The Cove Podcast

• Warrior Culture – MAJGEN Chris Smith

  ‘Nations that win wars are those that subjugate the individual for the team or more importantly the cause for which you are fighting.’ In this week’s episode, we sit down with the Deputy Chief of Army, MAJGEN Chris Smith to discuss warrior culture. Join us as we try to define the warrior culture that we ought to aspire to in the Australian Army.   Warrior culture, MAJGEN Chris Smith argues, needs to be a culture that wins battles, and by extension wins wars. It must sustain morale and a fighting spirit. It needs to imbue soldiers with the ability to kill. It must be a noble culture with an element of restraint, mirroring the expectations of the society that sends us to protect it. It needs a strong sense of loyalty, loyalty to the government and the cause for which we fight for. It must include an obedience to the lawful orders of the chain of command complimented by a strong sense of discipline.   Many have experienced combat; few have experienced war. Particularly the war we are planning for. War looks more like what was fought in Europe during WW1 or our own experience in the pacific during WWII. When looking for ideals, we ought to question when an individual becomes more obsessed with how they appear, coming up with some sort of call or warrior appearance rather than why they fight. Vanity shows a disrespect for the business we are in.   MAJGEN Chris Smith uses stories from Gladiator, the 1st and 2nd AIF, the story of Achillies and Hector, and the Kibeho Massacre in Rwanda in 1995 to discuss or start to define the needs of a modern warrior culture for the Australian Army. In war, he argues, there exists Sheep, Sheep Dogs and Wolves citing Dave Grossman’s On Killing. In war, we ought to be the Sheep Dogs that protect the Sheep; however, ever present is the tendency to drift into becoming a Wolf.   ———————————————————————————————————————————— Subscribe to The Cove Podcast to make sure that you do not miss out on any of the heavy hitting content we have planned.   The Cove Podcast was given explicit permission to use the snippet of audio that contains the US Army Sergeant Major from The Jedburgh Podcast. To listen to the full episode, listen to The Jedburgh Podcast Episode #143: There’s No Do-overs In The Next Fight – Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer

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• When the Peace Ends: 12 Months as a UN Observer – MAJ Mick Evans and CAPT Rhys Turner

  ‘You can’t discern where [the rockets were] actually landing and by night, the noise is enveloping.’ In this week’s episode, we talk about the conflict in Israel, Lebanon and Syria with two people that were on the ground on October 7th, 2023. Our guests – MAJ Mick Evans and CAPT Rhys Turner – talk us through their deployment on OPERATION PALADIN and what it was like being there when thousands of rockets started flying. OPERATION PALADIN is the Australian Defence Force support to the UN Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO), whose activities are spread across Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syrian Arab Republic. Both guests deployed for a lengthy 12-month stint, with MAJ Mick Evans spending his time in Syria and CAPT Rhys Turner spending his time in Israel and then southern Lebanon. We explore the geo-political situation in one of the most complex regions and conflicts in the world, attempting to unpack everything that they both learnt over their long deployments. We talk to the training they received at the Peace Operations Training Centre, their infiltration into what was intended to be a ‘normal’ deployment, what happen on and after October 7th and the varying conditions within each country. Rhys observed the Israeli mobilisation where thousands of troops were mobilised and moved throughout the country. Mick was at an Observation Post that had rockets flying over the top of his position, dropping short some 600m from their position. ————————————————————————— Subscribe to The Cove Podcast to make sure that you do not miss out on any of the heavy hitting content we have planned.

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• Fighting Fit – LTCOL Gordon Wing MBBS

  ‘You don’t need to be dead to sell life insurance.’ In this week’s episode, we talk about how to look after yourself and those that you command. Our guest this week is the Senior Medical Officer (SMO) for the Directorate of Army Health – LTCOL Gordon Wing MBBS – who was an infantry officer who deployed to East Timor as a Company Second-in-Command, to the Solomon Islands as an Adjutant and to Afghanistan as a Combat Team Commander and then chose to follow a life-long dream of becoming a doctor. On this week’s episode, we shift tact from the future of land warfare and history to talk through some more practical skills to help commanders and individuals negotiate the systems that enable recovery. While often misunderstood, the Military Employment Classification (MEC) System is not a medical system, it is a personnel system. It’s designed to put up a forcefield to enable an individual's rehabilitation, and most of the members that need to recover from injury return to a deployable MEC status on completion. Medical Officers and those that provide healthcare to ADF members make recommendations; however, they do not make decisions on an individual’s MEC status. Once a member is reclassified to a different MEC status, they should be presented at an Individual Welfare Board and then at regular Unit Welfare Boards to ensure that the member’s rehabilitation is on-track and that they are receiving the support that they need. An Individual Welfare Board is more encompassing and held ad-hoc to consider all relevant information regarding the support to a member and their family. A Unit Welfare Board considers the need of all members within a unit and are commonly held quarterly. Welfare Boards are not just conducted for a member undergoing medical rehabilitation or recovery, they can also be conducted for complex personal issues; or, for those being investigated for, and/or charged with, a serious offence. Both types of Welfare Boards are designed to provide subject matter expert advice to the chain of command to ensure that the correct support is being provided to achieve the best possible outcome for the member and their family. This episode contains the practical skills to negotiate the MEC System, to get the best outcome for the members that we support and to return to fighting fit. If you have civilian dependants, sign up for the ADF Family Health Program to be eligible for unlimited GP visits and $800 per dependant in family benefit for other services. Find more details at https://adffamilyhealth.com/. ————————————————————————— Subscribe to The Cove Podcast to make sure that you do not miss out on any of the heavy hitting content we have planned.

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• Australia's Pearl Harbour - LTCOL Steve Young

  ‘The warning time that they thought they had completely evaporated in a moment.’ In this week’s episode, we take off from where we left off with Lark Force in Rabaul, New Guinea as the Allies continue to combat the Japanese advance through South-East Asia and the Pacific. Joined by my regular co-host LTCOL Steve Young, this episode is far closer to home, focused on the largest attack on home-soil being on Darwin, Northern Territory. Following Pearl Harbour, the United States identified a need to establish bases that could be held against an initial Japanese onslaught and eventually used to mount counter offensives. The United States chose Darwin because of its deep-water port and its proximity to the Philippines. The assumption was that if the United States could ship stores to Brisbane and Sydney, they could move these stores via road and rail inland to Darwin to stage before the Philippines. Darwin, at this time, consisted of four main streets, the newly established Larrakeyah Barracks and RAAF Base Darwin, a single deep-water port, and a population of less that 6,000. On the 19 February 1942 (74 days after Pearl Harbour), The Nagumo Force was tasked to attack Darwin. The commander sent 242 aircraft to destroy ships afloat in the Darwin Harbour, strike aircraft on the newly established RAAF Base Darwin and the civilian airport and attacked Darwin to deny its use by the Allies. The Nagumo Force managed to kill 250, wound 300-400 people, destroy 30 aircraft, sink 11 vessels and damage 25 vessels. Both the Japanese and the United States overestimated the impact that Darwin would have on the Pacific War and we explain why in this episode. The Bombing of Darwin is commemorated on 19 February each year in Darwin, with 8/12 Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery providing a blank firing demonstration with M2A2 105mm Howitzers, the 1st Aviation Regiment providing Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters and the RAAF’s 75 Squadron providing F-35A Lightning II multi-role, supersonic, stealth fighters to simulate the Japanese bombing and the Allied defence. ————————————————————————— Subscribe to The Cove Podcast to make sure that you do not miss out on any of the heavy hitting content we have planned.

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• Special Operations: Fuelled for Success During Selection - MAJ Angela Uphill PhD

  Serving in Special Operations Command (SOCOMD) is an aspiration for many and attainable for some. It is a popular choice for ADF members seeking to take their career to the next level and civilians wanting more out of life than a trade or corporate job can offer.  Recruiting is underway to identify the next generation of Special Forces Operators, Engineers, Signallers, Medics and Enablers. Depending on the role, some candidates participate in the Special Forces Selection Course (SFSC) – one of the longest and most gruelling selection courses in the world. We’ve partnered with the ADF School of Special Operations to produce a series of episodes to give you insights straight from the source. If you’re interested in joining SOCOMD’s units - 1st Commando Regiment, Special Air Service Regiment, 2nd Commando Regiment, Special Operations Engineer Regiment or Special Operations Logistics Squadron then this is the series for you. This episode features Army physiotherapist, MAJ Angela Uphill PhD who conducted her doctorate on observations from Special Forces Selection. Working within SOCOMD’s Human Performance Optimisation cell, she undertook a comprehensive research project to assess the physical and performance impacts of Selection on candidates. We discuss the data and findings to gain insights about the indicators for who was more or less likely to make it through to the end of Selection. MAJ Uphill also provides some helpful tips to assist with your own training and preparation. SOCOMD is looking for high calibre individuals who ready to play a part in cutting-edge warfare now, and into the future. Could it be you? Find out More: Special Forces Operator - ADF Careers

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