Posted by Brian Hartigan, Author at CONTACT magazine

Australian Army Captain Caitlin McDermid on Operation Accordion for Anzac Day 2023 at Australia’s operating base in the Middle Eastern Region. Photo by Corporal Melina Young.

ADF People

From cubby house to multinational construction

29/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1066 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day 2023

Captain Caitlin McDermid was six years old when she built her first cubby house with her dad, laying the foundation

Leading Seaman Joseph Canning rehearses with his didgeridoo at ANZAC Cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Türkiye. Photo by Corporal Madhur Chitnis.

ADF People

Invoking the Anzac spirit through song

29/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1402 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day 2023

When Leading Seaman Joseph Canning played his didgeridoo at the Anzac Day Dawn Service in Gallipoli, he was letting the

Royal Australian Air Force Flying Officer Aiden Pattison reflects on those who served in the Middle East before him on Operation Accordion in the lead to Anzac Day 2023 at Australia’s operating base in the Middle East Region. Photo by Corporal Melina Young.

ADF People Videos

Firsthand experience adds meaning

28/04/202329/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1720 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day 2023, Operation Accordion

Flying Officer Aiden Pattison has seen the photos, now it’s his turn to stand where people have served before

Leading Aircraftwoman Hunter Westbrook, from Australia’s Federation Guard, visits the resting place of her distant cousin, Private Victor Westbrook, in the Bailleul Communal Cemetery, Northern France. Photo by Sergeant Oliver Carter.

ADF People Veterans Videos

Visit to a cousin who never came home

28/04/202329/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1927 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day 2023

As she took part in Anzac Day commemorations in France this year, Leading Aircraftwoman Hunter Westbrook remembered a relative who

Australia’s Federation Guardsman Able Seaman Tammy Vaughn rehearses her role in the catafalque party during the leadup to Anzac Day 2023 at the Australian National Memorial site in Villers-Bretonneux, France. Photo by Sergeant Oliver Carter.

ADF People Videos

For kin and country

28/04/202329/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1813 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day 2023

Able Seaman Tammy Vaughn realised a childhood dream when she marched out as a member of the catafalque party at

Royal Australian Navy officer Sub Lieutenant Mary Booth holds a portrait of her great uncle Able Seaman Ernest Albert Booth, at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Photo by Corporal Luke Bellman.

ADF People Veterans

Sailor’s story inspires through the years

28/04/202329/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1269 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day 2023, HMAS Sydney II

More than 70 years after Able Seaman Ernest Albert Booth was killed in the sinking of HMAS Sydney II, his

Wing Commander Adam Robinson reminisces with 100-year-old Dorothy Craig about her spouse, WWII RAAF veteran Lloyd Craig, who died in 1962. Photo by Corporal Brenton Kwaterski.

Veterans

WWII RAAF veteran’s exploits remembered 80 years on

28/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1186 Views 0 Comments

Just before WWII, a lifelong love was blossoming between two Australian teens who met while carrying rubbish bins across their

Australian Army Band member Lance Corporal Lenore Evans with a painting by her great-great-great-uncle, War Artist Frank Crozier who served at Gallipoli and in France. The painting is held by the Australian War Memorial at the Treloar Technology Centre, Canberra. Photo by Sergeant Oliver Carter.

ADF People

Family tribute to artist of war and peace

27/04/202329/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1103 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day 2023

Australian Army Band member Lance Corporal Lenore Evans has been planning to pay special tribute to family members who served

Trumpet and bugle player for the Australian Army Band Sergeant Danny Dielkens in the practice room of the Band of the Royal Military College - Duntroon in Canberra. Photo by Sergeant Oliver Carter.

ADF People

Soldier close to home a world away

27/04/202329/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1369 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day 2023

Trumpet and bugle player for the Australian Army Band, Sergeant Danny Dielkens has been preparing to return close to his

Lieutenant Commander Ashleigh Payne holds a picture of her great-uncle Leading Aircraftman James Geoffrey Payne in front of the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial. Photo by Corporal Michael Rogers.

ADF People

A picture worth a thousand words

27/04/202329/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1253 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day 2023

Though her great-uncle was gone well before she was born, Lieutenant Commander Ashleigh Payne was always aware of his presence,

Royal Australian Air Force C-17 Globemasters at RAAF Base Learmonth during Exercise Northern Shield 2015. Photo by Corporal Janine Fabre

ADF News

$3.8billion to upgrade northern bases

27/04/202327/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2631 Views 1 Comment Defence Strategic Review

Following the release of the Defence Strategic Review on Monday, the government announced today it would invest $3.8billion over the

World War 2 veteran Jack Bartlett marks Anzac Day at his home in 2020.

Veterans

Honour lines the streets

26/04/202326/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1345 Views 0 Comments

A World War 2 veteran has lived a story worth telling and continues to make his mark. For the last

National Serviceman Jack Hamilton, centre, with fellow 'nashos' in Sydney, 1951.

Veterans

Nasho vet looks back fondly

26/04/202326/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1339 Views 0 Comments

They have been called the ‘quiet generation’ – born just before or during WWII, when their country was at war

Director General International Engagement Strategy Brigadier Craig Shortt addresses the inaugural Defence Linguist Conference held at the Australian Defence College, Canberra. Photo by Sergeant Matthew Bickerton.

ADF News

Singing praises of Defence linguistics

26/04/202326/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1718 Views 0 Comments linguists

You might not expect to sing songs with your foreign counterpart, but participants at the recent Defence Linguistics Conference learned

Royal Australian Air Force aircraft conduct a flypast of the French Marine Nationale Frigate La Fayette. The flypast consisted of a No. 11 Squadron P-8A Poseidon and two No. 75 Squadron F-35A Lightnings during a maritime strike and anti-submarine warfare training mission. French navy photo by Vincent Idrac-Virebent from the amphibious helicopter dock Dixmude.

Europe News Pacific Royal Australian Air Force

RAAF aviators meet Jeanne d’Arc on round-the-world voyage

26/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1638 Views 0 Comments

An around-the-world journey by the Marine Nationale (French Navy) has allowed closer working ties to be forged with Royal Australian

Invictus Games 2023 Team Australia competitor Flight Sergeant Nathan King at the Sydney Academy of Sport and Recreation, Narrabeen NSW. Photo by Flight Sergeant Ricky Fuller.

ADF People

Second INVICTUS to raise the bar and pass the baton

26/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1462 Views 0 Comments Invictus Games, Invictus Games 2023

Flight Sergeant Nathan King spent six weeks in ICU, half a year in hospital and nearly lost his life because

An EOS Mk2 remote weapon station firing at Wide Bay Training Area, Queensland. Photo by Trooper Jonathan Goedhart.

Australian News Science & Technology

EOS secures second contract for Ukraine

26/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1522 Views 0 Comments Ukraine

Electro Optic Systems (EOS) today announced it has secured a second conditional contract to supply up to 50 Remote Weapon

United States Marine Corps and United States Army High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems perform a live firing drill at Plains Airfield during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2019. Photo by Leading Seaman Craig Walton.

ADF News

$19billion for long-range strike under Defence Strategic Review

26/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1877 Views 0 Comments Defence Strategic Review

The government is committing $4.1 billion to acquire more long-range strike systems and manufacture longer-range munitions in Australia, as prioritised in

Sergeant Beau Wright, 7th Brigade Commander's XI Cricket Captain, prepares for the annual Anzac Day Shell Green match against the Brisbane Lord Mayors XI. Photo by Major Roger Brennan.

ADF People Veterans

Cricket match honours famous event at Gallipoli

25/04/202329/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1721 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day 2023

Captain of the ADF cricket team, Sergeant Beau Wright, will lead the 7th Brigade Commander’s XI against the Brisbane Lord

Eldest son firefighter Ronan Boyd, father then Corporal Andrew Boyd, mother Lieutenant Anthea Boyd, daughter Cadet Lance Corporal Layla Boyd and youngest son Cadet Under Officer [now Recruit] Jahan Boyd, on ANZAC Day last year. Photo by Heather Barnes.

ADF People

Family’s tradition of service continues

25/04/202329/04/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1249 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day 2023

Biloela may be one of Queensland’s smaller country towns but it has a big Anzac Day heart with proud traditions