Life on the Line

Angus Hordern interviews former Chief Petty Officer, RAN veteran Wayne Bemet. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Wayne Bemet served in The Australian Defence Force for 19 years, with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. He had 5 operational deployments, from 2002 to 2015. He was medically discharged in 2017 for a variety of...

This is the audio-only version of our Life After Service episode with Gary and Renee Wilson. Watch the video documentary episode now on  YouTube ! This year Life on the Line released a new special project. A special documentary series focusing on veterans lives after their time in uniform - called Life After Service. So far in the series, we've featured the stories of 6 veterans over 6 episodes: ...

Alex Lloyd interviews former commando Craig Ball. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Craig Ball passed Commando selection in 2000 as a reservist and went full-time in 2006. He deployed to Afghanistan as a signaller in the 2nd Commando Regiment in 2010 and 2012. Today, he’s a men’s mental health speaker. Episodes referenced at the end of the podcast...

Alex Lloyd introduces Keith Payne VC’s autobiography, NO ONE LEFT BEHIND . The elder statesman of our Victoria Cross recipients – Keith Payne VC, AM – has released his autobiography – NO ONE LEFT BEHIND. Much has been written about Keith Payne before, but this is the first time he’s done a book in his own words. This special podcast introduces the book, read by podcast creator Alex Lloyd. Alex is...

Alex Lloyd interviews former SAS psychologist Mark Mathieson. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Mark Mathieson was a psychologist in the Australian Army, including time as the SAS regimental psychologist. He deployed to Timor and 6 times to Afghanistan. This is our conversation about the psychology of Special Forces soldiers and the impact of war....

Angus Hordern interviews General Sir Peter Cosgrove, former Chief of the Defence Force and Governor-General. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. This is our third Season 5 video podcast - you can watch the whole conversation between Sir Peter Cosgrove and Angus Hordern now on YouTube . General Sir Peter Cosgrove is one of Australia’s most significan...

Thomas Kaye interviews Vietnam veteran Tony Dell. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Tony Dell is an army veteran of the Vietnam War. The national serviceman is also the only Test cricketer to fight in Vietnam. He was a fast-medium seam bowler who made his Test debut against England for the vital Seventh Test in the 1970-71 Ashes series, taking 5 w...

Sharon Mascall-Dare interviews Bougainville and Banda Aceh veteran, Shaun Willson. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Shaun Willson served as an Army helicopter pilot, fulfilling his dream of flying Hueys. In this conversation with Sharon Mascall-Dare, Shaun talks about his experiences in training, on humanitarian aid deployments and a sense of pur...

Twenty-six Australian military veterans share their memories of September 11, 2001, the day that changed the world. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. The 9/11 terrorist attacks sent a generation to war. As we approach the 20-year anniversary of 9/11, Australia has finally withdrawn our last members of the defence force from Afghanistan. At home, w...

This is the audio-only version of our Life After Service episode with Gary and Renee Wilson. Watch the video documentary episode now on  YouTube ! Gary Wilson was a signaller attached to the 2nd Commando Regiment. On the 21st of June, 2010, Gary and then-fiancé Renee’s lives were changed forever when Gary was severely injured in a Black Hawk helicopter crash. In this episode of Life After Service,...

Alex Lloyd interviews former SAS soldier Bruce McLennan. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Bruce McLennan was a Squadron Sergeant Major in the Special Air Service Regiment. He joined the SAS in 1984 and served in Afghanistan. He was also involved in the boarding of MV Tampa in 2001. Alex Lloyd spoke with Bruce about his long career in Australian S...

Angus Hordern interviews Commodore Darren Grogan about the highs and lows of his career in the navy. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Darren Grogan is a Commodore currently serving in the Royal Australian Navy. He spoke with Angus Hordern about his career to date – from time in the Arabian Gulf to border protection to Bushfire Assist – and about...

Thomas Kaye interviews former JTAC and Middle East veteran, Troy Knight. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Troy Knight is a former JTAC - a Joint Terminal Attack Controller. The JTACs are known as the Special Forces unit of the Air Force, with Troy deploying alongside members of the Special Operations Task Group in combat in the Middle East. The R...

Alex Lloyd interviews three Australian Special Forces veterans about the secrets to unlock greater personal resilience. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Dr Dan Pronk, Ben Pronk DSC and Tim Curtis return to the show in this special podcast to talk about their new book, THE RESILIENCE SHIELD . From lessons learned in Afghanistan to Sierra Leone, th...

This is the audio-only version of our Life After Service episode with Tamara Sloper-Harding. Watch the video documentary episode now on  YouTube ! Tamara Sloper-Harding served in the Royal Australian Navy as an intelligence officer and saw deployments to East Timor and Bougainville.  In this episode of Life After Service , Tarama catches up with an old navy colleague, Angus Hordern, and reflects o...

Sharon Mascall-Dare interviews Timor and border protection veteran, Chad McLaren. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Chad McLaren served in the Australian Army as an infantryman and deployed to East Timor in 2000. He then transferred to the Royal Australian Navy and served as a medic, including on border protection. At the Torrens Parade Ground in...

Alex Lloyd interviews an Afghanistan veteran and the first female in an Australian Army combat corps, Carly Box. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Carly Box was in the Australian Army for 11 years. She was the first female to enlist into a combat corps in the army. She enlisted into Artillery and was an operator of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs,...

This is the audio-only version of our Life After Service episode with Tony Park. Watch the video documentary episode now on YouTube ! Tony Park is a fiction and non-fiction international bestselling author. Before that, he served in the Australian Army Reserves in various roles, including as a public affairs officer. In 2002, he was deployed to Afghanistan alongside the SAS, with his first novel p...

Angus Hordern interviews former commando Keith Wolahan. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Keith Wolahan is a former commando, a veteran of 3 tours of Afghanistan. He’s also a lawyer and barrister, and now has been pre-selected for the Federal seat of Menzies for the Liberal Party. Episodes referenced at the end of the podcast include: #44 Mick Bai...

Sharon Mascall-Dare interviews a RAEME veteran of the Middle East, Ken Whitton. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Ken Whitton joined the Army Reserves as a gunner in 1988. He then went full time, serving as an Electronics Technician in the Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, known as RAEME. He deployed on border protection operat...

Alex Lloyd interviews SAS veteran Mark Wales for a second time.  Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Mark Wales is a veteran of the Special Air Service Regiment. He served in the Australian Army for 16 years, 6 of those with the SAS. Alex Lloyd first spoke with Mark about his military service and highlights of his post-army career in Season 2, #28 M...

This is the audio-only version of our Life After Service episode with Don Barnby. Watch the video documentary episode now on YouTube ! Former SAS trooper and Australian Federal Police officer Don Barnby is the third veteran featured in our Life After Service series. Don served in the Vietnam war as a special forces soldier, and at Cyprus, Bougainville and East Timor with the AFP. On a volunteer ba...

2nd Commando Regiment veterans, friends and family share their memories of the late Sergeant Brett Wood MG, DSM. Brett Wood was tragically killed in action by an Improvised Explosive Device on 23 May 2011. As the 10-year anniversary of Brett’s passing approached, Life on the Line was asked by one of Brett's close friends and fellow commandos to commemorate the day. We have done so by creating this...

Alex Lloyd speaks with Mark 'Billy' Billingham, veteran of the British SAS. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. In this special bonus podcast, we feature a veteran of the British SAS who is currently in Australia, here for the filming of ‘SAS Australia’ Season 2 as well as his live tour of talks. Mark 'Billy' Billingham served for nearly two decades...

Alex Lloyd interviews Somalia veteran Greg Hopgood. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Greg Hopgood is a veteran of the Australian Army. He deployed to Somalia with 1 RAR as part of Operation Solace in the 1990s, our first battalion-sized deployment overseas since the Vietnam War. Greg spoke with Alex Lloyd about his experiences on patrols, the mat...