Posted by Mike Hughes, Author at CONTACT magazine

Attendees of the Maritime Warfare Officer Course at HMAS Stirling. Front row, Midshipmans Hannah Lunnon, Jaxon Shingles, Sienna Jordan and Gabrielle Mader. Back row, Midshipmans Elliot Mitchell and Ryan Miller, Captains James Reidy and James McWilliam, Lieutenant Ryan Glister, and Midshipmans William Swift and Abdelkader Mazouzi. Story by Antony Prgomet.

Navy to share maritime skills with Army officers

27/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 2053 Views 0 Comments HMAS Stirling, HMAS Watson

Six Army officers are undertaking the Accelerated Maritime Warfare Officer Course at HMAS Stirling in WA and HMAS Watson in

An Air Force F-35A Lightning II performs a handling display during the RAAF Base Townsville community open day. Story by Flight Lieutenant Imogen Lunny. Photos by Leading Aircraftwoman Taylor Anderson.

Australian Army Royal Australian Air Force

RAAF Base Townsville open day

27/03/202430/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1813 Views 0 Comments 5th Aviation Regiment, Open Day, RAAF Townsville

Many people who might have wondered what happens behind the gates guarded by the Lockheed P-2 Neptune at the entrance

An Army medic from 2nd Health Battalion gives emergency medical care to simulated casualties during Exercise Viper Walk. Story and photos by Corporal Melina Young.

Australian Army Health and Wellbeing News

Intense simulated injuries test medics

27/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1562 Views 0 Comments 2nd Health Battalion, Exercise Viper Walk

Screaming casualties pleaded for help as they clutched gunshot wounds. CAPTION: An Army medic from 2nd Health Battalion gives emergency medical

RAAF maintenance personnel from 11 Squadron conduct post-flight checks on a P-8A Poseidon aircraft at Roland Garros Airport, Réunion. Story by Flight Lieutenant Glen Paul. Photos by Corporal Kieren Whiteley.

News Overseas Pacific Royal Australian Air Force

RAAF Poseidon’s first visit to French-held Réunion Island

27/03/202430/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 2467 Views 0 Comments French Armed Forces, No. 11 Squadron, P-8A Poseidon

Against the picturesque backdrop of the azure waters of the Indian Ocean, a Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime

1 Recruit Training Unit celebrated 70 years with the first course graduates being flown to Point Cook for their graduation ceremony. Story by Sergeant Bickerton.

News Royal Australian Air Force

70 years of RAAF recruiting

22/03/202423/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 2053 Views 0 Comments No. 1 Recruit Training Unit, RAAF Edinburgh, RAAF Point Cook

Participants in this year’s first 1 Recruit Training Unit (1RTU) course were flown to the former recruit training base at

Signallers Harley Leggett and Lachlan Colquhoun set up a communications tower during Project Convergence Capstone 4 at Camp Pendleton, California. Story by Lieutenant Colonel Carrie Robards. Photo by US Army Specialist Marquis McCants.

Australian Army News Science & Technology USA

Diggers experiment to innovate in US

22/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1883 Views 0 Comments Project Convergence Capstone Four (PC-C4), US Army

It’s not often soldiers feel it’s okay to fail at work – and they’re certainly not encouraged to. CAPTION: Signallers Harley

A 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment soldier assists a simulated casualty during an urban breaching exercise at Townsville Field Training Area. Story and photo by Corporal Luke Bellman.

Australian Army News

Exercise an assault on engineers’ senses

22/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1814 Views 0 Comments 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment, Military Working Dogs, Urban Operations Training Facility

Booby traps, enemy fire and a simulated canine casualty confronted sappers from the 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment after they blasted

Former Air Commodore Vin Hill pictured here with retired Air Vice-Marshal and former Deputy Chief of Air Force, Dave Rogers at Vin's home in New Zealand in January 2024. Story by John Noble.

ADF People History Lest We Forget Royal Australian Air Force Veterans

VALE: Former Air Commodore Vin Hill

22/03/202409/04/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1842 Views 0 Comments

One of the Royal Australian Air Force’s last great aviators and true characters died just months shy of his 100th

Commanding Officer 130 Squadron Republic of Singapore Air Force, Lieutenant Colonel Goh Seow Hong in a Hawk 127. Story and photo by Flying Officer Michael Thomas.

News Royal Australian Air Force

Flight affirms friendship

22/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1383 Views 0 Comments Hawk-127, No 79 Squadron, RAAF Pearce, Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF)

What started as a casual conversation at the 2023 RAAF Base Pearce end of year function turned into a unique

Gap year personnel with a static display at Indian Naval Station Rajali, Naval Air Base, Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu India. From left, Leading Aircraftman Jason Grant, Aircraftwomen Ella Johnstone and Caitlan Williams, Aircraftmen Luke O'Brien and Garrison Asciak, and Aircraftwomen Maddison Fordred and Ebony Jones. Story by Flight Lieutenant Nancye Houston. Photo by Leading Aircraftman Jason Grant.

ADF People Royal Australian Air Force

Gap year students sample overseas operation

20/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1520 Views 0 Comments Gap Year program, No. 1 Security Forces Squadron.

Seven Air Force members were given a career-defining opportunity during their Gap Year program. CAPTION: Gap year personnel with a static

Commanding Officer 5th Combat Service Support Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Shaw, and Regimental Sergeant Major, Warrant Officer Class One Matthew Ryan, lay a wreath as part of the commemoration of the 1954 Stockton Bight Disaster.

ADF People Australian Army History Lest We Forget

Stockton Bight tragedy commemorated

20/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1792 Views 0 Comments 5th Combat Service Support Battalion

Soldiers from the 5th Combat Services Support Battalion (5CSSB), veterans, and community leaders assembled at Fort Scratchley near Newcastle to

Lieutenant Yoon Lee takes a bearing on the bridge of HMAS Yarra. Story by Lieutenant Geoff Long. Photo by Leading Seaman Jarrod Mulvihill.

News Royal Australian Navy

HMAS Yarra sailing on a high

20/03/202423/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1762 Views 0 Comments HMAS Waterhen, HMAS Yarra, Huon-class Minehunter

Talk to any of the crew in HMAS Yarra and the overwhelming take-away is the high level of professional and

Royal Australian Navy sailor Able Seaman Dean Hall, Australia’s Federation Guard, performs precision drill movements during a display at Canberra Skyfire 2024 at Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra. Story by Flight Lieutenant Felicity Abraham. Photos by Leading Aircraftman Ryan Howell.

Australian Army News Royal Australian Air Force

ADF wows Skyfire crowds

20/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1632 Views 0 Comments Australia’s Federation Guard, Band of the Royal Military College, M2A2 Howitzer

An ADF aircraft and band featured in the return of Skyfire, after five years, to the shores of Lake Burley

Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment during an urban operations exercise at the disused Stuart State School in Townsville. Story and photo by Corporal Luke Bellman.

Australian Army News

3RAR goes back to school – to survive

20/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1609 Views 0 Comments 3rd Battalion RAR

As 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) soldiers breached doors, cleared rooms and hunted the ‘enemy’ through Townsville’s closed Stuart

Roulette 2 Flight Lieutenant James Dutschke flies in formation over Changi, Singapore, during the Roulettes display at the Singapore Airshow. Story by Flight Lieutenant Greg Hinks.

News Overseas Royal Australian Air Force

Roulettes roll into Singapore

20/03/202423/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 2129 Views 0 Comments C-130J Hercules, No. 37 Squadron, PC-21, RAAF East Sale, Roulettes, Singapore

As the six Pilatus PC-21 aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force Roulettes rolled and looped over the Singaporean landscape,

Timor-Leste Defence Force Lieutenant Jacinto Do Nascimento salutes Lieutenant Clementino Colo ahead of his promotion on board PT Paluma. Story by Richard Wilkins.

News Royal Australian Navy

Timor Leste prepare to receive two new patrol boats

20/03/202421/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 2478 Views 0 Comments Guardian-class Patrol Boat, Regional Maritime Security Program, Timor-Leste Defence Force

Timor-Leste will receive two Guardian-class patrol boats in 2024 as part of Australia’s regional Maritime Security Program. CAPTION: Timor-Leste Defence Force

The Cost of Doing Business: Military Aviation Safety in Australia 1914 – 2022, written by Squadron Leader Barrie Bardoe.

ADF People History Royal Australian Air Force

The ‘Cost of Doing Business’ book launched

15/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1669 Views 0 Comments Defence Aviation Safety Authority (DASA)

A new book tells the story of Australia’s tumultuous path to becoming a global leader in military aviation safety. The

Army soldiers prepare cargo for an airlift by the Rural Fire Service helicopter. Story by Corporal Luke Bellman. Photos by Warrant Officer Robert Spooner.

Australian Army News Royal Australian Air Force

Rural Fire Service gives Army a lift

15/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1763 Views 0 Comments Air Mobility Group, Air Mobility Training and Development Unit (AMTDU), NSWRFS, RAAF Richmond

Soldiers teamed up with NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) to practise underslung cargo lifts with one of their helicopters at

Head of the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator Professor Emily Hilder addresses the Quantum Australia 2024 Conference in Sydney. Story by Natalie Staples.

ADF ADF People Science & Technology

Making the tiniest things count in war

15/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1651 Views 0 Comments Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA), AUKUS, Defence Strategic Review, Emerging and Disruptive Technologies (EDT)

Harnessing quantum behaviours to develop advanced technologies could enable Defence to provide the warfighter with an asymmetric advantage. CAPTION: Head of

Commander French Navy POM Auguste Benebig Jean-Francois Cabaret with HMAS Cairns Commanding Officer Alfonso Santos. Story by Corporal Michael Rogers. Photo by Ken Wilson.

News Royal Australian Navy

French OPV visits Cairns

15/03/202416/03/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 2136 Views 0 Comments French Navy, HMAS Cairns, New Caledonia

A brand-new French Navy offshore patrol vessel made a stop into Cairns during its participation in the US joint humanitarian