ADF People – CONTACT magazine

ADF personnel form a catafalque party for an Anzac Day dawn service in Darwin City. Story by Captain Nicholas Marquis. Photo by Corporal Gregory Scott.

Large crowds gather for Anzac Day in Top End

08/05/202608/05/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 234 Views 0 Comments 1st Brigade, ANZAC Day

As flags at half-mast gently moved with the cool breeze in the Top End, thousands of Territorians commemorated Anzac Day

ADF People History Lest We Forget Videos

Anzac Day 2026 Around the World

01/05/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 391 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day

On Anzac Day, we mark the landings at Gallipoli of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) soldiers in 1915

Wing Commander Patrick Bridge honours his great-uncle Private Donald Arthur Bridge in Gapeyong, South Korea, at the 75th anniversary of the Korean War Kapyong battle. Story by Squadron Leader Bel Culley.

ADF People History Lest We Forget

Remembering the Battle of Kapyong

01/05/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 399 Views 0 Comments Kapyong, Korean War

In a solemn tribute to the past and a firm nod to the future, Australian Defence Force (ADF) members serving

Chief of Joint Capabilities Lieutenant General Susan Coyle hugs Rick Deeks during the Anzac Day service at the Bullecourt Digger Memorial in France. Story by Captain Annie Richardson. Photos by Sergeant Jarrod McAneney.

ADF People History Lest We Forget

Commemoration becomes personal for relatives

01/05/202601/05/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 413 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day, Bullecourt, ww1

At the Bullecourt Digger Memorial on Anzac Day, the commemorative address took on an unexpectedly personal meaning for one family

Able Seaman Isabella Anderson and Lieutenant Craig Grant on board the Japanese Ship Kumano, during a port visit to Melbourne. Story by Sub-Lieutenant Andrew Murphy. Photos by Leading Seaman James McDougall.

ADF People News Royal Australian Navy

Aussies learn the lay of the land at sea

01/05/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 603 Views 0 Comments Exercise Kakadu, Japan Maritime Self Defence Force

Two Royal Australian Navy (RAN) members have been forging connections at sea on board the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force frigate

3 Squadron personnel, who raised funds in this year’s March On, in front of a 3 Squadron F-35A Lightning II aircraft at RAAF Base Williamtown, NSW. Story by Evana Ho. Photo by Leading Aircraftwoman Elise Ross.

ADF People Health and Wellbeing News Royal Australian Air Force

Marching On for mental health

29/04/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 551 Views 0 Comments Air Warfare Instructors Course, March On, mental health, No. 3 Squadron, RAAF Williamtown, Soldier On

Across March, members from 3 Squadron balanced running the Air Warfare Instructor Course (AWIC) with putting in the hard yards

Second Lieutenant Duncan McKenzie has been identified a century after World War I.

ADF People Australian Army Europe History Lest We Forget News

Unknown no more: two WWI soldiers identified

29/04/202603/05/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 722 Views 0 Comments Battle of Fromelles, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Passchendaele, Third Battle of Ypres, WWI

More than a century after they were killed in action in World War I, the remains of two missing Australian

Gunner Daniel Mazzaferri, of Australia’s Federation Guard, at Lone Pine Cemetery on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Türkiye. Story by Flying Officer Freya Hansen. Photos by Corporal Andrew Shaw.

ADF People History Lest We Forget

Gallipoli’s living legacy

24/04/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 309 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day, WWI

Australia’s Federation Guard has made its annual trip to the battlefields on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Türkiye. CAPTION: Gunner Daniel

An all‑female Federation Guard catafalque party reflects on Lieutenant Irene Singleton's legacy and the broader contributions of women in military service. Story and photos by Leading Aircraftman Chris Tsakisiris.

ADF People History Lest We Forget

Remembering nurse’s contribution to military history

24/04/202624/04/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 291 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day, WWII

An Australian Army nurse killed in World War II was honoured by an all‑female catafalque party during a Last Post

Able Seaman Rachel Brandt lays poppies for her great-great uncle at the Bapaume Communal Cemetery in Bapaume, France. Story by Captain Annie Richardson. Photos by Sergeant Jarrod McAneney.

ADF People History Lest We Forget

Sailor’s personal connection to the Western Front

24/04/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 266 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day, WWI

On March 25, 1917, in Bapaume, France, Lance Corporal Jules Schuller of the 20th Infantry Battalion was sheltering in a

Veteran Robert Dean when he was a young soldier, after returning to Hobart hospital for a hand injury in 1967. Story by Corporal Luke Bellman.

ADF People History Lest We Forget

Marching memories forward

24/04/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 281 Views 0 Comments 6th Battalion RAR, Long Tan, Vietnam War

Witnessing what artillery and bullets can do to a man following the carnage of Long Tan in 1966 has stayed

Australia’s Federation Guard alongside the Royal Australian Navy Band visits memorial sights from the Western Front in France prior to partaking in Anzac Day 2025 dawn services. Story by Captain Annie Richardson. Photo by Corporal Nicole Dorrett.

ADF People Australian Army History Lest We Forget Royal Australian Air Force Royal Australian Navy

French town where war dead are not forgotten

22/04/202622/04/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 478 Views 0 Comments

In the farming country of northern France, a small town carries a quiet Australian accent. CAPTION: Australia’s Federation Guard alongside

Corporal Nathan Scott, an aviation operations specialist with the 5th Aviation Regiment, conducts communications checks as part of Exercise Helicon Luk 2025 in Papua New Guinea. Story by Captain Tadek Markowski. Photos by Corporal Dana Millington.

ADF People Australian Army News

The team that supports Army’s aircrews

17/04/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 411 Views 0 Comments 5th Aviation Regiment, Exercise Helicon Luk

According to the ADF’s recruitment portal, the key responsibility of an aviation operations specialist (AOS) is to “provide communications and

Leading Seaman Ioan Roberts during Exercise Kakadu. Story and photo by Seaman Genae Kelly.

ADF People

A lens across navies

17/04/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 221 Views 0 Comments

Holland, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Cape Verde Islands, Jamaica, Afghanistan (twice), India, Russia, Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Senegal, Mali, Norway,

Lieutenant James Sullivan, right, and Captain Charlotte Bradstreet prepare an explosive charge during the explosives supervisor course at Holsworthy Barracks. Story by Lieutenant Emily Tinker. Photos by Corporal Hamid Farahani.

ADF People Australian Army Videos

Reservist gets creative by blowing things up

17/04/202618/04/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 506 Views 0 Comments Army Reserve, explosives, Holsworthy Barracks, School of Military Engineering

For Lieutenant James Sullivan, ‘blowing up’ is just a part of the job description – whether he’s at his desk

Leading Seaman Abbey Lane, centre left, with Ron and Mason during Operation Flood Assist in 2022. Story by Corporal Michael Rogers.

ADF People Health and Wellbeing Royal Australian Navy

From flood relief to friendship

15/04/202615/04/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 339 Views 0 Comments Operation Flood Assist 2022

For Leading Seaman Abbey Lane, a few hours in a flooded caravan park turned into a connection that still rings

Commanding Officer HMAS Cerberus Captain Ben Esler presents Navy veteran Ron Stannus with a copy of a drawing of HMAS Warramunga, at the Heritage and Learning Centre, HMAS Cerberus, Victoria. Sub-Lieutenant Andrew Murphy. Photos by Petty Officer Bradley Darvill.

ADF People History Royal Australian Navy

Passing the Navy baton with wise words

15/04/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 410 Views 0 Comments HMAS Cerberus, WWII

As he approaches his 100th birthday, Navy veteran Frederick Ronald Stannus returned to HMAS Cerberus, the place his Navy story began

Chief prof Army nominee Lieutenant General Susan Coyle, Defence Minister Richard Marles, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Chief of Defence Force nominee Admiral Mark Hammond and Chief of Navy nominee Rear Admiral Mathew Buckley, after the change of leadership announcement in Canberra. Photo by Rodney Braithwaite.

ADF ADF People Australian Army News Royal Australian Navy

New ADF leaders announced

13/04/202614/04/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 725 Views 2 Comments

The Australian government today announced a number of senior command changes within the Australian Defence Force. Subject to the Governor

Vice Chief of the Defence Force Air Marshal Robert Chipman and Chief of Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart with Private Blaithe Gill-O’Connor, the winner of the 2026 Defence Capability Award. Story by Corporal Michael Rogers. Photo by Kris Kerehona.

ADF People Australian Army News Royal Australian Air Force Science & Technology

Camouflage innovation wins award

10/04/202610/04/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 510 Views 0 Comments Chief of Army, Edgy Air Force Lab, MakerSpace

A digger’s development of rapidly deployable vehicle camouflage to better hide from drones has earned him a gold commendation. CAPTION:

Commandant of the Army Logistics Training Centre Colonel Charmaine Benfield presents Craftsman Jack Patman with his certificate. Story by Captain Krysten Clifton. Photo by Petty Officer Bradley Darvill.

ADF People Australian Army News Royal Australian Navy

Marine technicians chart a new course for Army

10/04/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 401 Views 0 Comments Army School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (ASEME), HMAS Cerberus

Growing up on the coast of Western Australia, Craftsman Jack Patman spent countless hours at his father’s side, helping pull

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