Posted by Mike Hughes, Author at CONTACT magazine

Royal Australian Air Force officer, Wing Commander Chaplin Lindsay Carey at Fort Queenscliff in Victoria. Story by Corporal Luke Bellman. Photo by Warrant Officer Don Kenny.

Aiding healing from moral injury

26/01/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1579 Views 0 Comments Australia Day Honours, Chaplains, effects of PTSD

After Defence-approved research found about 62 per cent of air force veterans may have some type of moral injury, Chaplain

Royal Australian Air Force Warrant Officer Melinda Skinner from 13 Squadron at the Air Movements section in RAAF Base Darwin. Story by Corporal Michael Rogers. Photo by Corporal Madhur Chitnis.

ADF People Royal Australian Air Force

Ready to help with open arms

26/01/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1706 Views 0 Comments Australia Day Honours, HADR, No. 13 Squadron

When overseas travellers returned to Australia because of COVID-19 in 2020, movements Warrant Officer Melinda Skinner was on the frontline

Lieutenant Colonel Meng Wang has been recognised in the Australia Day awards with a Conspicuous Service Medal. Story and photo by Sergeant Matthew Bickerton.

ADF People Australian Army

Army officer recognised the need for speed

26/01/202428/01/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1603 Views 0 Comments Australia Day Honours, Aviation Command, RAEME, UH-60M Black Hawk

Approval of the UH-60M Black Hawk acquisition for Army, a process typically spanning three to four years, was completed in

Corporal Thomas Grayham received a Conspicuous Service Medal in the 2024 Australia Day Honours. Story by Corporal Jacob Joseph. Photo by Leading Seaman Abdus Chowdhury.

ADF People Australian Army

‘Pretty chuffed’ with medal for work during floods

26/01/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1336 Views 0 Comments 145 Signal Squadron, Australia Day Honours, Mobile Cloud Operations Network (MCON), Randwick Barracks

Just days after life-saving surgery, as flood waters inundated Sydney, Corporal Thomas Grayham was back at work. CAPTION: Corporal Thomas Grayham

Engineering Officer Lieutenant Parritt in front of HMAS Hobart, Sydney, NSW. Story by Corporal Jacob Joseph. Photo by Able Seaman Lucinda Allanson.

ADF People Royal Australian Navy

Stoked to set an example

26/01/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1337 Views 0 Comments Australia Day Honours, HMAS Brisbane, HMAS Hobart

Work to make a guided missile destroyer more capable and reliable were just some of more than 100 improvements overseen

Australia Day Award recipient Sergeant Justin Kurban, an aviation technician with 37 Squadron, RAAF Base Richmond. Story by Corporal Jacob Joseph.

ADF People Royal Australian Air Force

Decade of aviation innovation honoured

26/01/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1025 Views 0 Comments 35 Squadron, Air Mobility Group’s (AMG), Australia Day Honours, No. 37 Squadron, RAAF Richmond

An avionics technician who developed bespoke secure communications for C-27J Spartan aircraft and rapidly assembled a Hercules maintenance crew for

Squadron Leader Catherine Humphries with the "It's Home It's Mawson" sign at the research station. Story by Corporal Veronica O’Hara.

ADF People

Breaking ground in Antarctica

26/01/202409/02/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1114 Views 0 Comments Antarctica

Before the Antarctic ice breaker arrived at nearby Davis research station, Mawson’s winter expeditioners anticipated the “tantalising promise” of fresh

Commander Rose Apikotoa addresses family, Defence members and guests at the handover takeover ceremony conducted at HMAS Moreton, Queensland. Story by Lieutenant Rebecca Williamson. Photo by Corporal Brett Sherriff.

ADF People Royal Australian Navy

When one achieves, we all achieve

26/01/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1173 Views 0 Comments HMAS Moreton

Commander Rose Apikotoa recently became the first Australian of Tongan heritage to take a Navy command role, as the Commanding

Air Force airborne electronics analyst Aircraftman Mujtaba "Mitch" Hakimi from 292 SQN at RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia. Story by Flight Lieutenant Nick O’Connor.

ADF People Royal Australian Air Force

From war-torn Afghanistan to the RAAF

26/01/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1217 Views 0 Comments

Growing up in an ethnic minority family in Afghanistan, Aircraftman Mujtaba Hakimi (Mitch) lived in constant fear of violence at

Deployed soldiers from 7th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, on parade during their Operation Kudu farewell ceremony at Edinburgh Defence Precinct, Adelaide. Story and photos by Captain Peter March.

Australian Army News Overseas UK

Ukraine community farewells SA-based soldiers

19/01/202419/01/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 2317 Views 0 Comments 2nd Health Brigade, 7th Battalion RAR, Armed Forces of Ukraine, Edinburgh Defence Precinct, Land Combat College, Operation Kudu

Soldiers from the 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR), 2nd Health Brigade and Land Combat College were farewelled in a

Soldiers assigned to Joint Task Group 629.3 deliver supplies in Wujal Wujal, Queensland. Story by Captain Diana Jennings. Photos by Leading Seaman Jarrod Mulvihill.

Australian Army News

Diggers muck in to help community

17/01/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1222 Views 0 Comments Joint Task Group 629.3, Queensland Flood Assist

The rural towns of Ayton, Bloomfield and Wujal Wujal were among some of the hardest hit communities devastated by floodwaters

Australian Army News

Lockheed Martin contracted to begin guided-missile manufacturing in Sydney

17/01/202418/01/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 2446 Views 0 Comments HIMARS, Lockheed Martin, Orchard Hills

Defence has signed a $37.4 million contract with Lockheed Martin Australia to start manufacturing guided multiple launch rocket system (GMLRS)

An Army landing craft mechanised Mk8 (LCM8) from 10th Force Support Battalion delivers plant equipment to the community of Ayton, Queensland as part of the ADF support to the region following the devastation of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper. Story by Captain Diana Jennings. Photo by Leading Seaman Jarrod Mulvhill

Australian Army News

ADF equipment aids flood recovery

16/01/202416/01/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1849 Views 0 Comments 10th Force Support Battalion, 5th Aviation Regiment, CH-47F Chinook, Queensland Flood Assist

ADF personnel continue to assist regional communities across Queensland’s far north devastated by severe floods following Ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper in

Will Forker and Luis Leal demonstrate the EB-EBEE TAC during the Technical Cooperation Program AI Strategic Challenge 2023 at HMAS Creswell, Jervis Bay Territory. Story by Emma Thompson. Photos by Pettty Officer Kayla Jackson

Australian Army News Royal Australian Air Force Royal Australian Navy Science & Technology

AI technology strategic challenge tested

10/01/202414/01/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1946 Views 0 Comments Artificial Intelligence (AI), DSTG, HMAS Creswell

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to deter, shape and change the character of warfare. CAPTION: Will Forker and Luis Leal

272 Phase 2 ADF Intermediate Pilots’ Course members assembled on the flight line with a Pilatus PC-21 aircraft at RAAF Base Pearce in WA ahead of their graduation. Story by Stephanie Hallen. Photo by Chris Kershaw.

News Royal Australian Air Force

Pilots flying high after graduating

20/12/202320/12/2023 Posted by Mike Hughes 2629 Views 0 Comments No. 2 FTS, PC-21, RAAF Pearce

Nineteen student pilots from 272 Phase 2 ADF Intermediate Pilots’ Course graduated from 2 Flying Training School on December 8

Personnel from 2 Squadron operate an aircraft de-icing machine to remove ice and snow from an E-7A Wedgetail during Operation Kudu in Germany. Story by Major Carrie Robards. Photos by Leading Aircraftman Adam Abela.

Europe News Overseas Royal Australian Air Force Videos

RAAF Wedgetail at work on Ukraine-support mission

20/12/202320/12/2023 Posted by Mike Hughes 4692 Views 0 Comments E-7A Wedgetail, no. 1 Combat Communication Squadron, No. 1 Security Forces Squadron., No. 2 Squadron, Operation Kudu, Ukraine

Night has fallen at Ramstein Air Base in southern Germany, and the temperature plummets towards freezing, but the cold weather

A 500lb unexploded ordnance after detonation during Operation Render Safe, Nauru. Story by Captain Karam Louli. Photos by Corporal Sam Price.

ADF People Australian Army Videos

Risky business just another day at the office

20/12/202320/12/2023 Posted by Mike Hughes 3479 Views 0 Comments Nauru, Operation Render Safe, UXO

It might have been a relatively simple task for Sergeant David Bailey, but rendering safe a 500lb bomb amidst vital

An Australian Army soldier instructs Armed Forces of Ukraine recruits during battle inoculation training, as part of Operation Kudu in the United Kingdom. Photo: Leading Aircraftwoman Emma Schwenke (image has been digitally altered for security purposes).

Australian Army News Overseas UK

More troops to train Ukraine recruits

20/12/2023 Posted by Mike Hughes 2001 Views 0 Comments Operation Kudu

Australia will expand its commitment to the training of recruits from the Armed Forces of Ukraine as part of Operation

Leading Seaman Matthew Parry escorts Liam Glackin from HMAS Brisbane’s embarked MH-60R helicopter while conducting an evacuation from Willis Island off the coast of Queensland. Story by Lieutenant Commander Andrew Herring.

News Royal Australian Navy

Navy evacuates weather bureau staff in heavy seas

14/12/202316/12/2023 Posted by Mike Hughes 2133 Views 0 Comments Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), Fleet Base East, HMAS Brisbane, MH-60R Seahawk

Four Bureau of Meteorology personnel have escaped Severe Tropical Cyclone Jasper and are safely ashore in Sydney after being evacuated

Australian Army soldiers conduct a troop lift on a CH-47F Chinook from 5th Aviation Regiment, in support of 31st/42nd Battalion, The Royal Queensland Regiment's Exercise Burghala Bull in Central Queensland. Story by Sergeant Matthew Bickerton.

Australian Army News

Platoon executes night-time urban clearance

14/12/2023 Posted by Mike Hughes 1939 Views 0 Comments 31st/42nd Battalion Royal Queensland Regiment, 5th Aviation Regiment, CH-47F Chinook, Exercise Burghala Bull

Algae-filled pools, boarded-up windows and overgrown grounds confronted a reconnaissance team entering a dilapidated former luxury resort, with scenes reminiscent