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Mixed assets of 2nd Cavalry Regiment on Exercise Brolga Sprint at Townsville Field Training Area, Queensland. Photo by Corporal Caitlyn Davill.

Why 1st Armoured Regiment must become a tank regiment again (quickly)

03/07/2025 Bruce Cameron 258 Views 0 Comments

Sometimes one forgets that not all readers have a complete understanding of all the important issues. Rather than emphasising significant

A controller vehicle is followed by two optionally crewed combat vehicles during a land autonomous systems teaming demonstration at Puckapunyal Military Area, September 2024. Photo by Corporal Michael Currie.

Letters to the Editor

Thanks to serving soldier for insightful comments re 1st Armd Regt

01/07/202501/07/2025 Bruce Cameron 660 Views 0 Comments

A current serving member of 1st Armoured Regiment recently wrote an open letter to me. (I’d previously written a similar

Soldiers look on as an Australian M1A1 Abrams tank passes by during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023. Photo by Corporal Michael Currie.

Letters to the Editor

Ex Talisman Sabre 2025 – 1 Armd Regt’s role

30/06/2025 Bruce Cameron 859 Views 0 Comments

One of the consequences of the tanks being stripped from 1 Armd Regt is that it leaves 3 Brigade (designated

An Australian Army Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 main battle tank fires during a training serial as part of a soldier qualification course at Puckapunyal Military Area, Victoria. Photo by Corporal Jacob Joseph.

Letters to the Editor

2024 IRONSIDES Journal: More Uncertainty Raised

29/06/2025 Bruce Cameron 893 Views 0 Comments

It wasn’t only the CO who suggested that it wouldn’t be long before 1st Armoured Regiment became a tank regiment

Soldiers of the 1st Armoured Regiment are briefed while sitting in front of their Centurion tanks at Vung Tau in South Vietnam during 1968. Photo by Starry, Donn A. Mounted combat in Vietnam. Department of the Army, via Wikipedia.

Letters to the Editor

The Human Cost of Stripping Tanks From 1st Armoured Regiment

29/06/2025 Bruce Cameron 755 Views 2 Comments

The RAAC RSM acknowledged in the 2024 IRONSIDES (just published) that the decision to strip the tanks from 1 Armd

A Leopard tank from 1st Armoured Regiment conduct manoeuvres during Exercise Predators Strike at El Alamein Army Camp, Cultana, South Australia. Photo by Able Seaman Kade Rogers.

Letters to the Editor

RAAC newsletter IRONSIDES adds confusion re 1st Armd Regt’s status

27/06/2025 Bruce Cameron 559 Views 2 Comments

The 2024 edition of IRONSIDES was published recently. Those of us who looked for some clarity concerning the circumstances which

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 505 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 468 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

Lance Corporal Jared Willis with his military working dog Dirk at Roberston Barracks in Darwin. Story by Leading Seaman Nadav Harel. Photo by Corporal Gregory Scott.

Australian Army K9 Training News

The best-looking MP at 1MP

27/06/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 327 Views 0 Comments 1st Military Police Battalion, Military Police, Military Police Dog, Robertson Barracks

The most popular and attractive member of the Military Police (MP) at Robertson Barracks isn’t who you might think. CAPTION: Lance

World War Bomber Command veterans Howard Hendrick and Ray Merrill attend the 2025 Bomber Command Commemorative Service in Adelaide. Story by Flying Officer Shanea Zeegers. Photos by Leading Aircraftwoman Taylor Anderson.

ADF People History Lest We Forget Royal Australian Air Force

Adelaide honours legacy of Bomber Command

27/06/202502/07/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 334 Views 0 Comments Bomber Command, WWII

Royal Australian Air Force personnel joined dignitaries, veterans and the broader community in Adelaide to honour Bomber Command aviators and

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

The ‘Combat Experimentation Group’

26/06/2025 Bruce Cameron 1750 Views 0 Comments

On 29 Aug 24, an article in The Australian Defence Magazine [ADM] stated that: “The Army has re-roled one squadron

Soldiers of the 5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, on parade with Army reconnaisance helicopters from 1st Aviation Regiment during the Battle of Binh Ba commemoration service held in Darwin. Story by Captain Nicholas Marquis. Photo by Corporal Madhur Chitnis.

Australian Army History Lest We Forget News

Battalion marks Battle of Binh Ba anniversary

25/06/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 805 Views 0 Comments 1st Aviation Regiment, 5/7 RAR, Robertson Barracks, Vietnam War

Soldiers and officers of 5/7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (5/7RAR), commemorated the Battle of Binh Ba with a parade

From left, former crew members of Centurion 169041, Barry Hodges, Graham Munsell and Ray Arthur out the front of 1st Armoured Regiment at RAAF Base Edinburgh. Story by Corporal Jacob Joseph. Photo by Chris and Jan Fenton.

ADF People Australian Army History Lest We Forget

The story of Australia’s ‘atomic tank’

25/06/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 849 Views 2 Comments 1st Armoured Regiment, Centurian tank, RAAF Edinburgh, Vietnam War

It’s believed a Centurion tank sitting in front of the 1st Armoured Regiment is the only tank in the world

Centurion tanks from 1st Armoured Regiment, and armoured personnel carriers from B Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, move along the main road of Binh Ba village. Over three days, armour and infantry dislodged a strong North Vietnamese Army group that had entered the village, for the loss of one Australian killed in action. AWM BEL/69/0389/VN. Binh Ba.

Letters to the Editor

1st Armoured Regiment’s Legacy

23/06/2025 Bruce Cameron 618 Views 2 Comments

Prior to returning from Vietnam, the Commanding Officer of 4RAR/NZ, Lt Col Jim Hughes, MC (later Maj Gen) wrote to

2nd Cavalry Regiment M1A2 Abrams tanks, conduct a live-fire danger-close serial at Townsville Field Training Area, Queensland, on 7 June 2025. Photo by Lance Corporal Caitlyn Davill.

Letters to the Editor

Sometimes when we copy what others do, we get it wrong…

20/06/202522/06/2025 Bruce Cameron 1102 Views 0 Comments

This is what has happened with the new role that the Chief of Army designated for the 1st Armoured Regiment.

Left to right, Corporal Lowana McDougall, Aircraftwoman Emily Harman, and Private Hope Hutchins from the Australian Defence Force Women's Rugby League team pay respects at the Bomana War Cemetery in Port Moresby, PNG. Story by Captain Jon Stewart. Photos by Corporal Nakia Chapman.

ADF People History Lest We Forget Overseas

ADF players honour fallen heroes

20/06/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2099 Views 1 Comment ADF Sport, Kokoda Track, PNG, PNGDF, WWII

The Australian Defence Force Women’s Rugby League team visited the Bomana War Cemetery in Port Moresby as part of an

Air Force aircraft technician Corporal Leigh Gammie discusses the F-35A Lightning II aircraft with veterans from the Merewether Hamilton Adamstown RSL sub-Branch at 3 Squadron, RAAF Base Williamtown. Story by Flight Lieutenant Grace Casey-Maughan. Photos by Leading Aircraftman Kurt Lewis.

ADF People History News Royal Australian Air Force

RSL meets today’s RAAF

20/06/202522/06/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 998 Views 0 Comments No. 3 Squadron, RAAF Base Williamtown, RSL

Members of the Mereweather-Hamilton-Adamstown Returned and Services League (RSL) Sub-Branch attended RAAF Base Williamtown in May to experience today’s Royal

Royal Australian Navy physical training instructors participate in the Push-Up Challenge at Fleet Base East Gymnasium in Sydney, NSW. Story by Amy Seedsman. Photo by Leading Seaman Daniel Goodman.

ADF People Health and Wellbeing Military Fitness Royal Australian Navy

Pushing for an important cause

20/06/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 620 Views 0 Comments Fleet Base East, mental health, Push-Up Challenge

Navy personnel across the country, and even those deployed at sea, have been pushing themselves to the limit of peak

Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Stephen Chappell, meets local man Erik Adriaensen at the graves of fallen aviators from 464 Squadron at Eindhoven, Netherlands. Story by Flight Lieutenant Grace Casey-Maughan.

ADF People Europe History Lest We Forget

RAAF salutes dedication to WWII graves

20/06/202522/06/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 547 Views 0 Comments Chief of Air Force, Netherlands, WWII

A Dutch family who tend to the graves of Australian aviators have received personal thanks from Chief of Air Force

Defence and civilian agencies handle simulated mass casualties from a truck-on-train crash scenario in rural Victoria. Story by Corporal Luke Bellman. Photos by Private Nicholas Stoewer.

Australian Army Health and Wellbeing News

Train-wreck drill tests emergency response

20/06/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 522 Views 0 Comments

Smoke, screams and chaos set the scene as a truck ploughed into a train packed with football fans during a

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