1st Armoured Regiment is the senior regiment

Read more
Editor's Vlog 

Doors and distractions

20/12/202520/12/2025 Posted by Brian Hartigan 925 Views 2 Comments

Some weeks don’t go to plan. This past week was full of distractions. First, my brother needed me for two

Read more
Letters to the Editor 

What price 1st Armoured Regiment’s esprit-de-corps, heritage and tradition?

16/12/202516/12/2025 Posted by Brian Hartigan 612 Views 0 Comments

The loss of combat power suffered by 3 Brigade (Armoured) is relatively easy to quantify in terms of unit strength

Read more
Editor's Vlog 

Make a door from rotten old fence

13/12/202514/12/2025 Posted by Brian Hartigan 842 Views 0 Comments

This week I make door panels from dirty, ‘rotten’, old fence palings. It’s unbelievable how much beauty is hidden beneath

Read more
Crewmembers of HMNZS Aotearoa disembarked to a warm welcome home after an 8-month deployment. NZDF photo.
New Zealand News 

HMNZS Aotearoa home after 8-month deployment

12/12/202512/12/2025 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1580 Views 0 Comments

Friends, family, haka, senior defence leaders and the Royal New Zealand Navy band were all on hand at Devonport Naval

Read more
A Lockheed Martin employee handling a HIMARS missile at Port Wakefield. Lockheed Martin video screen grab.
Australian Army News Sovereign industry 

Lockheed Martin commences missile assembly at Port Wakefield

12/12/202512/12/2025 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1766 Views 0 Comments

Lockheed Martin Australia, in partnership with Defence, has commenced operations in a new Missile Assembly Facility in Port Wakefield, South

Read more
New Zealand soldiers supervise Ukrainian soldiers during an urban-operations training session. NZDF photo.
Europe New Zealand News 

New Zealand Defence Force teams provide specialist training to Ukraine forces

12/12/202512/12/2025 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1267 Views 0 Comments

Specialist teams of New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel continue to train Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) personnel in the

Read more
Soldiers of the 1st Armoured Regiment honour their unit's Standard in Adelaide. Photo by Private Sophie Hartley.
Letters to the Editor 

Dismal end to the Army’s most senior unit

12/12/202514/12/2025 Posted by Brian Hartigan 38700 Views 15 Comments

The following quote is from the Wikipedia entry for the Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC): “The removal of 1st Armoured

Read more
  • ← Previous
  • Next →

Hours more reading…

OUR SUPPORTERS…