CONTACT BLOG SPOT Archives - Page 2 of 64

World War 2 RAAF veteran Cyril Rothall, who served with 3 Airfield Construction Squadron, celebrates his 100th birthday. Photo by Nicholas Gunn.

WWII veteran ‘Flying Shovel’ celebrates centenary

26/11/202404/12/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 644 Views 0 Comments No. 65 Air Base Recovery Squadron, RAAF Edinburgh, WWII

On November 16, several RAAF Base Edinburgh aviators, including an airfield engineer, shared in the 100th birthday celebrations of a

Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Stephen Chappell and Warrant Officer of the Air Force Ralph Clinton with Leading Aircraftwoman Sarah Gardner, Corporal Melany Stummer, Leading Aircraftwoman Riley Biedermann and Leading Aircraftwoman Rachael Hoey. Story by Flying Officer Jody Blakeley.

Health and Wellbeing News Royal Australian Air Force

Bonding for breast cancer charity

26/11/202403/12/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 657 Views 0 Comments 3 Control and Reporting Unit (3CRU), Chief of Air Force, Surveillance and Control Training Unit (SACTU)

Units from the Royal Australian Air Force’s Eastern Region Operations Centre joined forces throughout October to raise funds for the

Navy welcomes charity organisation Tackling Leukaemia on board during the annual Navy versus Victoria Police rugby match at HMAS Cerberus. Photo by Leading Seaman Jack Codner.

ADF People Health and Wellbeing Royal Australian Navy

Joining forces to tackle leukaemia

22/11/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 868 Views 0 Comments HMAS Cerberus

HMAS Cerberus recently welcomed charity organisation Tackling Leukaemia on board during the annual Navy versus Victoria Police rugby match, to

Corporal Matthew Johnson watches over a recruit trialing the new fitness test standard Wattbike at RAAF Base Wagga, NSW. Story by Pilot Officer Timothy Sullivan. Photos by Aircraftman Jakob Reid.

Health and Wellbeing News Royal Australian Air Force

Watts new with the Air Force fitness test

22/11/202402/12/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 754 Views 0 Comments No. 1 Recruit Training Unit, Physical Fitness Test (PFT), RAAF Wagga Wagga

Recruits at 1 Recruit Training Unit are among the first aviators to be tested under the new Air Force Physical

Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Jenkins, staff officer at Headquarters 1st (Australian) Division, thanks staff at the Enoggera Health Centre, Gallipoli Barracks, Brisbane, after his recovery from cancer. Story and photos by Captain Peter Nugent.

ADF People Health and Wellbeing

It takes an army to defeat a deadly adversary

22/11/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 862 Views 0 Comments Gallipoli Barracks

How do you thank someone for saving your life? CAPTION: Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Jenkins, staff officer at Headquarters 1st (Australian) Division,

Army Major Wendi McAdie and Warrant Officer Class One Andrew McAdie are presented their Federation Star medals by Major General Michael Krause alongside their daughter, Clancy McAdie. Story by Captain Krysten Clifton. Photo by Michael Banovic.

ADF People History

A life of love and service

15/11/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 913 Views 0 Comments Army Logistic Training Centre, Federation Star

The Federation Star for 40 years of service is a great achievement for any Defence member, but to receive it

Warrant Officer Michael O'Brien is awarded a 25th Anniversary Commemorative Coin by Susan Templeman, the Federal member for Macquarie, for Australia’s participation in The International Force East Timor, at the Windsor and District Returned Services League Sub-Branch, NSW. Story by Flying Officer Madeleine Magee. Photo by Aircraftwoman Mikaela Fernlund.

ADF People History

Personnel recognised for peacekeeping efforts

15/11/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1032 Views 0 Comments East Timor, INTERFET

ADF personnel have been recognised with a 25th Anniversary Commemorative Coin for Australia’s participation in the International Force for East

Private William Higgs’ newly installed headstone at Commonwealth War Graves Commission's (CWGC) Crucifix Corner Cemetery, Villers-Bretonneux, France. Story. by Aaron Pegram. Photo courtesy of CWGC.

ADF People History Lest We Forget

Search goes on for the lost but not forgotten

12/11/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 775 Views 0 Comments Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Unrecovered War Casualties – Army (UWC-A), Villers-Bretonneux, WWI

On Remembrance Day, as Australians reflect on the sacrifice of those who have served, the Manager of Unrecovered War Casualties

Remembrance Day is a moment to honour those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Story by Admiral David Johnston.

ADF People History Lest We Forget

The true cost of war is human

12/11/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 598 Views 0 Comments Chief of Defence Force

A Remembrance Day message from the Chief of the Defence Force, Admiral David Johnston. CAPTION: Remembrance Day is a moment to

Members of Air Combat Electronic Attack Systems Program Office clean the memorial site for the lost aircrew of a downed F-111C during a team-building activity at Bundjalung National Park, Queensland. Story by Pilot Officer Timothy Sullivan. Photo by Leading Aircraftwoman Campbell Latch.

ADF People History Lest We Forget Royal Australian Air Force Videos

A hike to F-111 crash site

08/11/202413/11/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1579 Views 0 Comments F-111, No. 6 Squadron

Members of the Air Combat Electronic Attack Systems Program Office (ACEASPO) have continued a longstanding tradition among the unit’s personnel,

Australian Army Jonathan Church Good Soldiering Award recipient Lieutenant Lachlan Maill meets local villagers in Rabaul, PNG, during a historical battle tour. Story and photos by Corporal Melina Young.

ADF People Australian Army Health and Wellbeing Lest We Forget

Aspiring to lead in the spirit of Kokoda’s heroes

08/11/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1049 Views 0 Comments Jonathan Church Good Soldiering Award, Kokoda Track, PNG, WWII

When Lieutenant Lachlan Maill heard cries for help near a shopping centre escalator, he didn’t hesitate. CAPTION: Australian Army Jonathan

Australian Army Jonathan Church Good Soldiering Award recipients follow Lark Force’s withdrawal route through the jungle between the villages of Dodul and Maranagi in East New Britain, PNG. Story and photos by Corporal Melina Young.

Australian Army History Lest We Forget News

Walking in the footsteps of their forefathers

06/11/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 886 Views 0 Comments Jonathan Church Good Soldiering Award, PNG, WWII

When the order “every man for himself” was given, Australian soldiers of Lark Force faced a grim choice – stay

Warrant Officer Andrew Freame during his last sunset ceremony onboard HMAS Hobart at Fleet Base East, Sydney, NSW. Story by Lieutenant Angela Faulkner. Photos by Able Seaman Danyellah Hill.

ADF People History Royal Australian Navy

Final sail for warrant officer clocking 50 years

05/11/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1122 Views 0 Comments Fleet Base East, HMAS Hobart

The ability to travel the world is what attracted Warrant Officer Andrew ‘Possum’ Freame to Navy life 50 years ago.

An American plane sprays chemicals near unit lines of 1st Armoured Squadron Workshop RAEME, at Nui Dat, Vietnam 1968. Photo by Des Kearton.

Letters to the Editor

RAEME units sprayed sprayed with chemicals, Vietnam 1968 – RANCH HAND defoliant flights

03/11/2024 Posted by Brian Hartigan 742 Views 0 Comments

Operation Ranch Hand was a name given by the USA to the tactical project for aerial spraying of herbicides in

A civilian Beechcraft D18S and two civilian T-6 Harvards fly in formation at Warbirds Downunder in Temora, NSW. Story by Flight Lieutenant Imogen Lunny. Photos by Leading Aircraftwoman Paris Rigney.

History News Royal Australian Air Force Videos

Blasting in from the past

01/11/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1364 Views 0 Comments No. 100 Squadron, Roulettes, Temora Aviation Museum

The skies of Temora echoed with aviation from the past and present, with the Air Force supporting the Warbirds Downunder

From left, Pilot Officer Justin Mulligan and Warrant Officer William Kinloch with a DeHavilland Mosquito fighter bomber in 1944. Story by Squadron Leader Eamon Hamilton.

ADF People History Lest We Forget Royal Australian Air Force

WWII pilots awarded after 80 years

01/11/202402/11/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 998 Views 0 Comments No. 464 Squadron, WWII

Eighty years after their service in the skies of occupied Europe, two Royal Australian Air Force aviators have been posthumously

Able Seaman Brenton Manuel, back right, meets his grandparents for the first time as HMAS Sydney is berthed alongside Busan, Republic of Korea, during a regional presence deployment. Story by Lieutenant Tahlia Merigan.

ADF People Lest We Forget Overseas Royal Australian Navy

Sydney a ship of firsts

01/11/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 487 Views 0 Comments HMAS Sydney, HMAS Sydney III, Korean War, Republic of Korea

HMAS Sydney had a lot of firsts during its recent regional presence deployment, and one of them was the ship’s

The memorial wall listing the crew of HMAS Sydney II at Mount Scott Geraldton. The interior concave side of the Wall of Remembrance, situated at the front of memorial, details the names of all 645 men who lost their lives. The centre piece is a dome mounted by seven pillars. Representing the seven states and territories of Australia. The dome is constructed by a canopy of silver gulls. A Stele is made of Stainless Stell and represents the bow of the HMAS Sydney II. A bronze sculpture of a a woman closest to the ocean. She wears an anchor necklace and holds hat against the breeze from the sea. Her anxious expression and her fixed gaze to the horizon. She represents a waiting woman grieven for her lost love one.

Lest We Forget Letters to the Editor

Is the HMAS Sydney II crew MIA or KIA?

31/10/202431/10/2024 Posted by Brian Hartigan 383 Views 0 Comments HMAS Sydney II

A recent Letter to the Editor here at CONTACT piqued my interest – are the members of the crew of

Director Veterans' South Australia, Bianca Wheeler, pays her respects after laying a wreath at the ‘Keeping Place’ at RAAF Base Edinburgh. Story by Group Captain Gregory Weller. Photo by Aircraftwoman Halley Van Essen.

Lest We Forget News Royal Australian Air Force Veterans

Veterans’ advisory visits RAAF Base

29/10/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1160 Views 0 Comments RAAF Edinburgh, South Australian Veterans Advisory Council (VAC)

The South Australian Veterans Advisory Council and members of Veterans South Australia visited RAAF Base Edinburgh on October 21 to

Figure 1. A racing drone used by the Air Force Drone Racing Association

Thought provoking

The Weaponisation of Toys and Implications for the Air Force

25/10/2024 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1134 Views 0 Comments

The Weaponisation of Toys and Implications for the Air Force Ryan Hodson Australian Defence Force The ‘poor man’s air force‘