Remembrance Day 2026

The RSL ode: "They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn, at the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we WILL remember them. Lest we forget." 

Remembrance Day Colouring-in Competition

We have 99 members - why don't you join us and become our 100th? We're open most Fridays from 5 pm at Tanunda Recreational Park, Bilyara Road, Tanunda. Visitors are always welcome including children under supervision.

Remembrance Day is one of our two most important Commemorative Days.

11th November marks the end of WWI. On this day Australians observe one minute's silence in memory of those who served, suffered or died in all wars and armed conflicts in which our Defence Force has been engaged. It's also a time when we appreciate current serving members of the ADF.

To help commemorate this day, we're holding a Remembrance Day Colouring-in Competiton open to everyone, especially children.

If you have a keen eye, a steady hand, a box of coloured pencils, and are interested in artistic pursuits, please consider submitting your work of art.

The closing date is 9 November 26 but earlier entries will be appreciated.

Your entry will be displayed at our Hut on Remembrance Day for dozens of people to see, so print your name at the bottom of your entry(s) so the world can see how talented you are.

Either email your entry to us, drop it off at our Hut on Friday, 30 October or 6 November after 5 pm, post it, or if you are submitting from an organisation eg, a school and have numerous copies to submit, email the above address and we'll arrange to collect them provided you are within the Barossa.

We look forward to receiving your artwork, Remembrance Day colour-in templates can be download by clicking here. If you have your own, feel free to use them.

Leave the ADF - Become a 10 Year Reservist

Join us on most Fridays from 5 pm at Tanunda Recreational Park, Bilyara Road, Tanunda. Visitors are always welcome.

From October 1, the commitment period for personnel who join the permanent Australian Defence Force (ADF) will be extended from five years to 10 years after they discharge.

Originally introduced as part of Defence Regulations 2016, the commitment period requires personnel to render a period of inactive Reserve service following separation from the permanent ADF.

Except for a call-out order issued by the Governor-General, inactive reservists have no service obligations.

Head of Military Personnel Rear Admiral Tish van Stralen said a contingent workforce, made up of experienced personnel, provided the ADF greater flexibility to respond to heightened operational or strategic demand.

“Should the need arise, integrating SERCAT (Service Category) 2 personnel back into the ADF is a quicker, more effective method to strengthen our forces,” she said.

The extension of the commitment period operationalises Recommendation 6 of the Strategic Review of the ADF Reserves 2024 and is consistent with approaches adopted by a number of Australia’s international partners.

“Being prepared for a world of increasing strategic risk and competition means having the people who can deliver effective on-the-ground results,” Rear Admiral van Stralen said.

“Extending the commitment period will ensure the ADF’s contingent Reserve continues to have the skills and experience to be a leading military capability.”

There are more than 8000 SERCAT 2 reservists not currently rendering service.

This number is forecast to approximately double over a five-year period following the extension of the commitment period.

This is in addition to the ADF’s current full-time and permanent force, which is on track to reach 69,000 personnel by the early 2030s.

“While the permanent workforce remains the ADF’s primary means to achieve operational outcomes, reservists are a force multiplier, enhancing the strategic reach and impact of our standing forces,” Rear Admiral van Stralen said.

Recommendation 6 will also extend the commitment period for Reserve personnel who never joined the permanent ADF.

Personnel who join the Reserves after October 1, 2026, will have a commitment period of 10 years after the last day of effective service. Personnel who joined the Reserves before October 1, 2026, will have a commitment period of five years after the last day of effective service but can elect to extend their commitment period beyond five years, enabled through Chief of the Defence Force determination.

Image Chat GPT, article with approval from Contact Magazine

Australian Defence Force Grows

Have you visited us yet? Fridays from 5 pm at Tanunda Recreation Park. Visitors are welcome. 

ADF grows to largest size in 25 years

The Australian Defence Force has reached its largest strength in 25 years, with more than 8100 new recruits joining in the 2025–26 financial year. Recruitment increased across Navy, Army, and Air Force, while the separation rate fell to its lowest level in 15 years.

Typical Graduation Parade

Since 2022, the government has invested over $1 billion to rebuild Defence recruitment and retention, improving processing times, widening eligibility, and strengthening conditions of service.

As at 1 July 2026, the ADF’s full‑time workforce exceeds 64,000 personnel, including permanent members, Gap Year participants and full‑time Reservists . Public interest remains strong, with almost 74,000 applications received this year.

The ADF is on track to meet the government’s target of 69,000 permanent personnel by the early 2030s, as outlined in the 2026 National Defence Strategy.

Compare this with the 300,000 troops the Israeli Defence Force was able to field shortly after 7 October 2023 and I wonder whether we should be talking about bringing in compulsory National Service of say one year for all youths leaving high school. It would be unpopular, but it would be an excellent way to find out how many residents would support Australia in time of war.

ADF is a Sound Employment Opportunity

Given the cost of attending university, rent, or the need to live with one's parents, a stint in the ADF is a sound opportunity for young people finding it difficult to survive in today's crazy Australia.

Apart from socialising with people one's own age, getting free accommodation, food, dental and medical care, uniforms, sports, and a salary, there is also the opportunity to travel at the ADF's expense.

Military service provides personal and technical skills that stand one in good stead forever. Also, it gives veterans a sense of having contributed to our Commonwealth, a very worthy endeavour.

Thanks for Your Support Barossa

As a non-profit organisation we appreciate the support we receive that helps us keep operating. 

Support our Mitre 10 Sausage Sizzle

Have you visited us yet? Fridays from 5 pm at Tanunda Recreational Park. Visitors are welcome. 

The Interesting and Varied Role of the HMAS Canberra

Have you visited us yet? Fridays from 5 pm at Tanunda Recreational Park. Visitors are welcome. 

HMAS Canberra is the Royal Australian Navy’s flagship and one of its two Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) amphibious assault ships. 

HMAS Canberra

Its core role is to project Australian military power, deliver humanitarian assistance, and conduct joint amphibious operations with the Army and international partners. Over the past two years, it has been heavily involved in interoperability training, amphibious capability development, and medical readiness exercises.

The ship:

1. acts as Australia’s primary amphibious assault ship, capable of deploying troops, vehicles, helicopters, and landing craft.
2. Serves as a joint-force integration platform, hosting U.S. Marines and Australian Army units for combined amphibious operations.
3. Provides sealift capability for heavy Army equipment, including modern armoured vehicles
4. Functions as a medical support hub with scalable medical facilities for casualty care during operations, and
5. Enhances regional stability and deterrence through alliance training with the United States. 

This year has been a busy year for the crew who have, in Exercise Capital Reach:

1. Embarked 350+ Marines from the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin.
2. Conducted joint amphibious manoeuvre planning, landing craft drills, and multi‑domain integration.
3. Strengthened U.S.–Australia alliance readiness and Indo‑Pacific deterrence.

Assisted in the Army Modernisation Trials by: 

1. Validating sea transport of new Australian Army armoured vehicles: AS21 Redback IFV, AS9 Huntsman SPH, and the AS10 Resupply vehicle
   
2. Repeated loading/unloading trials in Sydney Harbour to confirm compatibility with Navy landing craft and littoral deployment.

The Canberra's Medical Operational Health Unit has also conducted training in a range of complex medical readiness exercises.

Our ADF has numerous interesting activities occurring that we never hear about in the mainstream media.

The RAAF's Role After 9/11

Subscribe to receive immediate notifications of new posts.

Twenty-five years ago, the September 11 Islamist terrorist attacks in the United States claimed almost 3000 lives and sent shockwaves far beyond its shores.

American airspace was promptly closed and all aircraft grounded.

The first aircraft to fly into New York following the attacks was Australian, putting the crew of a RAAF C-130J Hercules at the centre of an unprecedented moment in history.

At the time, 37SQN was in the US conducting testing of the new C-130J’s Block 5.3 upgrade.

The aircraft, A97-442, was operating from Dobbins Air Base near Atlanta, Georgia, when the attacks occurred.

The crew included Flight Lieutenant, now Group Captain Paul Long. 

“The whole of America stood still,” Group Captain Long said.

“I remember talking to people in the street, and they were in shock, but wanted to talk.

“After a day or two, almost every car was flying little US flags out their windows, and patriotism was front and centre.

“Then the shock turned to anger.”

Three days after the devastating attacks, the RAAF crew was asked to transport personnel and equipment from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to New York to investigate whether biological agents had been involved at the ground zero site. 

On 14 September, the RAAF C-130J Hercules departed Atlanta.

Its arrival at LaGuardia Airport was unlike any flight the crew had experienced before – commercial aviation remained grounded, the weather was poor, and New York was confronting the devastation left by the collapse of the World Trade Center.

As the aircraft approached Manhattan, the crew could see the skyline through breaks in the cloud and the unmistakable absence where the Twin Towers had once stood.

Flight Lieutenant now Squadron Leader Michael Crooks later recalled the surreal sight of the gap in the skyline.

“Although 25 years have passed, the key lesson I have taken from 9/11 is that the world can change in an instant,” Squadron Leader Crooks said.

“When it does, being ready to adapt and respond is what we do.”

For the crew, their flight into New York in 2001 was not a combat mission or a headline-making operation, but something much simpler – delivering people and equipment where they were most needed – something 37SQN has continued to do in the years since.

For the RAAF, the story of A97-442  is a reminder that the role of military aviation is not always defined by conflict.

Sometimes it is about being ready to respond, to assist an ally,and to deliver help when circumstances are at their most uncertain.

The crew who flew that Hercules have continued their careers in different ways, with the experience remaining a small but enduring chapter in 37 SQN's history.

“Two years after that flight, I found myself on the first of many deployments over many years to the Middle East supporting the fight against terrorism,” Group Captain Long said.

September 11 is a day to remember those who lost their lives, those who responded and those whose lives were forever changed.

Twenty-five years on, we remember.

Acknowledgement: Flight Lieutenant Chloe Megson

RAAF Delivers Food Aid to Nepal

Our Hut at Tanunda Recreation Park is open most Fridays from 5 pm. Visitors are welcome, so do drop in if you're in the area. To receive notification every time a new post is made, please subscribe. 

A RAAF C-17A Globemaster III has transported
humanitarian assistance to Nepal

Photo: LAC Campbell Latch

This support by the ADF to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade forms part of the whole-of-Australian government response to the disaster.

The supplies included hygiene kits, solar lighting and other humanitarian support.

The C-17A departed RAAF Base Amberley on September 1 and arrived in Nepal on September 2.

Australia is a reliable and long-established partner in Nepal’s development journey, focusing on areas like climate resilience, education, and social inclusion. The Australian Government also supports various programs aimed at strengthening institutions and economic opportunities in Nepal.

In July 2026, a senior Australian delegation visited Nepal to reinforce the partnership and explore new opportunities in trade, investment, education, and sustainable development. This visit highlighted the commitment to ongoing cooperation and support for Nepal's development journey.
Australia's aid efforts are designed to foster a fairer and more inclusive society, ensuring that the benefits of development reach all segments of the population.

Our Fundraiser: Silo Art Calendars 2027

Have you visited us yet? Fridays from 5 pm at Tanunda Recreational Park. Visitors are welcome.

As a non-profit organisation, we rely
on fundraising to provide services.

These services include ANZAC and Remembrance Day commemorative services in Tanunda, services for veterans, their families, and our community. 

This is our first time fundraising by selling copies of the Silo Art Calendar 27. It's a beautiful calendar full of incredible art work by a variety of artists who turn concrete cylinders into something special.

Tourists travel from far away to view and photograph Silo Art, and the 2027 edition includes South Australian artworks at Eudunda, Bute, and Kapunda.

There are, of course, nine other stunning artworks. You can view them in the image below.

The calendar pages also have large areas for each day of the month where you can write your appointments, etc. Not all calendars have as much space.

Click to enlarge

These are available now at our RSL Hut in the Tanunda Recreational Park off Bilyara Road, Tanunda. We are open most Fridays from 5 pm if you wish to drop in and pick up your calendar. 

While with us, we invite you to have a refreshment and meet our friendly members. If you haven't visited before, you could also view our wide range of military memorabilia.

We will also have calendars available at our kiosk outside Foodland Tanunda on 4-5 November, preceding Remembrance Day on 11 November. 

The September 26 Edition of The Bugle is Now Available

Beautiful Silo Art Calendars for 2027 are now available for purchase at the RSL Hut, Tanunda Recreational Park. Drop in and take a look and while here, enjoy a refreshment. All welcome. 

Download your copy of Issue 22 of "The Bugle" from the Newsletters tab above.

Click to enlarge

The Bugle is issued quarterly and this is the September 26 edition a little ahead of time.

Content in this edition:

1. Remembering Our Heroes - Rowan Robinson

2. Humour in Uniform

3. 10 Squadron RAAF in Coastal Command WWII

4. The Great Sausage Heist of '84

5. Remarkable Women in Defence

6. Did You Know?

7. The Navy's Uncrewed Aerial System

8. Darwin 1942 - a Documentary Coming Soon

9. Gina Reinhart Houses Veterans

Contributors to The Bugle with relevant articles are always  appreciated. If you have a story you'd like to share, please email it to us for review and possible inclusion in our next edition.

18 August is Vietnam Veterans' Day

Visited us most Fridays from 5 pm at Tanunda Recreational Park. All welcome to share in our Happy Hours 

ADF Investing in Personnel Capability

 Positive Changes Occurring in the ADF

One of the most veteran-relevant developments inside today’s Australian Defence Force isn’t a single tank, ship, or aircraft—it’s the way the ADF is investing in capability that keeps people safe, informed, and ready. 

A good example is the Defence health and resilience focus that has been growing across recent years and continues to shape current project work: better clinical pathways, faster access to support, and stronger follow-through after service.

For veterans, the practical value is straightforward.

When Defence modernises training and readiness systems, it’s also modernising how it supports individuals. That includes improving how teams identify injuries early, how clinicians share information (within strict governance), and how rehabilitation plans are coordinated so recovery doesn’t stall between postings or transitions. In other words, the “project” is often invisible day-to-day—but it shows up later as smoother care continuity, clearer documentation, and more consistent support.

Where this becomes especially relevant to ex-ADF personnel is during transition. Many veterans recognise that leaving the service isn’t just a job change; it’s a shift in health support structures, workplace context, and day-to-day routines. Current ADF initiatives therefore tend to emphasise bridges: connecting service delivery with civilian pathways, strengthening community and employer links, and supporting families as part of the recovery and adjustment process.

If you’re a veteran looking to understand what “current ADF projects” mean in real life, watch for the ones that reduce friction—fewer delays in help, clearer next steps, and better long-term outcomes. That’s what meaningful readiness looks like after the uniform comes off: not just capabilities in the field, but care and continuity back home.  

Need Support?

Visit our Relevant Links page tab above to find a large number of agencies that are directly engaged in supporting serving ADF members, veterans, and Families.

Quilts of Valour Presentations

On Fridays from 5 pm we have several Happy Hours at our Hut located in Tanunda Recreational Park. Visitors are welcome and you don't have to be a veteran or have a military association. 

Quilts of Valour Gratefully accepted

Our Sub-Branch veterans have been well catered for by QOV with numbers of our members receiving beautiful quilts donated by quilters. Recently, another four members (one of whom couldn't attend, Errol S) were presented with quilts. Malcolm H accepted Errol's quilt on his behalf.

You can read all about the Quilts of Valour Project by clicking the relative link in the right-hand column.

If you know anything about quilting, even with a machine, it takes a lot of work and planning. Doing it manually can take months. So, those of us who are given quilts via QOV are most grateful, grateful that our service to our Nation has been recognised and grateful for the generosity of donors who have contributed their time, effort and funds.

If you are a quilter and you'd like to donate a quilt, please contact QOV.

Click on images to enlarge

Our Senior Veteran Celebrates 101st Birthday!

Good things happen at RSL Tanunda. Visit us most Fridays from 5 pm at Tanunda Recreational Park. 

The longest serving member of our sub-branch and WWII veteran Esther celebrated her birthday yesterday surrounded by a large number of our members.

Esther Whitelum

It's not every day one of our members turns 101. In fact, the rest of us are well under 100. So, it's an occasion we had to celebrate. 

And celebrate we did.

Our sub-branch gathering place called "The Hut" was nicely laid out with dinner tables above which were large pink balloons. (See short video clip below)

Attendees each brought a range of delicious foodstuffs that all enjoyed with a follow-up piece of Esther's birthday cake.

We celebrated her birthday as well as remembering her service in the Australian Army engaged in communications.

Our President David read two congratulatory letters from our local Federal (Tony Pasin) and State (Ashton Hurn) Members and presented her with two beautiful bouquets of flowers from members. 

On ANZAC Day Esther proudly takes the salute from a dais when our veterans and supporting members of the public march from central Tanunda to our Hut in the Tanunda Recreational Park.

She is a much loved member and we look forward to being able to celebrate her 102nd in 2027.

Every Veteran Counts Project

 

You can watch this video at the link below:

https://tinyurl.com/VeteransCount

Here is a message from Contact Magazine copied with consent. It's a letter from a fellow veteran. I've added my count, please consider adding yours.

"Dear Editor,

DVA is very good at handling veterans one at a time.

One claim. One delay. One family worn down. One carer trapped. One polite letter saying little.

That is how need gets managed instead of met.

Veterans Count pushes back. It asks people connected to Navy, Army or Air Force, past or present, to add one count by federal electorate.

No name. No service number. No DVA claim details. No medical information.

A visible count where politicians understand numbers: electorates, seats and margins.

Every vote counts. Every count matters.

The count has to grow. After adding their count, people are asked to send Veterans Count to five others.

Together we can grow Veterans Count.

The song ‘Every Vote Counts’ came from the same need. A 70s pub-rock chorus gives people something to send, share and remember.

Thank you for helping refine the Veterans Count project.

Simply go to veteranscount.com.au to add your count or use the QR Code shown below.

Add your count. Send it to five people.

Regards,

Mark Croxford
20-year Navy veteran and
former media and political adviser to a Minister for Veterans’ Affairs"

Learning from the Wars of Others

Have you visited us yet? Fridays from 5 pm at Tanunda Recreational Park. Visitors are welcome. 

The Six-Day War

When the six-day war occurred, I was serving with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and I recall hearing a conversation between two Mirage jet pilots. Their view was that we would have greatly benefitted by having some observers in Israel to see how they were using their Mirage jets in combat.

Anyone reading who is old enough will remember the war. For those who aren't old enough, here's what happened:

The Six-Day War, or the 1967 Arab–Israeli war, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states, primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, in the context of the Arab–Israeli conflict. In the war, Israel captured and occupied the West Bank from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria. 

Israel, as it seems accustomed to, won the war. 

What Could we Learn from the Russia - Ukraine War?

We have been watching the casualty numbers from the frontline. They tell us how many families the Kremlin is sacrificing to move the map by inches.

This month, and likely for the next few months as well, the number we are watching most closely is not personnel. It is military vehicles, rocket launchers, trucks and large fuel tankers.

It is mind-numbing to look at a battlefield with more than a million troops spread across the front, thousands of drones flying against each other every day, and the Kremlin still talking loudly about “battlefield realities,” only for us to sit here counting how much Russian equipment, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Ukrainian drones are taking off the road.

The loss of trucks has a direct impact on Russia’s ability to move supplies to the frontline. Ammunition, fuel, food, spare parts, troops, repair cycles — all of it depends on the same logistics spine. 

Break enough trucks, and the army does not stop in one dramatic moment. It starts slowing down. Then it starts choosing. Then it starts leaving parts of the line underfed.

But the truck losses are only one part of the equation. The real value in this pattern is what Ukraine has to do before those trucks are destroyed.

To reach trucks running along highways behind the frontline, Ukrainian drones first have to penetrate the frontline. That is challenge one. Then they have to find their way toward the road network. That is challenge two. Then they have to identify, track, and hit the target. That is challenge three.

And they have to do this while spending meaningful time and distance inside Russian-controlled airspace.

So, the question is not only how many trucks Ukraine is destroying. The question is how Ukraine knows where those trucks will be at the point of interception. That is reconnaissance. That is targeting. That is a midrange strike system beginning to mature.

Doing it once is one thing. Doing it for weeks is something else. Doing it for months?

The Ukraine defence efforts have been spectacularly brilliant and continue to be so.

The losses of Russian personnel and equipment have been staggering and it's surprising they can continue pressing ahead every day, every week.

Our ADF (Australian Defence Force) is being equipped with drones and unmanned aircraft and submarines. 

What we need, and I'm not aware of whether we have or not, is troops on the ground observing the methods being used by the Ukrainian military to defeat Russia.

One day in the not-too-distant-future we may need all the skills the Ukrainian military has to protect ourselves from invaders.