Middle East Archives - CONTACT magazine

Royal Australian Air Force officer Flight Lieutenant James Wilcox deployed on Operation Accordion at Al Minhad Air Base, 2025. Story and photo by Corporal Luke Bellman.

The movers and shakers of the ADF

13/05/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 588 Views 0 Comments logistics, Middle East Region, Operation Accordion

They don’t wear capes or fly jets but Australia’s logistics planners drive every move in the Middle East, where nothing

Royal Australian Air Force Leading Aircraftman Curtis Bachmann deployed as part of the Field Installation Team (FIT) for Operation Accordion conducts equipment familiarisation training at Al Minhad Air Base, United Arab Emirates. Story by Corporal Luke Bellman. Photo by Corporal Brandon Grey.

Australian Army Middle East News Royal Australian Air Force

Building connections in the Middle East

07/05/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 727 Views 0 Comments Middle East, Operation Accordion

With six trades from 13 units, a field installation team is wiring critical networks in the Middle East. CAPTION: Royal Australian

The Royal Australian Navy's Captain Jorge McKee addresses a change-of-command ceremony. Story by Lieutenant Commander Andrew Herring. Photos by Spc. Christ-Claude Mowandza-Ndinga.

Middle East News Royal Australian Navy

Australia hands Red Sea command to Egypt

24/04/202526/04/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1284 Views 0 Comments Combined Maritime Forces, Egypt

Australia handed over command of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) task force responsible for maritime security in the Red Sea

A Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft receives fuel from a RAAF KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport over Iraq as part of the Air Task Group for Operation Okra. Story by Warrant Officer Class 2 Max Bree. Photos by Sergeant Mick Davis.

Middle East News Royal Australian Air Force

Air-to-air refuellers kept Operation Okra flying

05/03/202520/03/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 989 Views 0 Comments F/A-18F Super Hornet, KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport, Operation Okra

Flying a Classic Hornet loaded with bombs over Iraq in 2016, Air Commodore Philip Gordon had a problem. CAPTION: A Royal

Stand-up comedian Anthony 'Lehmo' Lehmann performs at Camp Baird Headquarters in the Middle East for deployed ADF personnel during the Forces Entertainment Tour. Story and photo: byLeading Seaman Nadav Harel.

Australian Army Middle East News Royal Australian Air Force Royal Australian Navy

Comedian’s admiration for troops is no joke

04/03/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1092 Views 0 Comments Forces Entertainment Tour, Iraq

Route Irish, a 12-kilometre stretch of highway in Baghdad, Iraq, was once considered the most dangerous road in the world.

A small group of ADF personnel, including Commander of the Australian Contingent Colonel Mark Coyle, centre, close off Australia’s commitment to Operation Okra at Aussie House inside US military base Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Story by Lieutenant Commander Max Logan.

Australian Army Middle East News

Flag comes down, soldiers come home

28/02/202501/03/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1375 Views 0 Comments Middle East Region, Operation Inherent Resolve, Operation Okra, Task Group Taji

The Australian flag descended at Combined Joint Task Force – Middle East in Kuwait for the final time in December,

The Foreign Forces Desert Immersion Course instructs military personnel in Bedouin culture and desert tactics, techniques and procedures. Story by Flight Lieutenant Sharon Aldrich.

Australian Army Middle East News Royal Australian Air Force Royal Australian Navy

UAE survival training taps into Bedouin skills

26/02/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1373 Views 0 Comments Headquarters Middle East, NZDF, survival course

Military personnel have seized a chance to enhance their skills through a one-of-a-kind tactical desert training course. CAPTION: The Foreign

Phil Burton, centre, performs at Camp Baird Headquarters Middle East for deployed ADF personnel on Australia Day during the Forces Entertainment Tour. Story and photos by Leading Seaman Nadav Harel.

Australian Army Middle East News Royal Australian Air Force Royal Australian Navy

Forces Entertainment at Camp Baird

20/02/202523/02/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1256 Views 0 Comments Camp Baird, Middle East Region

As the sun set on the dunes behind Camp Baird at Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates,

Commander Air Task Group Air Commodore Philip Gordon in front of an F/A-18A Hornet on the flight line of Australia's main air operating base in the Middle East region. This image has been digitally modified. Story by Warrant Officer Class Two Max Bree. Photos by Corporal Nicci Freeman.

ADF People History Middle East Royal Australian Air Force

Reflecting on Op Okra Air Task Group

18/02/202523/02/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1489 Views 0 Comments Daesh, F/A-18A/B Hornets, F/A-18F Super Hornet, Middle East Region

Hornet pilots strapped into their aircraft in temperatures often exceeding 50 degrees before taking off for eight-and-a-half-hour sorties. CAPTION: Commander Air

Australian Army Captain Anthony Davis, left, instructs Iraqi soldiers of the Taji Military Complex's Non-Commissioned Officer Academy as they practise fire and movement towards a notional enemy position at the Taji Military Complex, Iraq. Story and photos by Sergeant Matthew Bickerton.

Australian Army Middle East News

Op Okra proved worth of combined-arms training

18/02/202523/02/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1303 Views 0 Comments 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment, Daesh, Operation Okra, Task Group Taji

A decade ago, Daesh seized large territories across north-western Iraq and eastern Syria, taking advantage of the Syrian civil war

RAAF security aviators on a C-17A Globemaster III prepare for a deployment to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq Rotation-B. Story and photos by Corporal Luke Bellman.

Middle East News Royal Australian Air Force

Peacekeeping mission in safe hands

14/02/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1337 Views 0 Comments C-17A Globemaster III, Republic of Fiji Military Forces, United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq

Under the Iraqi sun, boots hit the ground as a Royal Australian Air Force security team established a perimeter for

The Royal Australian Navy medical team deployed on active service to Iraq. Story by Corporal Jacob Joseph. Photo by Leading Seaman Jake Badior.

History Middle East News Royal Australian Navy

Sub-lieutenant captures history

29/01/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 981 Views 0 Comments Middle East, Operation Okra, Task Group Taji

After more than 10 years, the last ADF servicemen and women deployed under Operation Okra left the Middle East late

ADF Middle East News

Operation Okra in Iraq officially ends

29/12/202429/12/2024 Posted by Brian Hartigan 6005 Views 0 Comments Iraq, Operation Okra

Operation Okra, the Australian Defence Force’s contribution to the international coalition against Daesh in Iraq and Syria, has concluded with

Australian High Commissioner to the Republic of Cyprus Fiona McKergow assists a woman and her family to board a bus after arriving in Larnaca, Cyrpus, by Australian-government chartered aircraft from Beirut, Lebanon. Photo by Corporal Nicole Dorrett.

Australian Army Middle East Royal Australian Air Force

Deployment of ADF personnel and aircraft to the Middle East

06/10/2024 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2069 Views 0 Comments Operation Beech

ADF personnel and aircraft have been deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Beech – Defence’s support of

Sergeant Vicky Stanford is presented with the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) Medal by Force Commander MFO Major General Michael Garraway during a ceremony at the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Story by Captain Ewy De Guzman and Lieutenant Jake Rowe. Photos by Sergeant Asela.

Australian Army Middle East News

Friendships a highlight of Sinai deployment

03/09/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1479 Views 0 Comments Egypt, MFO

The latest contingent of ADF personnel to support the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) returned home in late July following

Leading Seaman Maritime Personnel Operator Tahlia Lemon recieves a letter of commendation from Commander of the Combined Maritime Forces and Commander US 5th Fleet, US Navy Vice Admiral George Wikoff while deployed on Operation Manitou. Story by Lieutenant Ben Page.

ADF People Middle East Royal Australian Navy

Australian sailor recognised by US Navy

03/05/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1402 Views 0 Comments Combined Maritime Forces, Operation Manitou

Deployed on Operation Manitou in Bahrain, Leading Seaman Tahlia Lemon has been recognised by the Commander of the Combined Maritime Forces

Maintenance crew from a RAAF KC-30A conduct checks on the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, before an assisted-departure flight to Dubai. Photos by Corporal Robert Whitmore.

Middle East News Overseas Royal Australian Air Force

ADF support for Israel departures

19/10/2023 Posted by Mike Hughes 1977 Views 0 Comments C-17A Globemaster III, Israel, KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport, Middle East, Operation Beech

CAPTION: Maintenance crew from a RAAF KC-30A conduct checks on the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, before an assisted-departure

RAAF personnel assist Australian citizens and their families into a C-17A Globemaster III at Ben Gurion airport in Israel. Photos by Corporal Robert Whitmore.

Middle East News Royal Australian Air Force

ADF support to Aussies escaping Israel

17/10/202317/10/2023 Posted by Mike Hughes 1586 Views 0 Comments C-17A Globemaster III, KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport, Operation Beech

Two RAAF aircraft – a KC-30A and a C-17A Globemaster III – have joined an Australian-government-supported private charter in safely

Australian Army Captain Liz Daly, Captain Zarra Houpapa from the New Zealand Defence Force and Australian Army Captain Anita Price at Observer Group Golan – Tiberius (OGG-T) Headquarters in Northern Israel pose for a photo to commemorate being the first all-female leadership team in the history of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation. Story by Major Carrie Robards.

ADF People Middle East

Making history in the Middle East

27/07/2023 Posted by Mike Hughes 2548 Views 0 Comments Operation Paladin, United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO)

For the first time, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) has an all-female leadership team. CAPTION: Australian Army Captain Liz

Thousands of AK-47 assault rifles sit on the flight deck of guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans during a post-seizure inventory process. US Navy photo.

Middle East News USA

More than 2000 AK-47s seized in Middle East

11/01/202311/01/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2313 Views 1 Comment

U.S. naval forces intercepted a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman on 6 January while transiting international waters along

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