True Blue Conversations Podcast

In the first podcast of Season 4 Adam is joined by the man with the moustache and a love for reading, 6 RAR infantry Captain, Dylan Conway. Dylan is the founder of BrothersNBooks, a charity that is seeking to make reading cool again. BrothersNBooks was founded in 2020 after the pandemic crisis which saw millions of people around the world suffering from isolation and lockdowns, poor mental health...

In season 3 finale Adam interviews Troy Knight, Troy is a former Royal Australian Airforce Joint Terminal Attack Controller, Author, and PSD Operator. The Combat Controllers 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. Throughout his Military career Troy deployed on multiple operation...

Chris May joined the Australian Army at 16.9months, Chris was a war veteran at nineteen deploying to Afghanistan in 2009, Chris deployed again in 2011 and on September 23rd 2011, Chris's life changed forever when he survived driving over an improvised explosive device. Chris has gone on to do so much for veterans and veterans mental health he formed Young Veterans with his brother and was the winn...

What would you do if you were stranded in the coldest place on earth as the world you knew back home changed forever… Adam speaks with Author David Knoff, As station leader at the Davis Research Station in Antarctica, David was leading 24 expeditions on a standard mission when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, international travel came to a standstill and their ride home was cancelled – Indefinitely, Wha...

During his recent visit to the battlefields of the Western Front, Adam visited the medieval town of Ypres (modern day Ieper), and sat down with the chairman of the Last Post Association, Benoit Mottrie. The Last Post Association is an independent voluntary, non-profit organisation who founded the Last Post Ceremony back in 1928. It is still responsible for this unique daily act of homage to this v...

Adam is joined by former special operations team commander, SASR Major Mark Wales (RET). Among his many career achievements Mark is the author of "Survivor: Life in the SAS", the founder of fashion label, "Kill Kapture", and the winner of the TV phenomenon, "Survivor". Mark shared his experiences of his time away on multiple deployments, his life after service, particularly in building resilience...

Tim Thomas is a former special forces Australian Commando serving in the 2nd Commando Regiment, Tim was one of the first to take part in the Special Forces Direct Recruiting Scheme (SFDRS) in 2004, The SFDRS aims to attract 23-29 year old males with high fitness levels and a proven ability to excel. The higher recruitment standards aim to assist not only in enlisting people of the desired quality,...

Tim Thomas is a former special forces Australian Commando serving in the 2nd Commando Regiment, Tim was one of the first to take part in the Special Forces Direct Recruiting Scheme (SFDRS) in 2004, The SFDRS aims to attract 23-29 year old males with high fitness levels and a proven ability to excel. The higher recruitment standards aim to assist not only in enlisting people of the desired quality,...

Kane Vandenberg Digger Day Digger Day was founded in 2012 as a fundraising event in support of veterans in the local community who had sustained physical or psychological disability from their military service. It is organised through the totally and Permanently Incapacitated Ex- Servicemen & Women Association and the RSL. It is an event unlike our two current commemorative events Anzac Day and Re...

Hailing from Melbourne George Petrou is a successful graphic designer and acclaimed portrait artist. Passionate about ordinary Australians who have served our nation with gallantry and sacrifice, George captures the eye and gives voice and further life to their incredible stories. George's portraits proudly hang in museums in France, Government House Canberra, and a range of military institutions...

Pete Rudland joined the Australian Defence Force on 21 March 1989. He spent 28 years in the Royal Australian Infantry and served in 3RAR, 4RAR, The Parachute Training School, SASR and 2CDO Regiment. Pete deployed to Cambodia as part of UNTAC in 1993, to Iraq with the SASR during the 1997 bombing campaign, East Timor in 2001 as part of the 4RAR (CDO) deployment, Iraq in 2003 as part of an exchange...

The remarkable wartime experiences of Kit McNaughton Kitty's War is based upon the previously unpublished war diaries of Great War army nurse Sister Kit McNaughton. Kit and historian Janet Butler grew up in the same Victorian district of drystone walls, wheatfields and meandering creeks, except many decades apart. The idea of this young nurse setting out on a journey in July 1915 which would take...

Carly Box served in the Australian Army for 11 years, where she became the first female to enlist into a Combat Corps as an operator of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, commonly known as Drones). She deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 as a ScanEagle UAV operator, racking up over 1000 operational flying hours, returning in 2013 as a Shadow mission commander. Carly now co-owns the successful Barracks Gy...

Gwen Cherne was appointed as the inaugural Veteran Family Advocate Commissioner on the Repatriation Commission in August 2020. The following year in March, Gwen was selected as a member of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission. Gwen is committed to representing the perspectives of veteran families in ongoing policy and decision-making across Government. As a single mother with tw...

Warrant Officer Kevin Arthur "Dasher" Wheatley VC enlisted in the Australian Regular Army in 1956. He served in Malaya with various units until 1965 when he was posted to the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV). Dasher is one of the most extraordinary characters in Australian military history. He was a husband, father, champion footballer and one of the finest soldiers this country has e...

In this Special 50th episode of True Blue History I am joined by Former Australian Army intelligence Officer Major Sarah Watson. Sarah served 18.5 years in the military, including a deployment to Iraq where she provided strategic intelligence support to Overwatch Battlegroup West 2.  Sarah discharged from the Army in 2015, Since that time Sarah has thrown herself into supporting Veterans through h...

My guest today is former SAS Sergeant Harry Moffitt, who spent the majority of his 30 years in Australia's Defence Force with the elite Special Air Service Regiment (SASR). Harry completed 11 service deployments amassing nearly 1,000 days on combat operations globally, including being wounded in action in 2008. He completed his time with the SASR as its Director of High-Performance. He recently au...

Welcome to a very special episode with today's guest, Dr Aaron Pegram as we talk about one of the Australians' most significant military actions during the Great War In early April 1918, the Australians and British had successfully defended the French village of Villers Bretonneux, only to have it lost later that month on 24 April. With the German Spring Offensive still threatening to break throug...

Welcome back to our podcast with former Australian Army Combat Engineer, Author, Paralympian Gold medallist and World Champion, Curtis McGrath. We previously learned of his near-death experience with a landmine in Afghanistan that cost him his legs. In Part 2, we speak with Curtis about his road to recovery; not just physically, but mentally. Through his passion for sport Curtis approached every s...

In todays podcast Adam is joined by former Australian Army Combat Engineer, Author, Paralympian Gold medallist and World Champion, Curtis McGrath. While serving in Afghanistan in 2012, Curtis stepped on a land mine, which resulted in life threatening injuries. Still conscious and aware he'd bleed out within minutes, Curtis, as the unit's chief first aid officer, calmly directed his comrades to app...

It is the 80th anniversary of Kokoda this year and who better to have along to talk about that then Dr Karl James of the Australian War Memorial. Dr James will talk about his book, Kokoda: Beyond the Legend , and how the fighting in New Guinea from July through to November 1942 was some of the toughest of the Second World War. The Japanese were rolling through the Pacific in early 1942 and seemed...

In Part 3 of our chat with, former Royal Australian Army Medical Corps Sergeant McQuilty 'Coco' Quirke NSC, Coco will be talking about his long recovery after being blown up by an IED, and the determination he showed when cancer tragically affected his family. By cultivating a positive mindset and developing resilience, Coco and his family got through that tough time together. He is now a motivati...

In Part 2 of our chat with, former Royal Australian Army Medical Corps Sergeant McQuilty 'Coco' Quirke NSC, Coco will be talking about fighting demons from his tour of Iraq and overcoming PTSD arising from that deployment. Deploying again in 2011 in Afghanistan McQuilty's life changed forever when on 13 August 2011, he was blown out of the back of the Bush Master after hitting an IED. He received...

Our special guest for today is former Royal Australian Army Medical Corps Sergeant McQuilty Quirke NSC. Despite receiving life-threating wounds in battle, he fought courageously and with great determination to overcome PTSD arising from service in Iraq and Afghanistan. McQuilty joined the Medical Corps because he wanted to save lives. 'Coco' to his mates, he was a soldier, a medic, a leader, but i...