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PODCAST

The Cove Podcast

The Cove Podcast brings you candid, unfiltered conversations with the leaders, soldiers, and scholars shaping the Australian Army today. Each week, our hostCAPT Todd Lempasits down with uniformed officers and soldiers leading the change in the Australian Army as well as academics and international partners to unpack what modern warfare demands. From redefining leadership and resilience in the modern Army to exploring lessons from combat operations, command culture, human performance, and the future

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All Episodes

74:20

Counter-UAS: Adapting to the Drone Threat with LTCOL...

The Cove Podcast ·

2026/10/04

LTCOL Paul Middleton from Headquarters 2nd Division joins The Cove to discuss the integration of counter-uncrewed aerial systems during Exercise Austral Shield 2026. The exercise saw JTF 629 take newly issued LAND 156 equipment and trained operators into a collective tactical environment, moving beyond classroom training to test the equipment, tactics and soldiers against a realistic UAS threat. The conversation explores what was learned, how quickly soldiers adapted, and why counter-UAS is

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50:32

From Oxford to the Australian Army: Rethinking...

The Cove Podcast ·

2026/09/06

LieutenantOliver Douglas talks with John Hardgrave on The Cove Podcast to discuss his experience serving with the Oxford University Officers’ Training Corps while studying as a Rhodes Scholar. Drawing on his time inside both the Australian and British Army systems, he explores the cultural differences between the two forces and explains how the British UOTC model gives young people a rapid, low-commitment introduction to military service. The episode considers whether a similar approach could

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64:35

Bringing Them Home: The Search for Australia’s...

The Cove Podcast ·

2026/08/23

In this episode of The Cove Podcast, John Hardgrave talks withDr Aaron Pegram and Major Craig Foreman from Unrecovered War Casualties – Army explain the painstaking work involved in locating, recovering and identifying Australia’s missing service personnel. They discuss the historical research, forensic science and investigative expertise behind each case, before taking listeners inside the recent search in Korea for Corporal William Murphy, who has remained missing since the Battle of Kapyong in

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63:25

Peacekeeping, Protection and Perspective: Lessons...

The Cove Podcast ·

2026/06/14

In this episode of The Cove Podcast, John Hardgrave speaks with an Australian Army officer Mark Vele about his 12-month deployment on Operation ASLAN with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. The discussion explores the realities of preparing for a UN peacekeeping mission, working in a multinational headquarters, living and operating in Juba, and the personal and professional challenges of serving in a complex security environment far from home.

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55:47

From Snow to Slouch Hat, Transitioning Between Two...

The Cove Podcast ·

2026/04/05

In this episode of The Cove Podcast, John Hardgrave sits down with a former Canadian Army Colonel who traded snow boots for a slouch hat and brought 26 years of coalition experience with him.From early service in the reserves as a bagpiper to deployments in Bosnia and Afghanistan, and later leading multinational warfighting seminars within Australia’s 1st Division, this conversation explores what happens when two professional armies—shaped by different histories, geographies, and cultures—collide

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64:17

Mission Culture: Rethinking Army as a Profession with...

The Cove Podcast ·

2026/03/22

In this episode, we sit down with Sergeant John Welfare, winner of the 2025 Chief of Army Essay Competition and Chauvel Prize, to unpack his argument that the Australian Army must undergo a professional transformation if it is to remain relevant within the integrated force. Drawing on the story of Ignaz Semmelweis and the medical revolution of the 19th century, John challenges the Army to confront its institutional blind spots, rethink its expertise, and align its culture with external necessity

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46:05

Fighting in the Arctic: America's Arctic Angels - WO2...

The Cove Podcast ·

2025/12/07

“One foot in the snow, here we go.”In this week’s episode, the host sits down with WO2 Will McGovern (2/14 Light Horse Regiment) and SGT Nathan Groen (1st Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment) to explore their recent deployment to Alaska as Observer-Trainers with the 11th Airborne Division’s “Arctic Angels.” SGT Groen is the Direct Fire Support Weapon’s Platoon Sergeant at 1 RAR and WO2 Will McGovern is a Squadron Sergeant Major at 2/14 LHR. In January 2025, they supported the 11th Airborne

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45:58

Command Responsibility: Holding Senior Leaders to...

The Cove Podcast ·

2025/11/30

‘[W]hat we're trying to do is restore what has been a loss of trust for a number of reasons over the recent decade or so between generals and rank and file to be frank ...’In this week’s episode, CAPT Todd Lempa sits down with Major General Chris Smith, the Deputy Chief of the Australian Army, to discuss command responsibility and the uncomfortable question of how armies — including our own — hold senior leaders to account. Building on his earlier episode on Warrior Culture, MAJGEN Smith

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42:48

The Double-Edged Sword: Jamming and Machine Learning...

The Cove Podcast ·

2025/11/16

‘If an adversary is operating in a highly enabled headquarters and we’re not, we will fall behind instantly ...’In this week’s episode, the host sits down with MAJ Tom Berry, a Signals Officer posted to Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC), to unpack the realities of jamming, machine learning, and the future of command-and-control on the modern battlefield. Building on a recent episode titled Tactical Communications with CAPT Jack Virtue, this conversation shifts from line-of-sight and

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54:05

Command in Combat: Hard Decisions and High Standards...

The Cove Podcast ·

2025/10/26

‘Nothing narrows the focus more than being properly shotat ...’ In this week’s episode, the host sits down with Brigadier David McCammon, the Commander of the Australian Army Cadets and Head of Corps – Infantry, to explore what it truly means to prepare for combat, be in combat, and return from it. Few senior officers have deployed so frequently at the tactical level. From commanding platoons and companies to leading a battalion and a brigade on operations, BRIG McCammon’s operational experience

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45:12

The Invisible Front: The Importance of Effective...

The Cove Podcast ·

2025/10/12

'These people aren’t ghosts, as much as they attempt to be or seem like it ...’In this week’s episode, we sit down with MAJ Paul Patty, an Intelligence Officer in the Australian Army, to unpack counterintelligence (CI) in modern conflict. MAJ Patty is an expert in counterintelligence, and his skills have been relied upon in both the private and government sectors. We open with two stark contrasts: a contemporary case study on Ukraine’s operational planning and the consequences when CI is poorly

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66:48

Warrior Ethos: from Non-Combatant Evacuation to...

The Cove Podcast ·

2025/10/05

‘Everyone wants the view, but nobody wants the climb.’ In this week’s episode, we sit down with WO1 Scott Krum, the Regimental Sergeant Major of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps, to revisit the Australian Defence Force’s contribution to the Kabul Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) and to ask, plainly, what we demand of soldiers and officers in 2025 and beyond. From 14–30 August 2021, a US-led, coalition-supported NEO moved approximately 124,000 civilians through Hamid Karzai International

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35:11

The Unseen Ties: Exploring Civil-Military Relations –...

The Cove Podcast ·

2025/09/28

‘The problem is if society becomes accustomed to or reliant on using the army to solve problems or to address failures of civilian capacity.’In this week’s episode, we sit down with Dr Risa Brooks PhD, a Professor of Political Science at Marquette University and a leading scholar on civil-military relations, to unpack the enduring tension between military effectiveness and democratic control. Drawing on Peter Feaver’s concept of the “problematique,” Dr Brooks examines how this dilemma plays out

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44:18

A New Era of Decision Making in the Australian Army –...

The Cove Podcast ·

2025/09/21

‘Our boss at the time [was] very experienced in [Air Mobile Operations] and really raised us... [to be] tuned into the detail in terms of planning chalks and serials and bump plans ...’ On this episode of The Cove Podcast, we sit down with CAPT Jimmy Wilson, a Small Group Instructor at the Royal Military College – Duntroon (RMC-D), to unpack the Australian Defence Force’s new Decision Making and Planning Process (DMPP). An Infantry Officer with service in the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian

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39:42

Survival Starts with Hygiene: How to Thrive in the...

The Cove Podcast ·

2025/09/14

‘Again, you’re talking to someone who used to shave and drink out of the same cup ...’In this week’s episode, we welcome back LTCOL Gordon Wing MBBS, the Senior Medical Officer in the Directorate of Army Health. An infantry Combat Team Commander turned Medical Doctor, LTCOL Wing brings his expertise in military medicine and prevention. His first appearance on the podcast covered the Military Employment Classification System; this time, we explore a topic with immediate, practical consequences for

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38:05

Beyond Snake Bites: The Evolution of Army Physical...

The Cove Podcast ·

2025/08/31

‘[W]e're not like a professional sporting team that our whole week is designed around that gameday on Saturday, [our] people are required to do their job day in, day out ...’In this week’s episode, we sit down with WO2 Tavis Nicholson, the Warrant Officer Physical Training Instructor (WOPTI) at the Royal Military College – Duntroon, to explore how physical preparation underpins preparing for and winning wars in the Australian Army. Drawing on his experience training across conventional units and

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45:58

Small Boats and Brave Men – Dr Tom Richardson PhD

The Cove Podcast ·

2025/08/24

‘[T]hat’s a brigade-sized amphibious operation planned and executed in a week …’ In this week’s episode, we dive into the Huon Peninsula Campaign of 1943–44 and examine how the Australian 9th Division used littoral operations to outpace and outfight the Japanese. Our guest this week – Dr Tom Richardson PhD – is a Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales – Canberra. He specialises in military history and amongst his many publications is an article called Small Boats and Brave Men,

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61:04

Advice - WOFF Ken Robertson

The Cove Podcast ·

2025/08/17

‘[T]he best piece of advice I've had in years past is that if it hurts a little ... there's probably a fair element of truth to it...’In this week’s episode, we explore how to seek feedback and turn it into actionable advice for commanders. Our guest, WOFF Ken Robertson, the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chief of the Defence Force (SEAC), is the Australian Defence Force’s most senior enlisted leader. As the first person appointed to the role, he has advised GEN Angus Campbell and ADM David

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41:51

Supporting Army Helicopters – CAPT Shannon McGee and...

The Cove Podcast ·

2025/07/20

'Watching those aircraft take off ... and knowing that you are part of that success, part of that story, there's not many better feelings.’ In this week’s episode, we talk about the challenges and opportunities of keeping the CH47 Chinook and AH-64 Apache helicopters in the air. Our guests are CAPT Shannon McGee and FSGT Jason Smart from the Army’s new 16 Aviation Support Battalion in Townsville, Queensland. CAPT Shannon McGee is a Mechanical and Aerospace Engineer on the CH47 Chinook and FSGT Jason

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56:29

Recon by Fire - CPL Andrew Noseda

The Cove Podcast ·

2025/07/13

‘We are never going to be combat ineffective because of atmospherics... we can work in the rain, we can work in the mud, and we can work in the jungle.’ In this week’s episode, we talk all things infantry reconnaissance and how reconnaissance patrols enable the fight. Our guest this week - CPL Andrew Noseda - is currently the acting Platoon Sergeant for the Reconnaissance Platoon at the 1st Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment. He was the Section Commander for the battalion’s Duke of Gloucester

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