ADF People – Page 4 – CONTACT magazine

Australia Day award recipient RAAF's Warrant Officer Kerrie-Anne Hammond at RAAF Base Amberley. Story by Flight Lieutenant Holly Ryan. Photo by Aiesha White-Kratz.

Achievement credited to authenticity

27/01/202627/01/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 683 Views 0 Comments Australia Day Honours, No. 382 Squadron

Warrant Officer Kerrie-Anne Hammond has been awarded a Conspicuous Service Medal on Australia Day for her meritorious devotion to duty

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Royal Australian Air Force Officer Commanding Surveillance and Control Systems Program Office, Group Captain Aleisha Broadhead. Story by Flying Officer Alex DeValentin.

Aviator’s excellence in engineering celebrated

27/01/202627/01/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 791 Views 0 Comments Australia Day Honours, F-35A Lightning II

Born and raised in Tasmania, Group Captain Aleisha Broadhead has forged an impressive career as an engineer and a leader

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Official portrait of Royal Australian Air Force Group Captain Phillip Godfrey, Director of Senior Officer Management. Story by Flight Lieutenant Jody Blakeley. Photo by Sergeant Rodney Welch.

Shaping tomorrow’s leaders

27/01/202627/01/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 631 Views 0 Comments Australia Day Honours

Paving the way for change and growth in an environment where precision and adaptability are paramount, Group Captain Phillip Godfrey

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Private Bailey Campbell has been awarded the Conspicuous Service Medal in the Australia Day honours. Story by Corporal Luke Bellman.

Award for managing critical systems under pressure

27/01/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 522 Views 0 Comments Australia Day Honours

During Operation Beech, information systems technician Private Bailey Campbell managed critical systems alone across two different Mediterranean countries. CAPTION: Private

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Squadron Leader Felix Ho, the 2026 Northern Territory Australian of the Year. Story by Flight Lieutenant Kayla Walliss. Photo by Sergeant David Gibbs.

Reservist named NT Australian of the Year

27/01/202627/01/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 871 Views 0 Comments Australia Day Honours

Squadron Leader Felix Ho has been named the 2026 Northern Territory Australian of the Year in recognition of his outstanding

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Petty Officer Jack Bellingham has received a Conspicuous Service Medal in this year’s Australia Day honours list for his work across the Pacific. Story by Corporal Luke Bellman. Photo by Corporal Lisa Sherman.

Australia Day honour for sailor’s Pacific work

27/01/202627/01/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 407 Views 0 Comments Australia Day Honours, Australian Defence Vessel Reliant, Operation Solania

When ADV Reliant received a mayday call to rescue four German sailors from a yacht 100 nautical miles south of Fiji, Petty

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Personnel from across Defence roles and capabilities are recognised in the 2026 Australia Day honours. Photo by Major Roger Brennan.

ADF ADF People News

Defence personnel recognised on Australia Day

27/01/202627/01/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 1174 Views 0 Comments Australia Day Honours

Australia Day From flood rescues to undersea warfare capability development, cyber operations and coalition deployments, 82 Defence personnel have been

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Captain Bernadette Alexander and Command Warrant Officer Dennis Bentley speak with community stakeholders and Human Quotient Group, Defence at a celebration marking the completion of the Darwin Cowork Coplay program.

ADF People Health and Wellbeing

Supporting our supporters with Cowork Coplay

20/01/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 862 Views 0 Comments Cowork Coplay

A lively group of program participants, government dignitaries and local Defence leaders celebrated the conclusion of the first Cowork Coplay

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World War 2 veteran Valerie Ireland joins Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Chris Smith for a tour of Fleet Base East and the RAN Heritage Centre. Story by Lieutenant Hinako Shiraishi.

ADF People History Lest We Forget Royal Australian Navy

Veteran’s reunion after 80 years

18/12/202518/12/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1499 Views 0 Comments Fleet Base East, Royal Australian Navy Heritage Centre, WWII

Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Christopher Smith recently welcomed 100-year-old World War 2 veteran Valerie Ireland, née Blackett, back to Fleet

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Clive Wawn Junior holding the ‘short snorter’ with Squadron Leader Andrew Chadwick at the RAAF Townsville Aviation Heritage Centre. Story and photos by Flying Officer Casie Scott.

ADF People History Lest We Forget Royal Australian Air Force

A ‘short snorter’ with a powerful story

18/12/202518/12/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1514 Views 0 Comments RAAF Townsville Aviation Heritage Centre (RTAHC), WWII

An extraordinary piece of wartime history is now on display at the RAAF Townsville Aviation Heritage Centre: a 10-shilling ‘short

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Corporal Tiger Jefferys with his gold medal awarded from Exercise Cambrian Patrol, at Lavarack Barracks, Townsville, In October. Story by Corporal Jacob Joseph. Photo by Lance Corporal Caitlyn Davill.

ADF People Australian Army

Army names outstanding junior leader

10/12/202510/12/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 3481 Views 1 Comment 1RAR, Duke of Gloucester Cup

A section commander of 1st Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR), who led the winning Duke of Gloucester (DoG) Cup

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Members of HMAS Ballarat's ship's company prepare to scatter the ashes of four Royal Australia Navy sailors and one Royal Navy sailor during a committal of ashes to the sea ceremony off the coast of Australia. Story by Sub-Lieutenant Jake Badior. Photos by Leading Seaman Connor Morrison.

ADF People Lest We Forget Royal Australian Navy

One final wish: Committal of ashes to the sea

05/12/202505/12/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2682 Views 1 Comment HMAS Ballarat

HMAS Ballarat has honoured the life and service of four former Royal Australian Navy members and one Royal Navy sailor by committing

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A relative of Flight Lieutenant Ross Frayne – a World War 2 and Korean War veteran who died in a crash at RAAF Base Mallala in 1955 – places a poppy on a commemorative wreath at the new Air Force memorial at the South Australian Aviation Museum. Story by Group Captain Greg Weller.

ADF People History Lest We Forget Royal Australian Air Force

Air Force commemorates peacetime sacrifice

03/12/202503/12/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2346 Views 1 Comment Aircraft Research and Development Unit, RAAF Edinburgh, South Australian Aviation Museum

Attendees gathered at the South Australian Aviation Museum (SAAM) to witness the Dedication and Inaugural Commemorative Service of a new

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Able Seaman Jack, left, and Able Seaman Thomas Phillips conduct electrical testing on a torpedo tube on board the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Vermont at HMAS Stirling in WA. Story by Lieutenant Mark Tesoriero. Photos by Leading Seaman Shaun Chatfield.

ADF People News Royal Australian Navy

Aussie torpedoman takes on US attack subs

28/11/202528/11/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1881 Views 0 Comments Collins-class submarines, HMAS Stirling, Nuclear Powered Submarines

Like many young recruits, Able Seaman Jack joined the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) because he wanted to see the world.

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Australian Army Craftsman Marcus Szewczuk, of the 5th Aviation Regiment, stands before an Australian Army CH-47F Chinook in PNG. Story by Captain Tadek Markowski. Photos by Corporal Dana Millington.

ADF People Australian Army

Helicopter maintenance a family affair

28/11/202528/11/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1643 Views 1 Comment 5th Aviation Regiment, CH-47F Chinook, Exercise Helicon Luk, PNG

Sat in a distant corner of a hangar at the Jackson International Airport in Port Moresby, Craftsman Marcus Szewczuk, of

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Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Stephen Chappell presents 101-year-old Air Force veteran Charles Reif with an Aussie Hero Quilt. Story by Elise Monge. Photo by Flight Sergeant Rodney Welch.

ADF People History Royal Australian Air Force

A lifetime of dedication to country and service

25/11/202525/11/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1157 Views 0 Comments Aussie Hero Quilts, Chief of Air Force

When Charles Reif enlisted in the Air Force in 1946 at 22 years old as an aircraftman electrical mechanic, he

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MQ-4C Triton pilot Flight Lieutenant Ariel White with 9 Squadron at RAAF Base Tindal. Story by Flying Officer Shanea Zeegers. Photos by Sergeant David Gibbs.

ADF People Royal Australian Air Force

From dreams to duty

25/11/202530/11/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 4481 Views 0 Comments MQ-4C Triton, No. 9 Squadron, RAAF Edinburgh, RAAF Tindal

For Flight Lieutenant Ariel White, a typical day as an air vehicle pilot at 9 Squadron means helping shape the

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Commanding Officer 100 Squadron Wing Commander Richard Brougham presents a 100 Squadron challenge coin to James Birt. Story and photos by Flying Officer Michael Thomas.

ADF People History Royal Australian Air Force

Connecting then and now

21/11/202521/11/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1645 Views 0 Comments No. 100 Squadron, WWII

It’s been more than 80 years since James Birt was defending our nation in World War 2, yet he can

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Aviators from RAAF Base Pearce take part in the inaugural Goggins’ Challenge, raising $7400 for mental health. Story by Flying Officer Stina Frantzich Gardiner. Photo by Sergeant Joshua Mulligan.

ADF People Health and Wellbeing News Royal Australian Air Force

Aviators raise $7400 for mental health

18/11/202518/11/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1009 Views 0 Comments 2 Flying Training School, mental health, No 79 Squadron, No. 2 Expeditionary Health Squadron, No. 25 Squadron

RAAF Base Pearce personnel have gone the distance for mental health, raising $7400 in 48 hours for the Black Dog

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Defence spouses from about 30 countries gather for an Indo Pacific 2025 cultural immersion program at HMAS Watson. Story by Lieutenant Hinako Shiraishi.

Defence spouses connect across cultures

11/11/202511/11/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1029 Views 1 Comment Aussie Hero Quilts, Chief of Navy, HMAS Watson

At Indo Pacific 2025, one of the most impactful moments came not from the main stage, but from a roundtable

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