Private Cameron Robison enlisted into the Army Reserve on 29 June 2004. He was allocated to RAInf and was posted to Alpha Company 2nd/17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment. He completed his recruit course at the Army Recruit Training Centre and the Infantry Initial Employment Training (IET) during 2004 and 2005 respectively. As a Reservist, Private Robison participated in Operation DELUGE and Operation TESTAMENT. Private Robison transferred to the Regular Army and was allocated to the 2nd …

Abstract Private Cameron Robison from 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, is currently deployed with Alpha Company on Operation ASTUTE, and he is also a qualified fitness instructor. Like almost everyone who has ever eaten a combat ration pack, he has an opinion. However, the interesting points that Private Robison brings to this discussion are drawn from his own knowledge and experience in fitness. ‘C’est la soupe qui fait la soldat!’ - Napoleon While attributed to Napoleon, the axiom ‘an army …

Lieutenant Rob Orr enlisted in the Australian Regular Army in 1989 and, after initial training, served as a soldier in the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. Transferring to the Physical Training Instructor stream in 1995, Lieutenant Orr served in various postings throughout Australia while completing a degree in Adult Education and Training. Following completion of his Masters degree in Physiotherapy in 2005, Lieutenant Orr was commissioned and commenced work as a physiotherapist. Lieutenant Orr is …

Abstract From the loads carried by the armies of antiquity to today’s modern forces, this article explores and critically analyses soldier load carriage over two millennia. Historical misconceptions appearing in some military documents and literature regarding the context and weight of the soldier’s load are also discussed. The author looks at how, even with changes in logistic practices, technology and the very nature of warfare, the soldier is still a beast of burden and suggests that relying on improved …

Len Johnson was the Operations Officer 6RAR-NZ (Anzac) Battalion during Operation LAVARACK in Vietnam in 1969. He graduated from RMC Duntroon in 1955 and served in Malaya, England, Vietnam and the United States of America where he graduated from the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College. He commanded 4RAR and 2/4RAR and resigned from the Army in 1975. He is the author of a number of books, including: The History of 6RAR-NZ (ANZAC) Battalion, Volume Two, 1967 to 1970 and Love Letters from a …

Abstract Operation LAVARACK was an ambushing and reconnaissance-in-force operation conducted by the 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment – New Zealand (Anzac) in Area of Operations (AO) Vincent in Phuoc Tuy Province from 30 May to 1 July 1969. During thirty- two days of continuous patrolling and ambushing, 6RAR-NZ defeated in battle two main force regiments and a district company, captured and destroyed hundreds of enemy bunkers, disrupted the Viet Cong administrative system in Phuoc Tuy Province …

Tony Cunneen is the Senior Studies Coordinator and teaches English and History at St Pius X College Chatswood. He has written two books, Beecroft and Cheltenham in World War One and Suburban Boys at War, as well as numerous articles on history, education and travel. He is currently researching the experiences of the New South Wales legal profession in the First World War as a project for the Francis Forbes Society for Australian Legal History. … Tony …

Abstract This article outlines the massacre of the 18th Battalion at Gallipoli in August 1914 and argues that the soldiers of that unit were needlessly lost as a result of being sent unprepared into battle and that their Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Chapman was made a scapegoat for the debacle. The article refers to a number of eyewitness accounts of the battle and provides a rare glimpse into the behind the scenes interactions of those officers responsible for the operation. There was still …

Colonel Darren Kerr is a graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon. An Australian Intelligence Corps officer, he has seen operational service in Timor-Leste and Iraq, and will soon deploy to Afghanistan. He has also served as Defence Adviser to Pakistan and Afghanistan. He is currently the Director of Studies at the College for Defence and Strategic Studies. … Darren …

Bardia: Myth, reality and the heirs of ANZAC   Written by: Craig Stockings, UNSW Press, Sydney, 2009, ISBN: 1921410256, 496 Pages.   Abstract On 3 January 1941, Australian soldiers led an assault against the Italian colonial fortress town of Bardia. Two days later, after fifty-five hours of heavy fighting, the position fell to the Australians in a resounding victory. At a cost of 130 killed and 326 wounded, the Australians captured around 40,000 Italian prisoners and large quantities of arms and equipment. …