Military Life

This week on the Military Life Podcast, I have put together a compilation episode with real talk and words of wisdom offered by some of the Defence Partners who have been gracious enough to tell their story on the podcast over the last 5 years! FIVE YEARS…. Can you even believe it? What a huge milestone for all of us to celebrate. Five years of the podcast, 175 episodes and 100,000 downloads. I wa...

This week on the Military Life Podcast, I have put together a compilation episode with real talk and words of wisdom offered by some of the Defence Partners who have been gracious enough to tell their story on the podcast over the last 5 years! FIVE YEARS…. Can you even believe it? What a huge milestone for all of us to celebrate. Five years of the podcast, 175 episodes and 100,000 downloads. I wa...

This week on the Military Life Podcast, I had the privilege of having a genuine, insightful and defence family-focused conversation with Chief of Navy Australia Vice Admiral Mark Hammond. Throughout my time as not only a Defence Partner but also now through my work in the defence family space, I have interacted with people from all services, various ranks, departments, and positions, and you get a...

Posting to a new location is a huge life event. Whether you do it every few years or, like me, have long stretches between moves because you choose to URF (unaccompanied Resident Family), it can be a lot. Throw in selling a property, and the TO DO list can seem overwhelming. It's understandable that maybe you just want to take a minute between selling in one location and buying in the next so that...

On this week's Military Life podcast episode, I ask Defence Partner Nicole, who is currently posted in the USA with her ADF member and two children, ALLLL the overseas posting questions you didn't even know you needed answered! In PART TWO, Nicole and I talk about; - The regret Nicole and her Husband felt about moving overseas once the dust had settled - The impact on her mental health when the re...

On this week's Military Life podcast episode, I ask Defence Partner Nicole, who is currently posted in the USA with her ADF member and two children, ALLLL the overseas posting questions you didn't even know you needed answered! In PART ONE, Nicole and I talk about; -Why the timing was right for their family to apply for an overseas posting -What happens once you get the official word your family w...

On this week's Military Life Podcast Episode, Dr Peggy Brown, one of the three commissioners tasked with leading the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, speaks about the release of the lived-experience book Shining a Light: Stories of Trauma & Tragedy, Hope & Healing. The trauma-informed book, authored by journalist Patrick Lindsay AM, showcases the lived experience of suicide and s...

On this week's Military Life Podcast episode, I speak with Acting CEO of Defence Bank Marnie Fletcher about her leadership style and how she aligns her values and purpose while working in the financial services sector. Marnie and I also speak about;   -How her parent's past financial difficulties motivate her to help people create a better life through good financial decisions. -Joining Defence Ba...

This week's Military Life podcast episode is about the FREE mental Health service available to Defence Partners, current ADF Members, Veterans, and their immediate Families—OPEN ARMS and the recently introduced Model of Care.  This week I caught up with Leonie Nowland, First Assistant Secretary of Open Arms, and Dr Jon Lane, Senior Psychiatrist Advisor with Open Arms and member of the Open Arms Na...

Re-released Episode- Military Life Community Connectors EXPLAINED PART 2   Maybe you have heard about Military Life Community Connectors, or maybe you want to know more about them. This episode is all about who they are, what they do, and why I felt there was a need for the Military Life Community Connector Program.   No one quite gets you like a fellow Defence Partner, but finding and connecting...

Re-released Episode- Military Life Community Connectors EXPLAINED PART 1   Maybe you have heard about Military Life Community Connectors, or maybe you want to know more about them. This episode is all about who they are, what they do, and why I felt there was a need for the Military Life Community Connector Program.   No one quite gets you like a fellow Defence Partner, but finding and connecting...

This week on the Military Life Podcast, I speak with spouses Emma and Elise about their participation in Cowork Coplay, an amazing program that aims to give Defence Partners the time and space to focus on their career goals and projects, be they related to study, business, or job-hunting. Emma and Elise went into the Cowork Coplay program, which ran in Adelaide in early 2023, with different expect...

This week on the podcast, my Husband Scott and I talk about our current and past experiences with living apart and being MWDU (Member with Dependants Unaccompanied) or URF (Unaccompanied Resident Family) as it is called now. In PART ONE, Scott and I also talk about; •                   How our 5th MWDU experience went and the big decisions we needed to make •                   Why communication an...

This week on the podcast, my Husband Scott and I talk about our current and past experiences with living apart and being MWDU (Member with Dependants Unaccompanied) or URF (Unaccompanied Resident Family) as it is called now. In PART TWO (click through and listen to PART ONE Ep165 first), Scott and I also talk about; •                      Why we decided to wait to tell our children we were moving...

On this week's Military Life * Parents Edition* podcast episode, I speak with Spouse and Defence School Mentor Bianca about her new business, 'Someone I Love is in Defence'. Bianca and I also spoke about; •          Her journey from being an ADF member herself, transitioning out & finding her feet as a Defence Partner •          Navigating Defence life, starting a family and deciding to take up a...

On this week's Military Life Podcast Episode, enjoy listening to some real talk from a handful of Defence Partners who have previously detailed their spouse journey with us on past episodes. Episode 163 is all about accessing Defence-related Support and making Spouse Friends. As you will hear from listening to the stories of Defence Partners Hana, Emma, Jeni, Catherine, Chaia, Cheree, and Chantell...

On this week's Military Life Podcast Episode, enjoy listening to some real talk from a handful of Defence Partners who have previously detailed their spouse journey with us on past episodes. Episode 162 is all about how Defence Partners support their Mental Health while living Defence Life. As you will hear from listening to the stories of Defence Partners Chaia, Catherine, Rachael, Nicole, Kim, a...

Defence Partners + Career = Complicated!   On this week's Military Life Podcast Episode, enjoy listening to some real talk from a handful of Defence Partners who have previously detailed their spouse journey with us on past episodes.   Episode 161 is all about how Defence Partners focus on and further their Careers while living Defence Life.   As you will hear from listening to the stories of Defe...

On this week's Military Life *Parents Edition* podcast episode, enjoy listening to some real talk from a handful of Defence Partners who are already Parents or are planning for a family in the future. Arusha, Bianca, Ashley, Anika and Bec have all previously detailed their spouse journey on past episodes, and as you will hear from listening to their stories, our experiences are unique yet have man...

This week on the podcast, enjoy listening to some real talk from a handful of Defence Partners who have previously detailed their spouse journey with us on past episodes. Episode 159 of the Military Life Podcast is all about what it's really like to become a Defence Partner and live Defence Life. As you will hear from listening to the stories of Defence Partners Nicole, Rae, Katie, and Amanda, our...

On this week's Military Life Podcast episode and as the Defence Community start to receive news of postings and possible moves, I re-release PART TWO of my chat with Defence Partner and Declutter Expert Tara Tuttle. Tara knows the challenges of Defence Life and moving and packing and unpacking and all the things! Tara also knows the challenges Defence Families can face when it comes to organisatio...

On this week's Military Life Podcast episode and as the Defence Community start to receive news of postings and possible moves, I re-release PART ONE of my chat with Defence Partner and Declutter Expert Tara Tuttle. Tara knows the challenges of Defence Life and moving and packing and unpacking and all the things! Tara also knows the challenges Defence Families can face when it comes to organisatio...

On this week's Military Life *Parents Edition* podcast episode, I speak with Defence Partner Chrissy who went on a blind date with an ADF member 13 years ago and never looked back.   Chrissy and I also talk about; -Why, after backpacking solo for five years, the Defence lifestyle really suited her -How her attitude to the unknown of defence life changed once children came into the picture -Balanci...

On this week's Military Life podcast episode, I caught up with Defence Partner Jeni, who was a guest on the podcast on ep98. Back in 2021, Jeni and I spoke about her upcoming move across the country for her husband's first posting, the transition from civilian to defence family life after being together for 13 years, leaving friends and family and helping their kids start fresh in WA. We also spok...

On this week's Military Life *Parents Edition* podcast episode, I speak with spouse Simone about the first 5 years of Defence Life and supporting her two kids through huge changes.   Simone and I also talk about; -Her husband's connection to Defence & how that played into his decision to join -Why Defence Force Recruiting told her Husband to come back in a year or two -The importance of making the...