The Cove Podcast

‘The warning time that they thought they had completely evaporated in a moment.’ In this week’s episode, we take off from where we left off with Lark Force in Rabaul, New Guinea as the Allies continue to combat the Japanese advance through South-East Asia and the Pacific. Joined by my regular co-host LTCOL Steve Young, this episode is far closer to home, focused on the largest attack on home-soil being on Darwin, Northern Territory.Following Pearl Harbour, the United States identified a need to establish bases that could be held against an initial Japanese onslaught and eventually used to mount counter offensives. The United States chose Darwin because of its deep-water port and its proximity to the Philippines. The assumption was that if the United States could ship stores to Brisbane and Sydney, they could move these stores via road and rail inland to Darwin to stage before the Philippines. Darwin, at this time, consisted of four main streets, the newly established Larrakeyah Barracks and RAAF Base Darwin, a single deep-water port, and a population of less that 6,000.On the 19 February 1942 (74 days after Pearl Harbour), The Nagumo Force was tasked to attack Darwin. The commander sent 242 aircraft to destroy ships afloat in the Darwin Harbour, strike aircraft on the newly established RAAF Base Darwin and the civilian airport and attacked Darwin to deny its use by the Allies. The Nagumo Force managed to kill 250, wound 300-400 people, destroy 30 aircraft, sink 11 vessels and damage 25 vessels. Both the Japanese and the United States overestimated the impact that Darwin would have on the Pacific War and we explain why in this episode.The Bombing of Darwin is commemorated on 19 February each year in Darwin, with 8/12 Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery providing a blank firing demonstration with M2A2 105mm Howitzers, the 1st Aviation Regiment providing Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters and the RAAF’s 75 Squadron providing F-35A Lightning II multi-role, supersonic, stealth fighters to simulate the Japanese bombing and the Allied defence.—————————————————————————Subscribe to The Cove Podcast to make sure that you do not miss out on any of the heavy hitting content we have planned.

Serving in Special Operations Command (SOCOMD) is an aspiration for many and attainable for some. It is a popular choice for ADF members seeking to take their career to the next level and civilians wanting more out of life than a trade or corporate job can offer. Recruiting is underway to identify the next generation of Special Forces Operators, Engineers, Signallers, Medics and Enablers. Depending on the role, some candidates participate in the Special Forces Selection Course (SFSC) – one of the longest and most gruelling selection courses in the world.We’ve partnered with the ADF School of Special Operations to produce a series of episodes to give you insights straight from the source. If you’re interested in joining SOCOMD’s units - 1st Commando Regiment, Special Air Service Regiment, 2nd Commando Regiment, Special Operations Engineer Regiment or Special Operations Logistics Squadron then this is the series for you.This episode features Army physiotherapist, MAJ Angela Uphill PhD who conducted her doctorate on observations from Special Forces Selection. Working within SOCOMD’s Human Performance Optimisation cell, she undertook a comprehensive research project to assess the physical and performance impacts of Selection on candidates. We discuss the data and findings to gain insights about the indicators for who was more or less likely to make it through to the end of Selection. MAJ Uphill also provides some helpful tips to assist with your own training and preparation.SOCOMD is looking for high calibre individuals who ready to play a part in cutting-edge warfare now, and into the future. Could it be you?Find out More: Special Forces Operator - ADF Careers

'With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we can now expect Large Scale Combat in Future Warfare' CAPT Malcolm delves into what we might expect with LSC being one of the main strategies of integrated deterrence. This brings together Allies, Partners and Industry to achieve the desired effect; we must think beyond the land domain and even outside of Army or the military, as we are now working as part of an integrated force. He also explains that with new developments in technology (automated systems, AI and others) which also affect the way that we fight, each of these considerations brings up ethical questions in the way that we fight. CHAP Bouzanquet adds his perspective on ethical decision making with the acceleration towards automation: as we increase the range of our capabilities, we decrease the response time that we have to make an ethical decision, which in turn increases the lethality and the effects through new and emerging technologies. The choke point is going to be the ethical and legal questions that come into play with these new processes. ‘How do we ensure that we are not creating an ethical lag in our processes?’WO2 Campbell adds with this improved level of technologies, we could be in a whole other country and ‘still be witness to traumatic events and then…jump down for a schooner at the Seaview with our mates’. Realistically, we have to be able to empower everyone, through good education and mentorship, to make decisions within the battlespace that are the right decision on the ground.Join CAPT Todd Lempa as he interviews WO2 Tony Campbell, S7 at ADFA; CHAP Joshua Bouzanquet, padre at RMC; and CAPT Matt Malcolm, PhD in Philosophy and bringing an academic perspective to the ethics discussion. —————————————————————————Subscribe to The Cove Podcast to make sure that you do not miss out on any of the heavy hitting content we have planned.

‘[A] recruit instructor is … the first point of contact really, for a soldier’s journey’. CPL Numans explains that your main role as an instructor is to train your section of recruits in all the basic soldierly skills, to be ready for Army. You are with them from the moment they step off the bus, through all the drills and lessons, culminating in the field phase where they conduct infantry minor tactics. These are the basic skills that all soldiers need to know. Finally, you are there for them when they March Out.CPL Numans reflects on some of the lighter moments of being an instructor, such as wasting a recruit’s time when they’ve come to you for assistance, but they need to be on parade or attending a lesson. He also reflects on activities such as ‘Skit Night’ where the recruits can take the mickey out of their R.I.s.Our guest this episode, CPL Jade Numans is a current recruit instructor at 1RTB, joins us to provide insight into both the organisation and his role, and what these might achieve for Army.________________________________________Make sure to listen and subscribe to make sure that you do not miss out on any of The Cove Podcast.

'Black Dagger is our activity that gives JTACs the exposure they need to drop live ordinance in close proximity to friendlies.' In the first joint podcast between The Cove Podcast and Hangar 46, we host CAPT Craig Hogendyk (OC JTAC Troop) and Pete (a Fighter Combat Instructor at 1 Squadron, RAAF) to discuss all things Close Air Support (CAS).We discuss how to become a Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) or a Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC), explain the training pipeline and how each role is employed at the hyper tactical level. Black Dagger is the culminating exercise for the small panel of JTAC students that get a chance at being given a Dagger Call Sign. We discuss how difficult it is to hit land targets with precision accuracy while remaining concealed on the ground from the enemy. CAPT Hogendyk has controlled aircraft such the Tiger Armed Attack Reconnaissance Helicopters from Army’s 1st Aviation Regiment, A-10 Thunderbolt II Attack Aircraft and B-52 Stratofortress Strategic Bombers from the US Military and has controlled Pete’s F/A-18 Super Hornet.Pete recently finished his Air Warfare Instructor Course (AWIC) and qualified as a Fighter Combat Instructor (FCI), Australia’s equivalent of Top Gun. Although this episode is centred on CAS, Pete talks us through all of the other roles that a Super Hornet can fulfil and all of the weaponeering behind choosing the right ordinance to strike a variety of deliberate and opportunistic targets.Join the host of Hangar 46, Miss Cass Bowers, and the host of The Cove Podcast, CAPT Todd Lempa, to discuss real integration at the hyper tactical level.—————————————————————————Subscribe to The Cove Podcast to make sure that you do not miss out on any of the heavy hitting content we have planned.

‘It is really important to look at our defeats’. LTCOL Young explains that Rabaul is potentially one of the most shameful episodes of Australian marshal history. In 1942 The Australian War Cabinet decided not to provide any further reinforcements to the Malayan barrier, leaving the garrisons at Ambon, Timor and Rabaul totally alone with no evacuation plan. This set the conditions for command.COL Scanlan was the commanding officer of Lark Force during the Battle of Rabaul. With limited resources at his disposal, and no plan to execute, he gives the order that it is ‘every man for himself’ as his troops are facing down an invading Japanese platoon.Our guest this episode, LTCOL Steve Young, joins us to shed some light on the tactical considerations behind an experience of command in isolation and how difficult the environment and enemy is to defeat under those circumstances.________________________________________Make sure to listen and subscribe to make sure that you do not miss out on any of The Cove Podcast.

‘We need to have the ability [and] confidence in ourselves … that we are making ethical decisions’. Today’s episode is on Ethical Decision Making, and with this quote, WO2 Campbell explains that the decisions that our officers and leaders often must make are so far beyond the immediate realm and have the potential for far reaching consequences.CHAP Bouzanquet deftly provides an explanation for the subtle differences between Ethics and Morality. Ethics is the process in which we decide what is right or wrong based on a set of laws and rules set by the courts and is very action and consequences based. Morals is more based on who we are: what type of human being am I and what do I bring of my humanity? Whilst anyone can follow a set of rules; it is how we interpret those rules that becomes the question about our moral character.WO2 Campbell also explains the framework ADFA currently uses to guide our future leaders in their journey towards ethical decision making, and that is to ‘build up muscle memory’. This includes understanding what the rules and laws are, understand what our duty is in any given situation and what the desired outcome is, and who we are as an organisation and what virtues and values we have. Finally, there is reflection where we evaluate our thinking, particularly around big decisions, and ask ourselves fundamental questions.Our guests this episode, CHAP Joshua Bouzanquet and WO2 Tony Campbell, join us to provide insights into the reality and consequences of the complex decisions that we often must make on the fly when on deployment.________________________________________Make sure to listen and subscribe to make sure that you do not miss out on any of The Cove Podcast.

‘Change is never easy’. Today’s episode is on Recruiting, and this quote underpins the challenges we all face when transitioning into the ADF workforce. Meaningful change takes time, patience and commitment to achieve.Recruitment is a ‘human-to-human endeavour’. While there are systems in place to support it, it boils down to a real person talking to a prospective recruit, making them feel valued and want to join. It is about our ability to connect with people.The main goal for recruiters is to determine how soon someone wants to achieve their goal of joining the defence force and then ask them a line of questions which helps us determine their interests. Many people apply to be a combat engineer, or an artillery operator, but there are not that many of those roles available. Our job is to find them a role which is a good fit and aligns with their interests, so that they can achieve their primary goal of joining Army.Our guest this episode - LTCOL Trevor Watson, Deputy Director of Recruiting Delivery joins us to help de-mystify how the Army’s recruiting system works.________________________________________Make sure to listen and subscribe to make sure that you do not miss out on any of The Cove Podcast.

‘They call it trading steel for blood’. Welcome back to the 2025 season of The Cove Podcast. Our first episode this year is on Project Convergence.Project Convergence is not a command post exercise, it is also not a training exercise. It is a large-scale experiment without the constraints of training levels that allows the US Military, its allies and Defence industry to have at it testing future concepts and the newest war fighting technology. Firing remote HIMARS with an Xbox controller, flying blood forward from a hospital to a wounded soldier with an unmanned drone and combatting large swarms of enemy drones, this is where technology meets future fighting.Our guest this episode - LTCOL Tommy Gains - began his experimental journey at the US Marine Corps Warfighting Lab in Quantico. He is now the lead planner on Australia’s contribution to Project Convergence and has spent the last two years designing how the Australian Army leans into this experiment.Project Convergence Capstone 5 will run in March 2025 on the west coast of the USA but also takes the experiment to the Pacific for the first time. Whether you get the privilege of taking part or whether you observe from afar as the experiment occurs, this is your chance to be a part of the cutting edge of Future Land Warfare.________________________________________Make sure to listen and subscribe to make sure that you do not miss out on any of The Cove Podcast.

LTCOL Brian Hickey is the current Commanding Officer of the Royal Military College - Duntroon (RMC-D) and he is in-charge of the current 12-month Officer Commissioning Program trial.Royal Military College - Duntroon (RMC-D) has recently shifted from the traditional 18-month program to a more intense 12-month course. In this episode, LTCOL Brian Hickey provides valuable insights into what has changed, what has stayed the same and how it impacts the development of the Army's future lieutenants. We also explore the growing emphasis on leadership in the training and the role of simulation in planning assessments, which is revolutionising how cadets are tested on their decision-making abilities.In addition, LTCOL Brian Hickey shares the benefits of having consistent instructors throughout the duration of a cadet’s training, fostering deeper mentor relationships and better continuity in learning. The realisation that instructors at RMC-D are more likely to become Officer Commanding's, Squadron Sergeant Majors, and Company Sergeant Majors than those from any other unit leads to the CO demanding that they mentor and develop those that will soon become the Platoon or Troop Commanders in their sub-units.Finally, we go through five common myths about the Officer Commissioning Program trial and get the truth about the changes to RMC-D.Whether you've been through Duntroon yourself, are on the path to go through officer training or you're a soldier that demands to know what your Platoon Commander was taught, this episode is packed with insight into how RMC-D is shaping the commanders and war fighters of tomorrow.________________________________________Make sure to listen and subscribe to make sure that you do not miss out on any of The Cove Podcast.