Military

The Nationals’ Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, has expressed frustration over the decision to abandon a major munitions manufacturing agreement in Benalla, labelling it a devastating blow for the local community. The Department of Defence quietly scrapped its agreement with Thales Australia to manufacture 155-millimetre M795 artillery ammunition at the Benalla munitions facility.

The Government has been ordered to release an investigation into the Whitsundays helicopter crash that killed four Defence Force airmen. One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts secured a Senate order to have the national workplace health and safety regulator (Comcare) brief of evidence and investigation into the Taipan helicopter crash released.

An event that promotes community support and resilience, especially for those affected by loss and hardship since the 2019-20 bushfires, will be held later this month ... One of the main speakers for the 2025 event is James Greenshields who was born in Corryong and raised south of Seymour. He is a former Australian Army Officer with 17 years of service including leading more than 100 soldiers in Iraq and navigating the profound personal challenges that followed.

Retiring Mayor Matt Paterson is coy about his second job, in addition to his $116,000 a year gig heading up the council. It’s conveniently just across the road from the civic centre, at the office of Amentum, a Pine Gap defence contractor. We texted him on December 16: “Do you work for Amentum? Just checking a rumour.” No answer. Last week we asked him again...

Battle-ground engagement raged in Charlton last weekend, but it was more bonhomie than bloodshed as the 5th Mallee Melee unfolded at the Charlton RSL Clubrooms … the miniature wargaming weekend – likened by one participant to "chess on steroids" – saw visitors from Berwick, Nunawading and the Mornington Peninsula gear up for a weekend of the Napoleonic "General d’ Armee 2 Campaign Game".

Joe Lauria. The Australian government whistleblower David McBride is headed back to jail with no end of incarceration in sight. He is serving nearly six years for leaking documents to the media exposing Australian war crimes in Afghanistan. A three-judge panel at the Supreme Court in Australia's capital on 28th May spent less than one minute dismissing all appeals by David McBride ...

Squadron Leader Alistair Smith, from 2 Operational Conversion Unit, has been in Victoria for the past two weeks for the Australian International Airshow held at Avalon as the AIA25 Detachment Commander and one of the F-35 Lightning II pilots ... Alistair is the son of former Birchip residents Eileen and Ian Smith and completed his primary and secondary schooling at Birchip P-12 School.

A Riverland commemoration involving former servicemen from three different countries provided an opportunity to reflect on the challenges of the Vietnam War.

A nation-first vehicle designed to test cutting-edge electronic warfare (EW) technologies on the go, has been developed in South Australia. Defence leader Raytheon Australia has pioneered the Electronic Warfare Tactical Engagement (EWTE) vehicle, to fast-track the innovation of local and national EW solutions.

Ian Riley. I was asked recently (on MainFM actually) why we chose to live in Maldon. All the usual reasons, pretty little town, interesting shops, My Tarrengower Hill Climb, etc ... Acting on a tip-off, I went down to Cairn Curran on Sunday morning because I was told the Duck would be there.

The 2024 Dux of Cohuna Secondary College, Ebony Black, has headed to Canberra to begin her Officer Training in the Army. Alongside her training she will complete a Bachelor degree in Aeronautical Engineering at the University of New South Wales campus in Canberra.

Bruce Stewart. Many hundreds of people gathered the other day at the Epsom/Huntly showgrounds on the outskirts of Bendigo in anticipation of a visit from the Roulettes – the Royal Australian Air Force’s formation aerobatic display team. Our patience was rewarded as right on schedule I spied six rapidly moving black dots coming in from the north east.

It’s a time of major events: Donald Trump has again been elected President of the USA and its biggest foreign spy base Pine Gap features in the movie Twilight Time to be screened in Alice Springs ... For decades “the base” has been described as a prime nuclear target. Does that worry the town? Apparently not.

Exercise Wallaby is set to begin with the arrival of one of the world’s largest cargo aircraft, the Antonov AN-124 at Rockhampton Airport. The 402-tonne Antonov AN-124 plays a pivotal role in the transport of smaller aircraft, including Apache helicopters, between Australia and Singapore as well as other military hardware and assets required for the exercise.

RAAF Base Wagga hosted the Learning and Walking Together program, a collaborative initiative between the Defence Work Experience Program (DWEP) and Riverina Pathways Engagement Officer Kyle Breust. This innovative overnight program provided 16 students from the Riverina region, including Narrandera, with an immersive experience in military life, career exploration within the Defence Force, and local cultural enrichment.

Leaders from multiple agencies across the Shire of Derby/West Kimberley met with senior Australian Army personnel ... ahead of a major local training exercise. The ADF’s Exercise Austral Shield kicks off over the coming days and will see hundreds of soldiers and their armoured and heavy vehicles moving around town for the next week as they fight a fictitious enemy role-played by other Army soldiers.

Keigan Gunther. A recent joint operation between the Australian Defence Force and emergency services led to six unexploded World War II-era munitions being destroyed on a commercial farm in Two Rocks. An ADF spokeswoman said the potentially lethal relics, unearthed by a civilian contractor during routine grid searches, dated back to the 1940s when the area served as a training ground for artillery, mortars, anti-tank weaponry and aerial bombing.

Former Cohuna lad, Corporal Adam Randall has been featured by the Australian Army as one of their most experienced soldiers working on the Army’s newest light protected mobility vehicle, the Hawkei. Corporal Randall has more than 10 years’ experience in the Army ... the Hawkei, made by Thales in Bendigo, is a highly protected and deployable light vehicle ...

He was only 19 when he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) ... Now aged 91 and living at Whiddon Grafton, lifelong Clarence Valley resident Samuel Darke was finally recognised for his contributions during his country’s war history on April 24 when Member for Clarence Richie Williamson presented him with the Nuclear Test Medal ...

Nhill’s ANZAC Day dawn service was well attended with over 300 in attendance at the Cenotaph in Goldsworthy Park to commemorate those who have served in the armed forces for Australia and New Zealand, many giving the ultimate sacrifice.

As an Australian military history nut, I like to think I know at least something about most of our major military actions since the late 1800s ... So what better opportunity to fill in that missing piece of my history puzzle for myself than to try and explain to you what it was all about? So here we go, the Malayan Emergency.