The Cove Podcast

In this episode of The Cove Podcast, host John Hardgrave is joined by the Deputy Chief of Army to discuss The Soldier, Army’s new publication on the purpose and identity of the Australian soldier. The conversation examines why the publication was written now, what it says about Army’s core purpose, and why soldiers must be prepared honestly for the realities of war, violence, lawful killing, fear,...

In this episode of The Cove Podcast, John Hardgrave speaks with an Australian Army officer Mark Vele about his 12-month deployment on Operation ASLAN with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. The discussion explores the realities of preparing for a UN peacekeeping mission, working in a multinational headquarters, living and operating in Juba, and the personal and professional challenges of s...

In this episode of The Cove Podcast, we unpack a recent Reginal Combat Team (previously known as Rifle Company Butterworth) rotation through the perspectives of a soldier and an officer. They discuss how they were selected, the lead-up training and integration between reserve and full-time soldiers, and what it’s really like operating and living in Malaysia. It’s a practical look at the challenges...

This episode of The Cove Podcast explores the unique career of an Army Reserve surgeon, tracing his journey from medical school to operational deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. He unpacks the realities of balancing a demanding civilian surgical career with military service, and the long pathway to becoming a specialist in both worlds. The conversation dives into the role of Defence health profe...

In this episode of The Cove Podcast, we unpack the reality of a posting to the Defence Cooperation Programme in Papua New Guinea. Joined by Warrant Officer Dathan Rolfe, we explore what it means to operate in an environment where influence matters more than authority and relationships outweigh rank. From competing for the position and preparing family for an accompanied move to Port Moresby, throu...

In this episode of The Cove Podcast, John Hardgrave sits down with a former Canadian Army Colonel who traded snow boots for a slouch hat and brought 26 years of coalition experience with him. From early service in the reserves as a bagpiper to deployments in Bosnia and Afghanistan, and later leading multinational warfighting seminars within Australia’s 1st Division, this conversation explores what...

In this episode, we sit down with Sergeant John Welfare, winner of the 2025 Chief of Army Essay Competition and Chauvel Prize, to unpack his argument that the Australian Army must undergo a professional transformation if it is to remain relevant within the integrated force. Drawing on the story of Ignaz Semmelweis and the medical revolution of the 19th century, John challenges the Army to confront...

In this episode of The Cove Podcast, John Hardgrave is joined by Major General Stephen Day, DSC AM, author of the ADF Leadership Doctrine, to explore leadership as a matter of character, not just competence. The conversation examines why moral courage, judgement, and self-awareness sit at the centre of leadership in the profession of arms, and how these principles apply whether leading ten people...

In this episode of The Cove Podcast, John Hargrave explores the fast-growing world of drone racing and uncrewed systems, focusing on the people, skills, and pathways behind the technology. Joined by Lance Corporal Chris Quayle and Captain Tom Gash from the ADF Drone Racing Association, the conversation examines how drone racing builds technical mastery, decision-making under pressure, and communit...

“One foot in the snow, here we go.” In this week’s episode, the host sits down with WO2 Will McGovern (2/14 Light Horse Regiment) and SGT Nathan Groen (1st Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment) to explore their recent deployment to Alaska as Observer-Trainers with the 11th Airborne Division’s “Arctic Angels.” SGT Groen is the Direct Fire Support Weapon’s Platoon Sergeant at 1 RAR and WO2 Will...

‘[W]hat we're trying to do is restore what has been a loss of trust for a number of reasons over the recent decade or so between generals and rank and file to be frank ...’ In this week’s episode, CAPT Todd Lempa sits down with Major General Chris Smith, the Deputy Chief of the Australian Army, to discuss command responsibility and the uncomfortable question of how armies — including our own — hol...

‘It was grinding on me day in, day out—patrolling, heat, and loads I wasn’t built for.’ In this week’s episode, CAPT Todd Lempa sits down with WO2 Tavis Nicholson, the Warrant Officer Physical Training Instructor (PTI) at the Royal Military College – Duntroon (RMC-D), for a follow-on conversation expanding on his earlier episode, ⁠Beyond Snake Bites: The Evolution of Army Physical Training⁠. This...

‘If an adversary is operating in a highly enabled headquarters and we’re not, we will fall behind instantly ...’ In this week’s episode, the host sits down with MAJ Tom Berry, a Signals Officer posted to Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC), to unpack the realities of jamming, machine learning, and the future of command-and-control on the modern battlefield. Building on a recent episode t...

‘'[T]here were .50 cal rounds coming off of Technicals that were ripping through the accommodation buildings…’ In this week’s episode, CAPT Todd Lempa sits down with Warrant Officer Class One Chris Sharp, Regimental Sergeant Major of the 1st Armoured Regiment, to talk about Operation ASLAN, getting selected as the RSM of the Army’s first Combat Experimentation regiment and training soldiers in Afr...

‘Nothing narrows the focus more than being properly shot at ...’ In this week’s episode, the host sits down with Brigadier David McCammon, the Commander of the Australian Army Cadets and Head of Corps – Infantry, to explore what it truly means to prepare for combat, be in combat, and return from it. Few senior officers have deployed so frequently at the tactical level. From commanding platoons and...

“It would be so much easier to say, ‘hey, I was riding on my white horse on the road to Damascus and I got struck down by lightning... but that’s definitely not what occurred.’” In this week’s episode, the host sits down with Chaplain Gav Keating, whose journey through the Australian Army spans from the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, to the Special Air Service Regiment, to commandin...

'These people aren’t ghosts, as much as they attempt to be or seem like it ...’ In this week’s episode, we sit down with MAJ Paul Patty, an Intelligence Officer in the Australian Army, to unpack counterintelligence (CI) in modern conflict. MAJ Patty is an expert in counterintelligence, and his skills have been relied upon in both the private and government sectors. We open with two stark contrasts...

‘Everyone wants the view, but nobody wants the climb.’ In this week’s episode, we sit down with WO1 Scott Krum, the Regimental Sergeant Major of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps, to revisit the Australian Defence Force’s contribution to the Kabul Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) and to ask, plainly, what we demand of soldiers and officers in 2025 and beyond. From 14–30 August 2021, a US...

‘The problem is if society becomes accustomed to or reliant on using the army to solve problems or to address failures of civilian capacity.’ In this week’s episode, we sit down with Dr Risa Brooks PhD, a Professor of Political Science at Marquette University and a leading scholar on civil-military relations, to unpack the enduring tension between military effectiveness and democratic control. Dra...

‘Our boss at the time [was] very experienced in [Air Mobile Operations] and really raised us... [to be] tuned into the detail in terms of planning chalks and serials and bump plans ...’ On this episode of The Cove Podcast, we sit down with CAPT Jimmy Wilson, a Small Group Instructor at the Royal Military College – Duntroon (RMC-D), to unpack the Australian Defence Force’s new Decision Making and P...

‘Again, you’re talking to someone who used to shave and drink out of the same cup ...’ In this week’s episode, we welcome back LTCOL Gordon Wing MBBS, the Senior Medical Officer in the Directorate of Army Health. An infantry Combat Team Commander turned Medical Doctor, LTCOL Wing brings his expertise in military medicine and prevention. His first appearance on the podcast covered the Military Empl...

‘We are at the cutting edge of making what we have work.’ In this week’s episode, we sit down with BRIG Nick Wilson, Commander of the Australian Army’s newest brigade, the 10th Fires Brigade. Having just returned from Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, BRIG Wilson talks us through putting his brigade through the ultimate test providing short-range, ground-based air defence, long-range multi-domain stri...

‘[W]e're not like a professional sporting team that our whole week is designed around that gameday on Saturday, [our] people are required to do their job day in, day out ...’ In this week’s episode, we sit down with WO2 Tavis Nicholson, the Warrant Officer Physical Training Instructor (WOPTI) at the Royal Military College – Duntroon, to explore how physical preparation underpins preparing for and...

‘[T]hat’s a brigade-sized amphibious operation planned and executed in a week …’ In this week’s episode, we dive into the Huon Peninsula Campaign of 1943–44 and examine how the Australian 9th Division used littoral operations to outpace and outfight the Japanese. Our guest this week – Dr Tom Richardson PhD – is a Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales – Canberra. He specialises in mi...

‘[T]he best piece of advice I've had in years past is that if it hurts a little ... there's probably a fair element of truth to it...’ In this week’s episode, we explore how to seek feedback and turn it into actionable advice for commanders. Our guest, WOFF Ken Robertson, the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chief of the Defence Force (SEAC), is the Australian Defence Force’s most senior enlisted le...