Angus Hordern interviews retired Major General John Cantwell AO, DSC.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. John Cantwell AO, DSC served in the Australian Army for 38 years, retiring at the rank of Major General. He had tours of duty in the First and Second Gulf War, and the War in Afghanistan. He began his career as a Private, saw intense frontline combat and in his final tour was the Commander of Australian Forces in the Middle East Area of Operations. John was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in 2012 for his “inspired leadership, deep commitment to his people and superior performance on operations”. He is the author of the bestselling memoir, EXIT WOUNDS.
Sharon Mascall-Dare interviews RAAF veteran Pete Nugent.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Peter Nugent is a former flight test engineer with the Royal Australian Air Force. Pete told Sharon Mascall-Dare about his early days with the military, his love of aircraft and his deployment to Iraq.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Sarah Watson was an Intelligence Officer in the Australian Army. She deployed to Iraq in 2006 and was the Intelligence Analyst for all Middle Eastern countries except Afghanistan during the Arab Spring. This is Alex Lloyd's conversation with Sarah about the challenges and victories she faced in uniform, and beyond.
Alex Lloyd interviews Australian Army veteran Aaron Davis.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. The Season 3 finale is a veteran’s story of trauma, growth and resilience, from battlefields overseas to how life in uniform is intertwined with life back home. Aaron Davis was an infantryman in 6RAR. He was deployed to Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan. Between his times overseas, he was juggling his ever-growing family and his increasing difficulty to ‘switch off’ and transition from cams to civvies. This is his story, as told to Alex Lloyd.
Aaron returned to the podcast in the episode released for Remembrance Day 2019, Panel - Modern Veterans.
Sharon Mascall-Dare interviews Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan veteran Craig Cook.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Craig Cook has served in the Australian Army for 34 years, as a member of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps. He has deployed to Somalia, Afghanistan and three times to Iraq - twice with US forces, who have recognised his achievements with a Meritorious Service Medal and a Bronze Star. Today he’s the Regimental Sergeant Major at 9th Brigade in Adelaide. Craig shared with Sharon Mascall-Dare stories of high intensity combat, having a bounty on his head and the effects of the military life on his family.
Alex Lloyd interviews former Special Forces team commander Harry Moffitt.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Harry Moffitt is a former team commander in the Special Air Service Regiment. He passed selection in 1990 and finally left in 2015, when he decided his body, family and future would best be served by moving on - 25 years after he initially joined the Regiment. Harry has extensive operational experience, including deployments to Timor and the Middle East. He spoke to Alex Lloyd about the psychology of being an elite soldier, leadership in high-tempo deployments and how best to equip yourself for life after service.
The closing music of the episode is by The Externals, an Australian SAS original rock band. Harry is the band’s singer-songwriter. The track is called “Edge of the World”. Look up the band on Facebook and Spotify, and find out more on the 16th episode of The Unforgiving60 Podcast.
Thomas Kaye interviews former Special Forces soldier Nick Caldwell.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Nick Caldwell reflected on his Special Forces career with Thomas Kaye, in this conversation about mindset, growth and what it takes to be a trooper at the tip of the spear.
Alex Lloyd interviews Iraq veteran Dr Sharon Mascall-Dare.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Dr Sharon Mascall-Dare is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster and author, and has deployed to Iraq with the Australian Army. Sharon has worked for the BBC, Radio France International and the ABC's Radio Australia, presenting news coverage of war and peacekeeping operations in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. She has a PhD in communication and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of South Australia. Her area of research is ethnographic journalism and journalistic ethics in regards to coverage of veterans' affairs and Anzac commemoration. Sharon is a Major in the Australian Army Reserve, working now as a Public Affairs Officer with Headquarters 9th Brigade. She deployed to Iraq in 2016-17. Sharon began conducting veteran interviews for LIFE ON THE LINE in 2018. She also runs StoryRight, a veterans employment support program.
Alex Lloyd interviews Victoria Cross recipient Daniel Keighran.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Today's conversation is with Daniel Keighran VC. Dan is the third recipient of the Victoria Cross for Australia, for his leadership and courage during the Battle of Derapet, in Afghanistan in 2010. Dan spoke to Alex about his army career, the battle that changed his life and the Victoria Cross.
Dan was interviewed by journalist Kristin Shorten in an exclusive, published in anticipation of this interview. You can read the article on the Daily Telegraph’s website. The online article was published Monday 18 February and the print edition was published on Tuesday 19 February.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Veterans of Season 2 share with the Thistle Productions team their experiences of Christmas in uniform, from deployments overseas and back home in Australia. These stories have not been previously featured on the podcast. Returning guests include Dave Stafford Finney, Don Barnby, Chantelle Taylor, Cassie Collins, Glenn Kolomeitz, David Michael, Rev Dr Gareth Clayton and Rothesay Swan; and Sharon Mascall-Dare of the podcast team also shares a Christmas tale, from her deployment to Iraq.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Today's conversation is with Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, Rhys Dowden. A former member of the 2nd Commando regiment, Rhys saw multiple deployments to the Middle East as an elite soldier. Alex Lloyd spoke to Rhys about training to be a Commando, contact stories and the power of purpose.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Today's conversation is with Janine Fabre, formerly of the Australian Army. Janine shared stories of her life behind the camera lens and the lessons she's learned from documenting our troops at home and abroad. Our thanks go to Defence Media for organising the interview.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Today's conversation is with Air Vice-Marshal Tracy Smart AM, currently serving with the Royal Australian Air Force. Tracy has seen a variety of deployments, including the UN mission to Rwanda. Our thanks go to Defence Media for organising the interview.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Every week we also have a bonus episode, where we speak to historians, authors and others in the veterans community. Alex Lloyd spoke with Doug Baird, father of the late Cameron Baird VC, MG. Cameron served in the 2nd Commando Regiment and was killed in action during his final tour of Afghanistan in 2013. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia. Doug spoke to Alex about his late son's life, death and legacy.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Today's conversation is with East Timor, Solomon Islands and Middle East veteran, Mark Wales. A former member of the Special Air Service, Mark saw multiple deployments to the Middle East as an elite soldier. Alex Lloyd spoke to Mark about aspiring to become Special Forces, his experiences abroad and how his military skills have served him in life after.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Today's conversation is with Air Force mechanic-turned-officer Cassie Collins. Cassie joined the Royal Australian Air Force as a grease monkey, has served on overseas deployments including the Middle East Area of Operations and Sudan, and spoke about how modern servicemen and servicewomen are perceived today.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Every week we also have a bonus episode, where we speak to historians, authors and others in the veterans community. Chantelle Taylor is a veteran of the British military. She’s renowned for being the first female British soldier to kill an enemy combatant in close quarters. She’s also author of the bestselling memoir, “Battleworn”. Alex Lloyd spoke with Chantelle about her life in uniform.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Today's conversation is with Sally Heidenreich, a former intelligence officer in the Australian Army who saw multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Sally spoke to Sharon Mascall-Dare about what her service means to her, how it's affected her and the key role Sally played in the fight against the Taliban.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Most weeks we also have a bonus episode, where we speak to historians, authors and others in the veterans community. Today's bonus episode is with Hugh Riminton. We spoke with Hugh about his career of frontline reporting from war zones, and his new book MINEFIELDS.
