Posted by Brian Hartigan, Author at CONTACT magazine

Model of the statue of Lieutenant Colonel Vivian Bullwinkel that is set to be installed at the Australian War Memorial later this year. Supplied by Australian War Memorial.

Vivian Bullwinkel statue design unveiled

16/02/202314/02/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 3832 Views 3 Comments

To mark the 81st anniversary of the sinking of the SS Vyner Brooke and the massacre of 21 nurses at

Blake, Shay and family friend Petty Officer Physical Training Instructor Tamara Prins wait for Petty Officer Combat Systems Supervisor Joseph Muckenthaler to arrive home as HMAS Anzac returns from deployment to Fleet Base West in Western Australia. Photo by Seaman Richard Edwards.

Poets Corner

The Family Trenches at Home

15/02/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2486 Views 1 Comment By George Mansford

Remember those farewells, strong hugs and comforting hands The sounds of blaring busy airports, and perhaps military bands Or a

HRH Princess Anne receives a briefing at New Zealand's national disaster and crisis headquarters. NZDF photo.

New Zealand News

Princess Anne visits NZ disaster-management HQ

15/02/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1416 Views 0 Comments

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal visited New Zealand’s national disaster and crisis headquarters today as it deals with the

A Royal New Zealand Air Force NH-90 helicopter hoists one of many Kiwis from a rooftop surrounded by floodwaters caused by Cyclone Gabrielle. NZDF photo.

New Zealand News

NZDF rescues hundreds from cyclone’s floods

15/02/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1556 Views 0 Comments

A group of seasonal workers stranded by floodwaters in Hawke’s Bay are just some of the people who have been

Leading Seaman Aviation Technician Aircraft Julijan Pavin marshals personnel as HMAS Hobart’s embarked MH-60R helicopter conducts deck landing practice while transiting through the Indonesian Archipelago during a Regional Presence Deployment. Photo by Leading Seaman Daniel Goodman.

ADF News

Defence Strategic Review has landed

14/02/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2417 Views 0 Comments

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles received the final Defence Strategic Review (DSR)

12 National Service Training Battalion, 4 Platoon, A Company, 4th Intake, October 1952.

News Veterans

National Servicemen’s Day 2023

14/02/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2618 Views 1 Comment Nashos

Today, on National Servicemen’s Day, Australia acknowledges the contribution of thousands of our countrymen, also known as Nashos. FILE PHOTO:

Royal New Zealand sailors from HMNZS Te Mana bring a rescued sailor back to their ship during Cyclone Gabrielle. NZDF photo.

New Zealand News

HMNZS Te Mana rescues sailor during Cyclone Gabrielle

14/02/202314/02/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2379 Views 0 Comments HMNZS Te Mana

With Cyclone Gabrielle bearing down, a man in distress on a catamaran has had to be rescued by Royal New

Outgoing Commanding Officer Commander Andrew Pepper exchanges the 'weight of command' of DDG39 to new Commanding Officer Commander Tina Brown. Photo by Petty Officer Christopher Szumlanski.

News Royal Australian Navy Videos

First female to command an Australian destroyer

13/02/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 3955 Views 0 Comments HMAS Hobart

Commander Tina Brown has become the first female officer to heft the ‘weight of command’ on an Australian destroyer. CAPTION:

Employment

Time to restore engineers to their rightful place

12/02/202312/02/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1455 Views 0 Comments

Opinion piece by CEO and Chairman of the Thales Group Patrice Caine Has engineering had its heyday? This might sound

New Zealand Defence Force personnel help local authorities to clean up flood-damaged household good ahead of forecast Cyclone Gabrielle. NZDF photo.

New Zealand News

NZDF help Aucklanders prep for cyclone

11/02/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1724 Views 0 Comments

The New Zealand Defence Force deployed around 100 personnel in Auckland yesterday helping to remove flood-damaged waste ahead of forecast

News Veterans

Nowra Veterans Wellbeing Centre’s new mural painted by community

10/02/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2682 Views 0 Comments

Local veterans and community members across the Shoalhaven region, joined together to commence painting a mural at the Nowra Veteran

What's on...

Call to remove Kitchener place names

10/02/202310/02/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1285 Views 0 Comments Kitchener

‘Breaker Morant’ expert and advocate for justice James Unkles is scheduled to give a presentation on a related topic next

Group comprising (from left) Lieutenant Colonel W B Lesslie, a Canadian officer attached to the Royal Enginers; Private John Simpson Kirkpatrick, 3rd Field Ambulance; Lieutenant-Colonel Edmund Bowler, Beach Commander Gallipoli; and Major C H Villiers-Stuart, Intelligence Officer. In front is Kirkpatrick's donkey "Murphy". Bowler has his arm in a sling because of a wound incurred upon landing. Photograph taken before 17 May 1915, in front of Bowler's dugout, by an unknown photographer. Villiers-Stuart was killed on 17 May 1915. Private Kirkpatrick was killed on 19 May 1915. Photo via digitalnz.org

Poets Corner

A Donkey’s Tale

07/02/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2912 Views 0 Comments By Tomas 'Paddy' Hamilton

I’m just a little donkey, standing four foot four It was never my intention, to serve in the First World

Life on the Line Podcast

Ron Aitken – Life on the Line

05/02/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1936 Views 0 Comments Life on the Line Podcast

Angus Hordern interviews Vietnam veteran Ron Aitken. Ron flew 261 operational bombing missions over Vietnam. This Season 1 audio podcast

Editor's Vlog

Getting back into vlogging in 2023

05/02/202302/03/2024 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1554 Views 0 Comments Veteran Surf Project

Yep, I really want to get back into vlogging in 2023. But first – surfing. And then sort out my

Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles talk to Ukrainian recruits during his visit to Australian Defence Force personnel taking part in Operation Kudu in England. Photo by Kym Smith.

Australian Army News Overseas UK

DPM/MinDef visits Aussie troops training Ukrainians

02/02/202302/02/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2359 Views 2 Comments Operation Kudu, Ukraine

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles and Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong yesterday visited Australian soldiers

An Australian Army soldier from the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, warms his hands during loading of bags and stores onto transport after arriving into the United Kingdom as part of Operation Kudu. Photo by Corporal Jonathan Goedhart.

Australian Army News Overseas UK

Darwin-based soldiers face frosty conditions on Ukrainian training mission

31/01/202331/01/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2935 Views 1 Comment Ukraine

Australia’s contingent of soldiers from the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (5RAR), have arrived in the UK for Operation Kudu,

Royal Australian Air Force loadmaster Corporal Daniel Smith (centre) guides a United States Air Force Humvee out of a C-27J Spartan from No. 35 Squadron on Tinian island, Northern Mariana Islands, during Exercise Cope North 2022. Photo by Leading Aircraftman Sam Price.

News Overseas Pacific Royal Australian Air Force

RAAF sends Spartan contingent to Cope North 2023

31/01/202331/01/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2655 Views 0 Comments Exercise Cope North

The Royal Australian Air Force has deployed one C-27J Spartan aircraft and personnel to participate in Exercise Cope North in

RNZAF's 5SQN conduct their final P-3 Orion flypast over the North Island before the retirement of their fleet. RNZAF photo.

New Zealand News

RNZAF farewells Orion fleet after 55 years

24/01/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2804 Views 0 Comments P-3K2 Orion

The Royal New Zealand Air Force No. 5 Squadron’s much-loved P-3K2 Orion aircraft put on a show in the skies

RAAF KC-30A aircraft refueling a No. 6 Squadron EA-18G Growler aircraft during the ferry from Australia to the United States for Exercise Distant Frontier ahead of Exercise Red Flag Alaska. Story by Flying Officer Bronwyn Marchant.

Royal Australian Air Force USA

Aussies Growling at another Red Flag in Nevada

23/01/202329/01/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2355 Views 1 Comment Exercise Red Flag

The first Exercise Red Flag Nellis of 2023 is off to a flying start at the Nellis Air Force Base