This is Duty First, a podcast about the history of the Royal Australian Regiment (RAR). Bear witness as the regiment rises from the ashes of the Second World War to become Australia’s first ever professionalised infantry force. Told by members of the regiment who were there, enter a world where courage takes centre stage and history comes alive.
Tim Russell, Writer & Producer
Slade Gibson, Audio Producer & Composer
Paul Larter, Host
Harry Windsor, Writer
Produced by Pivot Studios for The Department of Veterans Affairs and The Royal Australian Regiment Foundation.
The Royal Australian Regiment has evolved over the past 75 years with improvements in technology, equipment and structure, but one thing remains the same: Duty First. In this episode, we'll hear from the wider RAR family including RAR Foundation and support systems for veterans, family support, and what the future holds for the RAR.
Featured interviews:
Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley (nee McMartin)
Major General Shane. Caughey, AM, CSC, Colonel Commandant (Rtd) - 2/4RAR, 6RAR, Chair RAR Foundation
LTGEN Peter Leahy AC (retd) - 8/9RAR
MAJGEN Stuart Smith AO, DSC (retd) - 1RAR
MAJ Glenn Crosland (Retd) - Secretary RAR Foundation
Episode cover image:
MAJ Glenn Crosland (Retd) Secretary of the RAR Foundation and CPL Boardman of 1RAR at the 2023 DoG Cup.
Produced by Pivot Studios for the Department of Veterans Affairs and The Royal Australian Regiment Foundation.
If you need support for PTSD or a mental health condition, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Members of the RAR can receive non urgent assistance from the RAR Foundation through battalions. Talk to your current or former battalion CO or padre for more information.
14 Feb 2024
The Longest War
After the peacekeeping missions of the 1990s, the RAR experienced an unprecedented period of operational service, most notably in Iraq and Afghanstan in what would become the Regiment's longest ever war.
Featured interviews:
Lieutenant General David Lindsay Morrison AO, the Chief of Australian Army - 2RAR, 8/9RAR
Daniel (Dan) Keighran VC - 2RAR, 6RAR
Episode cover image:
Defence image assets: https://images.defence.gov.au//fotoweb/cache/v2/V/p/defenceimagery/2019/s20193118/20191114adf8611998_003.jpg.iiecr_baMenxcT9jIAcA.f_fTPu-gcP.jpg
Produced by Pivot Studios for the Department of Veterans Affairs and The Royal Australian Regiment Foundation.
If you need support for PTSD or a mental health condition, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Members of the RAR can receive non urgent assistance from the RAR Foundation through battalions. Talk to your current or former battalion CO or padre for more information.
31 Jan 2024
The Big Peace
After seven long years in Vietnam, the Regiment went through an unprecedented period of peace, however this was all about to change as the international peacekeeping missions in Somalia, Rwanda and East Timor in the 1990s.
Featured interviews:
General Sir Peter John Cosgrove, AK, CVO, MC - 9RAR, 1RAR
His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia - 1RAR, 5/7th
BRIG Pat Mcintosh AM, CSC (retd) - 2/4RAR
MAJGEN Stuart Smith AO, DSC (retd) - 1RAR
Episode cover image:
Somalia. 1993-01-20. Private Paul Ingram, 1RAR (1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment), of Balwyn, Vic, with supplies for food distribution to the village of Sahmandeera. He is serving with the Australian contingent to the Unified Task Force in Somalia (UNITAF). By Dex, T R courtesy of AWM.
Produced by Pivot Studios for the Department of Veterans Affairs and The Royal Australian Regiment Foundation.
If you need support for PTSD or a mental health condition, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Members of the RAR can receive non urgent assistance from the RAR Foundation through battalions. Talk to your current or former battalion CO or padre for more information.
17 Jan 2024
Vietnam, Part Two
After a bloody start to the Vietnam War, the RAR’s tour continues as the shadow of Long Tan looms large.
Featured interviews:
General Sir Peter John Cosgrove, AK, CVO, MC - 9RAR, 1RAR
MAJGEN Brian Howard AO, MC, ESM (retd) - 3RAR, PIR
Francis Peter (Peter) SCOTT DSO, MID - 3RAR
Episode cover image:
During Operation Smithfield troops moving off in Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) of 1 APC Squadron in a sweep in pursuit of retreating Viet Cong in Phuoc Tuy Province. The chase followed a savage battle at Long Tan in which members of the 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR), APCs and artillery fire killed 250 enemy troops. By Cunneen, William James Courtesy of AWM.
Produced by Pivot Studios for the Department of Veterans Affairs and The Royal Australian Regiment Foundation.
If you need support for PTSD or a mental health condition, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Members of the RAR can receive non urgent assistance from the RAR Foundation through battalions. Talk to your current or former battalion CO or padre for more information.
3 Jan 2024
Vietnam, Part One
After serving valiantly in the jungles of Malaya and Malaysia, the Royal Australian Regiment is about to face it’s toughest and bloodiest test - The Vietnam War. Join us for part one, detailing the start of the war and how the men of 6RAR fought The Battle of Long Tan.
Featured interviews:
Dave Sabben - 6RAR
Mike von Berg OAM - 1 & 5 RAR, SASR, 2 CDO COY
LTCOL Edward Chitham MC, OAM (retd) aka, ”Ted” - 9RAR, 8/9RAR
Episode cover image:
Signalman John McKenzie on guard in a weapon pit on a sweep after the battle of Long Tan, part of Operation Smithfield by Cunneen, William James courtesy of AWM.
Produced by Pivot Studios for the Department of Veterans Affairs and The Royal Australian Regiment Foundation.
If you need support for PTSD or a mental health condition, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Members of the RAR can receive non urgent assistance from the RAR Foundation through battalions. Talk to your current or former battalion CO or padre for more information.
20 Dec 2023
Welcome to the Jungle
After the Korean War, the battalion is growing and set for a new challenge in the Malayan Emergency and the Indonesian Confrontation. Join us as we discover a period of history that would serve as a warm-up for the kind of jungle fighting the regiment would later experience in Vietnam.
Featured interviews:
Wallace Thompson (Wally) - 4 RAR, AATTV
BRIG George Mansford (Snow) AM (retd) - 2RAR
LTCOL Barry Caligari - 1RAR, 3 RAR
Brigadier David Thomson, MC - 1RAR, 4RAR
Episode cover image:
MALAYA, C1954. BATTERY CAPTAIN PETER BADCOE, 1 FIELD REGIMENT ROYAL AUSTRALIAN ARTILLERY, WHO WAS POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDED THE VICTORIA CROSS FOR AN ACTION IN VIETNAM courtesy of AWM.
Produced by Pivot Studios for the Department of Veterans Affairs and The Royal Australian Regiment Foundation.
If you need support for PTSD or a mental health condition, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Members of the RAR can receive non urgent assistance from the RAR Foundation through battalions. Talk to your current or former battalion CO or padre for more information.
6 Dec 2023
The Forgotten War
The Korean War may not be as well-known as other conflicts in the RAR's history, but it was a pivotal moment for Australian soldiers in establishing the culture, role and prestige of the RAR.
Featured interviews:
Major General Alan Lindsay "Alby" Morrison, AO, DSO, MBE (2RAR, 3RAR, 9RAR)
James 'Blue' Newell (3RAR)
Ronald 'Ron' Perkins (3RAR)
Episode cover image:
Korea, c. 1950-10. A member of the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) (left), with a soldier from the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army. (Donor I. Robertson) by Robertson, Ian courtesy of AWM.
Produced by Pivot Studios for the Department of Veterans Affairs and The Royal Australian Regiment Foundation.
If you need support for PTSD or a mental health condition, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Members of the RAR can receive non urgent assistance from the RAR Foundation through battalions. Talk to your current or former battalion CO or padre for more information.
22 Nov 2023
From The Ground Up
The RAR rises from the ashes of the Second World War to become Australia’s first ever professionalised infantry force. We’ll hear from soldiers who were on the ground during the occupation of Japan in 1946 as the RAR and its purpose came into view, meeting challenges of its time, and preparing to head into the RAR’s first theatre of war in the Korean War.
Interviews:
His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia (1RAR, 5/7RAR)
Daniel Alan Keighran, VC (2RAR, 6RAR)
Major General Alan Lindsay "Alby" Morrison, AO, DSO, MBE (2RAR, 3RAR, 9RAR)
James 'Blue' Newell (3RAR)
Brigadier David Scott Thomson (1RAR, 4RAR)
Episode cover image:
Haramura, Japan. C.1949. Two soldiers from 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), operate a Vickers Gun, demonstrating the firepower of the Light Machine Gun. Image by: O'Halloran, John Frederick M courtesy of AWM.
Produced by Pivot Studios for the Department of Veterans Affairs and The Royal Australian Regiment Foundation.
If you need support for PTSD or a mental health condition, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Members of the RAR can receive non urgent assistance from the RAR Foundation through battalions. Talk to your current or former battalion CO or padre for more information.
14 Nov 2023
Trailer
This is Duty First, a podcast about the history of the Royal Australian Regiment (RAR). Bare witness as the regiment rises from the ashes of the Second World War to become Australia’s first ever professionalised infantry force. Told by members of the regiment who were there, enter a world where courage takes centre stage and history comes alive. Episodes of Duty First will be released fortnightly starting 23 November 2023.
Produced by Pivot Studios for the Department of Veterans Affairs and The Royal Australian Regiment Foundation.
If you need support for PTSD or a mental health condition, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Members of the RAR can receive non urgent assistance from the RAR Foundation through battalions. Talk to your current or former battalion CO or padre for more information.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Spotify
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Contact Duty First
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Duty First?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
