I have had quite a few of you contact me for my email address as they forgot to change it when last notified.
Please, if wish to contact me with a story, article, YouTube video or just to say hi my only email address is [email protected]
Please amend your list now … thanks, because I don’t want to miss a single message.
Ray Payne
We have received advice of the death on 21 October 2023 of Barry Uren. He was 82. Barry served in Vietnam from October 1966 until May 1967 with the Detachment 131 Divisional Locating Battery. A funeral for Barry was held on 28 October 2023.
RIP Barry Thomas Uren
Peter Bruce, OAM
Obituary Resource Officer
I have been advised that Trevor James Kenny from WA passed away on the 29th October 2023.
Funeral details to follow.
Regards
Wendy M McLean
Secretary 4RAR Association Qld
THE special military relationship between Australia and PNG has reached the next level of maturity with a PNGDF officer appointed to a competitive senior 3rd Brigade role.
LTCOL Boniface Aruma, will become deputy brigade commander, replacing an Australian officer, LTCOL Ken Golder.
A June 1999 Duntroon graduate, his career has paralleled his military college classmates, attending the Australian Command and Staff College in 2016, plus dual master’s degrees in international relations and defence studies from Deakin University and ANU.
CLICK LINK to continue reading
Hi ALL,
I apologise for the abrupt interruption and failing to post over the last few days. Last Tuesday night, after my routine colonoscopy earlier that day, I experienced severe bladder pain that woke me up around 11 PM. Without hesitation, I drove myself to emergency, where I received excellent care. By around 3 AM, I was feeling better, but the doctor decided to admit me for observation due to some concerns.
As it turns out, my heart rate dropped to around 30 beats per minute, which raised some alarms. A cardiologist was called in to evaluate my condition. While my heart was strong, my heart rate was erratic. The cardiologist recommended that I have a pacemaker implanted to stabilise my heart rate.
I’ve been allowed to leave the hospital for the weekend with strict instructions to rest completely. The pacemaker will be fitted on Tuesday, which coincides with Melbourne Cup Day, bummer! If all goes well, I should be discharged late on Wednesday afternoon and back at my desk on Thursday.
I’m actually feeling quite ok but resting as per their instructions.
Cheers Ray
Hi All,
Ray (Dad) is currently in hospital unfortunately. He is doing well but will be off-line for a little while.
Glenn
In the ever-evolving landscape of the digital age, where information flows freely but often without direction or purpose, there stand entities that focus on bridging the gap between need and provision. Frontline is one such beacon, guiding Australian veterans, ex-service members, and active personnel through a quagmire of information, offering clarity and precision.
Yet, every beacon needs a source of light. For Frontline, that luminosity comes from the unwavering support of its donors.
It’s not just about financial contributions. It’s about believing in a cause. It’s about understanding the value of genuine, relevant, and timely information for our diggers, both on and off the battlefield. It’s about being a part of a larger mission – a mission that has, since 2001, been committed to ensuring that no member of our brave community feels lost in the vast expanse of the digital realm.
Each donation we receive is a testament to trust. Trust in our vision, our commitment, and our relentless pursuit of excellence. And it’s only right that such trust is recognised and celebrated.
Today, we’re honoured to present to you our dedicated page that showcases these pillars of strength. We invite you to visit Frontline’s Honour Roll – a space where gratitude meets action. Here, we’ve listed the names of our supporters, those individuals and entities that have chosen to stand with us, shoulder to shoulder, as we march forward.
To our donors: Your belief fuels our journey. Your trust shapes our path. And your support ensures that Frontline remains robust, reliable, and ever-resilient. From the depth of our hearts, we thank you. It’s backers like you who remind us daily of the worthiness of our mission and the importance of our duty.
As we continue to serve, know that your contributions are not just logged entries in our accounts. They are cherished reminders of a community that cares, believes, and supports.
Together, we forge ahead. And together, we ensure that Frontline remains ever bright.
30th October marks a significant date in world history. On this day in 1918, an armistice was signed with Turkey, effectively ending its participation in the First World War. This cessation of hostilities played a crucial role in determining the war’s outcome and reshaping the Middle East in the post-war period. Australian troops, who made substantial contributions during the conflict, especially against the Ottoman Empire, were instrumental in many of these campaigns, notably in Gallipoli and Sinai-Palestine.
Background: The First World War, which spanned from 1914 to 1918, saw the world’s major powers pitted against each other. The Central Powers, including Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria, were up against the Allies, mainly comprising Britain, France, Russia, and later the United States. The Ottoman Empire, once an expansive and dominant power, had been in decline and saw the war as an opportunity to rejuvenate its territorial prowess.
Australia’s Role: As part of the British Empire, Australia was automatically drawn into the war when Britain declared war on Germany in 1914. Australian forces were quickly deployed to different fronts, but their role in the Middle Eastern campaigns against the Ottomans was particularly pronounced.
Gallipoli: In 1915, Australian and New Zealand forces, collectively known as the ANZACs, were central to the Gallipoli campaign, an attempt to capture the Dardanelles strait and Constantinople. The campaign proved disastrous, with heavy casualties on both sides. Despite the failure to achieve its military objectives, Gallipoli forged a sense of national identity for Australia and New Zealand, marking the birth of the ANZAC spirit, which represents courage, mateship, and sacrifice.
Sinai-Palestine: Following the Gallipoli withdrawal, the Australian troops were re-deployed to the Sinai and Palestine front. Here, they fought a series of battles against the Ottoman forces, ultimately leading to the capture of Jerusalem and the eventual defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the region. The mounted troops, including the Australian Light Horse Brigade, played a particularly significant role in these campaigns.
The Armistice with Turkey: By late 1918, the war had taken a heavy toll on the Ottoman Empire, both in terms of human casualties and economic strain. Recognizing the inevitable, the Ottoman leadership sought an armistice. On 30th October 1918, the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire aboard the HMS Agamemnon, effectively ending Turkey’s involvement in the war. This paved the way for the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920, which would further delineate the boundaries in the Middle East.
The signing of the armistice with Turkey on 30th October 1918 marked not only the end of the Ottoman Empire’s involvement in the First World War but also the beginning of the modern Middle East. The valor and sacrifice of Australian troops in the Middle Eastern campaigns played a pivotal role in shaping the outcomes of these battles and remain a testament to the ANZAC spirit.
The AUKUS project, priced at $368 billion, is under scrutiny as former foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer predicts the future federal government might forgo local submarine construction due to high costs. Downer suggests that Australia could eventually purchase submarines from overseas, asserting that it would be 30% to 40% cheaper to have them built in the UK or US.
Countering this, SA premier Peter Malinauskas stresses the importance of Australia having the capability to build these submarines for national security, highlighting challenges in sourcing enough nuclear submarines from external sellers. Malinauskas critiques Downer’s stance, finding it inconsistent given Downer’s experience.
Downer further questioned the economic feasibility of building submarines in Adelaide and raised concerns about the unresolved issue of nuclear waste storage.
The current AUKUS terms have Australia receiving three Virginia-class submarines from the US while planning to construct up to eight nuclear-powered submarines domestically.
In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a government.
John Adams
Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of government. But then I repeat myself.
Mark Twain
I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
Winston Churchill
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
George Bernard Shaw
Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.
Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University
Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
P.J. O’Rourke, Civil Libertarian
Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavours to live at the expense of everybody else.
Frederic Bastiat, French economist (1801-1850)
I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
Will Rogers
If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free!
P.J. O’Rourke
In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.
Voltaire (1764)
Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you!
Pericles (430 B.C.)
No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.
Mark Twain (1866)
Talk is cheap…except when government does it.
Anonymous
The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.
Mark Twain
What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.
Edward Langley, Artist (1928-1995)
A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.
Thomas Jefferson
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
Aesop