CONTACT BLOG SPOT – 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

Letters to the Editor

Trust: Is this Army’s weakness?

08/05/202608/05/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 188 Views 0 Comments

Trust … the result of a working environment in which human values are paramount: the dignity of the individual is

Australian Army soldiers from the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, conduct a trench clearance supported by Abrams main battle tanks from 2nd Cavalry Regiment, as part of Exercise Brolga Sprint at Townsville Field Training Area, Queensland. Photo by Private Jessica Gray.

Letters to the Editor

How long was 1 Armd Regt’s experimentation unit in the planning?

04/05/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 264 Views 0 Comments

The Defence Connect headline on 26 September 2023 was “Rumours are swirling that the 7th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR)

ADF People History Lest We Forget Videos

Anzac Day 2026 Around the World

01/05/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 392 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 400 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 414 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

Australian Army soldiers from 2nd Cavalry Regiment demonstrate the power of their M1A1 Abrams tank as part of 3rd Brigade's Lavarack Barracks open day activities in north Queensland on Saturday, 3 September 2016. Photo by Sapper Josh Saurin.

Letters to the Editor

“Look at what we have allowed the Army to become!”

01/05/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 371 Views 0 Comments

This was a cry from the heart by the Deputy Chief of Army, Major General Chris Smith, DSC, AM, CSC, during

Letters to the Editor

Has Welcome to Country become a compliance market?

30/04/202601/05/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 516 Views 5 Comments

Dear Editor, Welcome to Country on Anzac Day has become a sharper issue than many institutions seem willing to admit.

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 552 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 723 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

Royal Australian Navy Able Seaman Kieran Nieves plays the didgeridoo at the Anzac Cove dawn service on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Türkiye. Story by Flying Officer Freya Hansen. Photos by Corporal Andrew Shaw.

Australian Army History Lest We Forget News Overseas Royal Australian Air Force Royal Australian Navy

Anzac Day commemorated at Gallipoli

29/04/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 564 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day, Gallipoli, Turkey

As the sun rose on another Anzac Day at Anzac Cove, Türkiye, the members of Australia’s Federation Guard and the

Australian Army, New Zealand Defence Force, United States Marine Corps and Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel hold an Anzac Day service during Exercise Balikatan in Aporawan, Philippines. Story by Captain Jacob Joseph. Photos by Leading Seaman Rikki-Lea Phillips.

Asia Australian Army History Lest We Forget News

A true Anzac field service in the Philippines

29/04/202629/04/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 524 Views 0 Comments ANZAC Day, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Exercise Balikatan, US Marines

As dawn broke above the West Philippine Sea, hundreds of Australian, New Zealand, Filippino and United States personnel gathered to

From left Korean War veterans Colin Hallett (NZ), Ronald J. Foyle (CAN) and Raymond Rogers (AUS) during a ceremony for the 75th Anniversary of The Battle of Kapyong at Gapyeong, Korea. Story by Major Diana Jennings. Photos by Corporal Riley Blennerhassett.

Asia Australian Army History Lest We Forget News

The stand that shaped a battalion

29/04/202603/05/2026 Posted by Mike Hughes 493 Views 0 Comments 3RAR, Chief of Army, Kapyong, Korean War

A contingent of Australian soldiers, predominantly from Townsville’s 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), made the pilgrimage to South

Corporal Bill Burton (far left) and colleagues from 1 Troop, C Squadron, 1st Armoured Regiment, RAAC, speak with General William Westmoreland, Commander, US Military Assistance Command Vietnam, about an enemy attack on Fire Support Base Coral. Photo by Kevin Thurgar – AWM file THU/68/0566/VN

Letters to the Editor

The Honour of the Regiment, vis a vis, the Spirit of the Regiment

27/04/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 293 Views 0 Comments

They are both held high in the Parthenon of military ethos, but do they have significance and real meaning?

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 310 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 292 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 267 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 282 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

Soldiers from the 1st Armoured Regiment await the order to start the parade to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Cambrai. Photo by Corporal Craig Barrett.

Letters to the Editor

Open letter to Senator James Paterson

24/04/202624/04/2026 Posted by Brian Hartigan 313 Views 0 Comments

Dear Senator Paterson, Congratulations on your appointment as the Shadow Minister for Defence. I write to you as someone who is concerned about our Nation’s defence