Middle East Archives - CONTACT magazine

A Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft receives fuel from a RAAF KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport over Iraq as part of the Air Task Group for Operation Okra. Story by Warrant Officer Class 2 Max Bree. Photos by Sergeant Mick Davis.

Air-to-air refuellers kept Operation Okra flying

05/03/202520/03/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 855 Views 0 Comments F/A-18F Super Hornet, KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport, Operation Okra

Flying a Classic Hornet loaded with bombs over Iraq in 2016, Air Commodore Philip Gordon had a problem. CAPTION: A Royal

Stand-up comedian Anthony 'Lehmo' Lehmann performs at Camp Baird Headquarters in the Middle East for deployed ADF personnel during the Forces Entertainment Tour. Story and photo: byLeading Seaman Nadav Harel.

Australian Army Middle East News Royal Australian Air Force Royal Australian Navy

Comedian’s admiration for troops is no joke

04/03/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 990 Views 0 Comments Forces Entertainment Tour, Iraq

Route Irish, a 12-kilometre stretch of highway in Baghdad, Iraq, was once considered the most dangerous road in the world.

A small group of ADF personnel, including Commander of the Australian Contingent Colonel Mark Coyle, centre, close off Australia’s commitment to Operation Okra at Aussie House inside US military base Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Story by Lieutenant Commander Max Logan.

Australian Army Middle East News

Flag comes down, soldiers come home

28/02/202501/03/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1236 Views 0 Comments Middle East Region, Operation Inherent Resolve, Operation Okra, Task Group Taji

The Australian flag descended at Combined Joint Task Force – Middle East in Kuwait for the final time in December,

The Foreign Forces Desert Immersion Course instructs military personnel in Bedouin culture and desert tactics, techniques and procedures. Story by Flight Lieutenant Sharon Aldrich.

Australian Army Middle East News Royal Australian Air Force Royal Australian Navy

UAE survival training taps into Bedouin skills

26/02/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1217 Views 0 Comments Headquarters Middle East, NZDF, survival course

Military personnel have seized a chance to enhance their skills through a one-of-a-kind tactical desert training course. CAPTION: The Foreign

Phil Burton, centre, performs at Camp Baird Headquarters Middle East for deployed ADF personnel on Australia Day during the Forces Entertainment Tour. Story and photos by Leading Seaman Nadav Harel.

Australian Army Middle East News Royal Australian Air Force Royal Australian Navy

Forces Entertainment at Camp Baird

20/02/202523/02/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1166 Views 0 Comments Camp Baird, Middle East Region

As the sun set on the dunes behind Camp Baird at Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates,

Commander Air Task Group Air Commodore Philip Gordon in front of an F/A-18A Hornet on the flight line of Australia's main air operating base in the Middle East region. This image has been digitally modified. Story by Warrant Officer Class Two Max Bree. Photos by Corporal Nicci Freeman.

ADF People History Middle East Royal Australian Air Force

Reflecting on Op Okra Air Task Group

18/02/202523/02/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1381 Views 0 Comments Daesh, F/A-18A/B Hornets, F/A-18F Super Hornet, Middle East Region

Hornet pilots strapped into their aircraft in temperatures often exceeding 50 degrees before taking off for eight-and-a-half-hour sorties. CAPTION: Commander Air

Australian Army Captain Anthony Davis, left, instructs Iraqi soldiers of the Taji Military Complex's Non-Commissioned Officer Academy as they practise fire and movement towards a notional enemy position at the Taji Military Complex, Iraq. Story and photos by Sergeant Matthew Bickerton.

Australian Army Middle East News

Op Okra proved worth of combined-arms training

18/02/202523/02/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1197 Views 0 Comments 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment, Daesh, Operation Okra, Task Group Taji

A decade ago, Daesh seized large territories across north-western Iraq and eastern Syria, taking advantage of the Syrian civil war

RAAF security aviators on a C-17A Globemaster III prepare for a deployment to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq Rotation-B. Story and photos by Corporal Luke Bellman.

Middle East News Royal Australian Air Force

Peacekeeping mission in safe hands

14/02/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1252 Views 0 Comments C-17A Globemaster III, Republic of Fiji Military Forces, United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq

Under the Iraqi sun, boots hit the ground as a Royal Australian Air Force security team established a perimeter for

The Royal Australian Navy medical team deployed on active service to Iraq. Story by Corporal Jacob Joseph. Photo by Leading Seaman Jake Badior.

History Middle East News Royal Australian Navy

Sub-lieutenant captures history

29/01/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 892 Views 0 Comments Middle East, Operation Okra, Task Group Taji

After more than 10 years, the last ADF servicemen and women deployed under Operation Okra left the Middle East late

ADF Middle East News

Operation Okra in Iraq officially ends

29/12/202429/12/2024 Posted by Brian Hartigan 5817 Views 0 Comments Iraq, Operation Okra

Operation Okra, the Australian Defence Force’s contribution to the international coalition against Daesh in Iraq and Syria, has concluded with

Australian High Commissioner to the Republic of Cyprus Fiona McKergow assists a woman and her family to board a bus after arriving in Larnaca, Cyrpus, by Australian-government chartered aircraft from Beirut, Lebanon. Photo by Corporal Nicole Dorrett.

Australian Army Middle East Royal Australian Air Force

Deployment of ADF personnel and aircraft to the Middle East

06/10/2024 Posted by Brian Hartigan 1920 Views 0 Comments Operation Beech

ADF personnel and aircraft have been deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Beech – Defence’s support of

Sergeant Vicky Stanford is presented with the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) Medal by Force Commander MFO Major General Michael Garraway during a ceremony at the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Story by Captain Ewy De Guzman and Lieutenant Jake Rowe. Photos by Sergeant Asela.

Australian Army Middle East News

Friendships a highlight of Sinai deployment

03/09/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1369 Views 0 Comments Egypt, MFO

The latest contingent of ADF personnel to support the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) returned home in late July following

Leading Seaman Maritime Personnel Operator Tahlia Lemon recieves a letter of commendation from Commander of the Combined Maritime Forces and Commander US 5th Fleet, US Navy Vice Admiral George Wikoff while deployed on Operation Manitou. Story by Lieutenant Ben Page.

ADF People Middle East Royal Australian Navy

Australian sailor recognised by US Navy

03/05/2024 Posted by Mike Hughes 1334 Views 0 Comments Combined Maritime Forces, Operation Manitou

Deployed on Operation Manitou in Bahrain, Leading Seaman Tahlia Lemon has been recognised by the Commander of the Combined Maritime Forces

Maintenance crew from a RAAF KC-30A conduct checks on the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, before an assisted-departure flight to Dubai. Photos by Corporal Robert Whitmore.

Middle East News Overseas Royal Australian Air Force

ADF support for Israel departures

19/10/2023 Posted by Mike Hughes 1868 Views 0 Comments C-17A Globemaster III, Israel, KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport, Middle East, Operation Beech

CAPTION: Maintenance crew from a RAAF KC-30A conduct checks on the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, before an assisted-departure

RAAF personnel assist Australian citizens and their families into a C-17A Globemaster III at Ben Gurion airport in Israel. Photos by Corporal Robert Whitmore.

Middle East News Royal Australian Air Force

ADF support to Aussies escaping Israel

17/10/202317/10/2023 Posted by Mike Hughes 1528 Views 0 Comments C-17A Globemaster III, KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport, Operation Beech

Two RAAF aircraft – a KC-30A and a C-17A Globemaster III – have joined an Australian-government-supported private charter in safely

Australian Army Captain Liz Daly, Captain Zarra Houpapa from the New Zealand Defence Force and Australian Army Captain Anita Price at Observer Group Golan – Tiberius (OGG-T) Headquarters in Northern Israel pose for a photo to commemorate being the first all-female leadership team in the history of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation. Story by Major Carrie Robards.

ADF People Middle East

Making history in the Middle East

27/07/2023 Posted by Mike Hughes 2462 Views 0 Comments Operation Paladin, United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO)

For the first time, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) has an all-female leadership team. CAPTION: Australian Army Captain Liz

Thousands of AK-47 assault rifles sit on the flight deck of guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans during a post-seizure inventory process. US Navy photo.

Middle East News USA

More than 2000 AK-47s seized in Middle East

11/01/202311/01/2023 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2254 Views 1 Comment

U.S. naval forces intercepted a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman on 6 January while transiting international waters along

Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Robert Chipman meets with Bahrain Defense Affairs Minister Lieutenant-General Abdulla bin Hassan Al Nuaimi in Bahrain. Image supplied.

ADF Middle East News

CAF represents ADF at Bahrain strategic meeting

01/12/202201/12/2022 Posted by Mike Hughes 1094 Views 0 Comments Chief of Air Force, International Institute for Strategic Studies’ (IISS)

Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Robert Chipman represented the Chief of the Defence Force General Angus Campbell at the

Australian Army officer, Captain Jeremy Fetter at the site of the battle of Valley of Tears in the Golan Heights. Story and photo by Petty Officer Lee-Anne Cooper.

Australian Army Middle East News Overseas

Bonding while keeping the peace

17/06/2022 Posted by Mike Hughes 1714 Views 0 Comments Operation Paladin, UN Truce Supervision Organisation

Captain Jeremy Fetter uses the analogy of umpiring football to explain being a United Nations (UN) military observer in Israel.

Captain John Whiteley, right, confirms the presence of military equipment with Finnish colleague Captain Pasi Nukarinen during a routine patrol in the Golan Heights. Story and photo by Petty Officer Lee-Anne Cooper.

Australian Army Middle East News

Observers help keep the peace in Golan

26/05/2022 Posted by Mike Hughes 1821 Views 0 Comments Operation Paladin, UN Truce Supervision Organisation

Keeping an eagle eye is more than just a saying for United Nations Military Observer Captain John Whiteley. CAPTION: Captain

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