ADF People Archives - CONTACT magazine

Signaller Ashlee Chivers with a photo of her great-grandfather’s cousin, Sergeant Henry 'Harry' James Chivers, at the Australian War Memorial. Story and photos by Warrant Officer Class 2 Max Bree.

Last Post reading a personal one for signaller

29/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 459 Views 0 Comments AWM, Last Post, WWI

Blaring bugle sounds and reading stories of Australia’s fallen is nothing new for Signaller Ashlee Chivers. CAPTION: Signaller Ashlee Chivers with

Funeral Guard members, left to right, Leading Seaman Lindsey Young, Able Seaman Jake Clarke and Leading Seaman Bella Cummins, carry the coffin of Leading Stoker Des Jones, as Navy Chaplain David Hastie follows. Story by Lieutenant Commander Ben Robson. Photos by Lance Corporal Joseph Hess.

ADF People History Lest We Forget Royal Australian Navy

Last living link to tragedy of HMAS Canberra I

27/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1298 Views 0 Comments HMAS Canberra, HMAS Canberra (I), WWII

On a still and cloudy afternoon, Leading Stoker Des Jones was laid to rest, carried to his gravesite on the

History and Heritage - Air Force volunteer Pamela ‘Margaret’ Wilkinson with a newspaper article from 1965 when she was serving as a nurse at RAAF Base Townsville. Story and photo by Flying Officer Casie Scott.

ADF People History

Sixty years of RAAF, love and life

27/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 599 Views 0 Comments RAAF Townsville

As Pamela ‘Margaret’ Wilkinson walks the halls of RAAF Base Townsville’s Building 51, her memories of working from the site

Chief Petty Officer Pete Morrison works on his art. Story by Flight Lieutenant Thomas McCoy. Photo by Private Alex Brown.

ADF People Health and Wellbeing

Rebuilding through art

20/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1083 Views 0 Comments ADF Arts for Recovery Resilience Teamwork and Skills (ARRTS), HMAS Harman, PTSD

Chief Petty Officer Pete Morrison, originally from the United States, has been in the military for the majority of his

Dr Jordan Beavis, Academic Research Officer at the Australian Army Research Centre, has written on 'Debating the Army Profession'. Story by Trent Pollard. Photo byJodi Bingley.

ADF People

Heads up on Ukraine, Army profession, mission command

19/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1161 Views 0 Comments Australian Army Research Centre

What do the lessons learnt from the war in Ukraine, studies of the Australian Army profession and the unique German

Leading Seaman Adam Hamburger with the impressive trove of coins he collected during HMAS Sydney's regional presence deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. Story by Lieutenant Hinako Shiraishi. Photo by Leading Seaman David Cox.

ADF People

Sydney sailor’s coin collection spans the globe

15/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 799 Views 0 Comments HMAS Sydney

On HMAS Sydney, Leading Seaman Adam Hamburger – known as ‘Burgs’ to his shipmates – has a unique tradition. Every day

Chaplain Jean-Pierre Schroeder, left, with Chaplain Miljan Popovic at RAAF Base Curtin during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025. Story by Evana Ho. Photo supplied.

ADF People Royal Australian Air Force Talisman Sabre

Chaplain tastes red dust of northern deployment

13/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1402 Views 0 Comments Chaplains, Exercise Talisman Sabre, No. 13 Squadron, RAAF Curtin, RAAF Reserve

In the space of a week, Jean-Pierre Schroeder went from his duties as an Anglican community school chaplain in Perth

Defence scientist Ben Harris is attracted to the extraordinary field of quantum physics. Story by Robert Nutbrown. Photo by Kasi Metcalfe.

ADF People Australian Army Cyber Royal Australian Air Force Royal Australian Navy Space Division

Weird particles reveal future of computing

12/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1702 Views 0 Comments DSTO

A two-year-old child knows that if a toy is hidden behind a screen, the toy still exists and its form

Major Brian Moore receives his Federation Star from Chief of Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart, right, in the presence of family members. Story and photo by Major Carolyn Barnett.

ADF People Australian Army History

Career comes full circle

12/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 11458 Views 0 Comments 51st Battalion Far North Queensland Regiment

For Major Brian Moore, life has come full circle. CAPTION: Major Brian Moore receives his Federation Star from Chief of Army

Centenarian and World War 2 Air Force veteran June Hunter cuts her birthday cake with help from Aircraftwoman Molly Blanch and Leading Aircraftwoman Nicole Webb. Photos by Group Captain Gregory Weller.

ADF People History Lest We Forget Royal Australian Air Force

Celebrating the life of a WWII air force veteran

07/08/202518/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1116 Views 0 Comments WWII

The life of World War II veteran June Hunter (nee Hitch), who died in late July, was a story that

Corporal Danielle Sass, a loadmaster on a C-27J Spartan aircraft at 35 Squadron, after her graduation at RAAF Base Amberley. Story by Flight Lieutenant Madeleine Magee. Photo by Leading Aircraftwoman Taylor Anderson.

ADF People Royal Australian Air Force

Egyptologist takes up RAAF career

30/07/202509/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1043 Views 0 Comments 35 Squadron, C-27J Spartan, RAAF Amberley

What do the Royal Australian Air Force and Egyptology have in common? CAPTION: Corporal Danielle Sass, a loadmaster on a C-27J

Executive Officer of 2 Security Forces Squadron, Squadron Leader Tai Kohn, has her head shaved after the squadron completed 3521 laps around the RAAF Base Amberley running track to raise funds to fight ovarian cancer. Story by Corporal Sam Price. Photos by Leading Aircraftwoman Taylor Anderson.

ADF People Health and Wellbeing Royal Australian Air Force

Squadron runs laps for cancer battle

18/07/202530/07/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1673 Views 0 Comments No. 2 Security Forces Squadron, RAAF Amberley

Over the course of one morning, 2 Security Forces Squadron ran an impressive fundraising effort support a member undergoing her

ADF People Royal Australian Navy

Navy diver breaks own record in search of wreck

18/07/202527/07/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1279 Views 1 Comment

A Royal Australian Navy clearance diver has completed a record-breaking dive to lay eyes on a wreck that had not

ADF People History

Tradition in every stitch

15/07/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1161 Views 0 Comments Colours

Self-described “maker, manager, inventor and cleaner”, Umit Erturk, 73, and his wife Evangelia Erturk, 74, have handcrafted bespoke ceremonial regalia

Army vehicle technician Corporal Jacob Sofia inspects the engine of an Australian Light Armoured Vehicle during Exercise Eagle March at the Townsville Field Training Area. Story and photos by Sergeant Matthew Bickerton.

ADF People Australian Army

Heavy responsibility to keep armour rolling

11/07/202513/07/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1128 Views 0 Comments 2nd Cavalry Regiment, ASLAV

Putting a spanner in the works usually means trouble – but for a vehicle technician, it just means getting the

For the crew of HMAS Sydney, Uckers is a traditional game that parallels the journey of the ship during its regional presence deployment. Story by Lieutenant Hinako Shiraishi. Photos by Leading Seaman David Cox.

ADF People Competitions Royal Australian Navy

“What the uck?” – HMAS Sydney revives old board game

11/07/202513/07/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 927 Views 0 Comments HMAS Sydney

“Want to uck?” might be an alarming phrase the first time someone hears it, but in HMAS Sydney, it’s an

Navy combat systems operator Leading Seaman Sarah Kidd in the operations room simulator on board HMAS Stirling in Western Australia. Story by Petty Officer Keigan Gunther. Photos by Able Seaman Connor Morrison.

ADF People Royal Australian Navy

Queensland Kidd is going places

09/07/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 891 Views 0 Comments ADF Gap Year, HMAS Stirling

Growing up in the semi-rural Queensland town of Jimboomba, Leading Seaman Sarah Kidd always had a love for the outdoors.

Peter Mengel with his Labrador Peaches and Defence Community Dogs Managing Director Leanne Kyle during a Defence Community Dogs awareness day at Russell Offices, Canberra. Story and photos by Corporal Jacob Joseph.

ADF People Health and Wellbeing

Unsung heroes on four paws

27/06/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1001 Views 0 Comments Defence Community Dogs (DCD), mental health, PTSD assistance dogs

When Peter Mengel left Army, his world fell apart. CAPTION: Peter Mengel with his Labrador Peaches and Defence Community Dogs Managing

Warrant Officers Class 2 Troy Robertson, left, and Jamie Sharp, from the 9th Battalion, the Royal Queensland Regiment, responded to a high-impact vehicle incident. Story and photo by Captain Cath Batch.

ADF People Australian Army Health and Wellbeing

Training in action at vehicle incident

27/06/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1621 Views 0 Comments 9th Battalion Royal Queensland Regiment

For the civilians involved in a high-impact vehicle incident near Rainbow Beach, Queensland, the sight of the Army arriving was

Corporal Jack Murphy, an electronics technician from 16th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, helped deliver RBS-70 man-portable air-defence systems and training to Ukrainian forces in Poland. Story and photo by Corporal Jacob Joseph.

ADF People Australian Army Europe Uncategorized

Diggers deliver missile training for Ukraine in Poland

27/06/202529/06/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1241 Views 1 Comment 16th Regiment Royal Australian Artillery, NASAMS

Soldiers of 16th Regiment said training Ukrainian Armed Forces to use the RBS-70 was a fitting way to send off

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