An intelligence officer to Iron Man athlete to veterans advocate. Sarah Watson is the first veteran we feature in our series Life After Service.
In our podcast interview with her (#76), we discussed her time in the Australian Defence Force. In this documentary, we cover her challenges and successes in her time adapting to life after the military.
Watch the episode on YouTube above, or listen to the audio-only version below.
From World War II to modern-day conflicts and everything in-between, LIFE ON THE LINE has been bringing you the stories from veterans far and wide that have done their part for their friends, family and nation.
Covering their reasons to join, who they are behind the uniform and focus on their time in service.
LIFE AFTER SERVICE is a special series where we focus on their lives after the military and how they adapted to civilian life. Catch our first episode as we release it on the 23rd of March.
Watch the video trailer above or listen to the audio-only version below.
Alex Lloyd interviews army veteran Monika Georgieva.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Monika Georgieva was the first female to attempt selection for the 2nd Commando Regiment and the Special Air Service Regiment. She made two attempts at SAS selection, then went on to be Australia’s first female infantry officer, having commanded a rifle platoon and a reconnaissance/sniper platoon. In her conversation with Alex Lloyd, Monika talks about her childhood in Bulgaria, joining the Australian Army, details her various Special Forces selection attempts and her career beyond.
Episodes referenced at the end of the podcast include:
Alex Lloyd interviews 2nd Commando Regiment veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq, Heston Russell.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. This is the first episode of Season 5. Since 2017, Life on the Line has brought you the stories of Australian military veterans. This is our 207th podcast, and our 102nd veteran conversation on our particular episode numbering system. In all that time we’ve brought you stories from World War II to the modern era. Today’s chat is with a Special Forces veteran of the 21st century conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, Heston Russell.
We recorded this episode on the outdoor balcony of Heston’s Sydney apartment, so if you hear any background noise or ambience, that’s why. We recorded outdoors because we also videoed this interview, which is a first for us. If you’re listening, you can jump onto our YouTube channel (just search for “Life on the Line podcast”) and watch this chat with Heston. If you are watching this on YouTube, you can listen to this and all our other episodes on your favourite podcast app, Spotify and our website. We will be doing a select number of video podcasts like this as the year goes on.
Heston Russell was an officer in the 2nd Commando Regiment. He already had a profile in the Australian community through his post-military career in the fitness world. He rose to further national prominence in 2020, when an unnamed US soldier accused Heston’s platoon of unlawfully killing a prisoner in Afghanistan. Heston counterattacked, speaking out on national media to strongly refute the claims. Since then, he’s remained in the public spotlight, becoming a spokesman for the veteran community in the lead-up to and wake of the Brereton report into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.
Alex Lloyd spoke to Heston in February 2021 to learn more about the man behind the headlines.
Follow Heston @hestonrussell on Instagram and Facebook. You can also find "Voice of a Veteran" on social media, YouTube, your favourite podcast app and www.voiceofaveteran.org.
LIFE ON THE LINE returns with on Tuesday March 2nd, 2021, with a video and audio podcast interview between Alex Lloyd and 2nd Commando Regiment veteran Heston Russell.
Welcome to Season 5 of LIFE ON THE LINE, Australia's first and leading veterans podcast, from Thistle Productions.
Season 5 of LIFE ON THE LINE begins next week! Subscribe to get all content. Continue to listen to breathtaking Australian stories as you've never heard them before. This year we will also do a handful of video podcasts, released exclusively to our YouTube channel. This is in addition to our upcoming video documentary series LIFE AFTER SERVICE.
Our first podcast - video and audio - is out next week with 2nd Commando Regiment veteran Heston Russell. Subscribe in your favourite podcast app and on YouTube to never miss an episode.
The video version of our trailer is at the top of this post. You can also listen to the audio version, released through our podcast channel, below.
Season 5 of LIFE ON THE LINE coming to your favourite podcast app, Spotify and YouTube in March 2021.
Alex Lloyd was recently interviewed about the origins of LIFE ON THE LINE, and the preceding Thistle Productions projects FOR SCHOOL AND COUNTRY and BARNEY GREATREX.
You can read the article in the news section. of the OKGA website at https://okga.org.au/lotl
Alex Lloyd at the Australian War Memorial
LIFE AFTER SERVICE is a documentary miniseries, brought to you by the team behind LIFE ON THE LINE. The show, created and directed by Thomas Kaye, will release a new episode every month on YouTube, starting March 2021.
Alex Lloyd interviews SAS veteran Bob Hunter.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. The Season 4 finale is with Bob Hunter, a former Squadron Commander in the Special Air Service Regiment. Bob was in command the night of the 1996 Black Hawk disaster, where two helicopters collided, and 15 SASR and 3 Aviation Regiment soldiers lost their lives. Bob spoke to Alex Lloyd about his years with the Australian SAS, his Middle East and Bougainville deployments, and about SAS culture and leadership.
To hear more about the 1996 Black Hawk disaster, listen to SAS Leadership Vol II with Ben Pronk and Tim Curtis.
Bob was also featured in Season 4’s special holiday episode, Christmas on the Line Vol III.
This interview with Bob is the Season 4 finale. Life on the Line will return in 2021.
Enjoy our podcasts with #68 Harry Moffitt? Then ELEVEN BATS is just the summer read/Christmas present you’re looking for. ELEVEN BATS is an outstanding memoir written by SAS veteran Harry Moffitt, reflecting on the 11 cricket bats he took to war and his 25 years in the military. Enjoy the read - and get your copy today!
Veterans of Season 4 share their stories of a Christmas in uniform.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Veterans and other guests of Season 4 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. Featured guests include Sarah Watson, Adrian Humphries, Ben Pronk, Tim Curtis, Bill Fitzgerald, Tony Park, John Cantwell, Tim Reynolds, David McCourt, Crystal Callender, Garth Callender, Glenn Azar, Alyssa Azar, Ian Roberts, Dan Keighran VC, Paul Cale, Renee Wilson and Bob Hunter. This episode is hosted by Angus Hordern.
Thomas Kaye speaks with Renee Wilson about being the partner of a military helicopter crash survivor.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. This is the third ‘partners’ episode of Life on the Line. Today’s conversation is with Renee Wilson. Renee was engaged to Gary Wilson, a signaller attached to the 2nd Commando Regiment, when Gary was injured in a Black Hawk helicopter crash on 21 June 2010, where four Coalition soldiers were killed. In this moving conversation with Thomas Kaye, Renee details her memories of the day of the crash, Gary’s long road to recovery and how she put her own feelings to the side to be a pillar of strength for others. She also shares not just the challenges, but the inspiring story of all they have achieved and overcome in the ten years since that fateful night in Afghanistan.
Renee returned to the podcast in Christmas on the Line Vol III. Gary and Renee were also featured in Life After Service - Gary & Renee Wilson.
For photos of Gary recovering after the crash, see #100 Gary Wilson.
Thomas Kaye interviews 2nd Commando Regiment veteran and Black Hawk crash survivor, Gary Wilson.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Gary Wilson was a signaller attached to the 2nd Commando Regiment. Gary survived a catastrophic helicopter crash in Afghanistan, on 21 June 2010. Gary was severely injured, including a traumatic brain injury. Three Australians lost their lives in this crash: Ben Chuck, Tim Aplin and Scott Palmer; as well as a US serviceman. In this conversation with Thomas Kaye, Gary shares his story of military service, the Black Hawk crash and his recovery afterwards.
Gary’s wife, Renee Wilson, also spoke to Thomas Kaye. Gary and Renee were also featured in Life After Service - Gary & Renee Wilson.
Sharon Mascall-Dare interviews Timor, Indonesia and Middle East veteran, Phillip Condoleon.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Sergeant Phillip Condoleon is currently serving in the Australian Army in the 1st Psychology Unit. He enlisted in the Royal Australian Infantry in 1994 as a reservist and became full-time in 1999. Phillip deployed to Timor in 2000 as a rifleman. He spent time as a Linguist, including a deployment to Indonesia after the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. In 2008, he became an Examiner Psychological, and is currently deployed to the Middle East with Joint Task Force 633 in this capacity. He spoke to Sharon Mascall-Dare about his deployment experiences, family and psychology work in the ADF.
Alex Lloyd speaks with ABC journalist Siobhan Heanue about the relationship between the military, the media and the public.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Siobhan Heanue is an ABC journalist based in Townsville for ABC North Queensland. She was previously the ABC’s South Asia correspondent, where she reported from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal. She reported from Iraq in the lead-up to the Battle for Mosul in 2016, has covered terrorist attacks and humanitarian crises in East Africa, and repeatedly embedded with the Australian Defence Force. In the 200th episode of Life on the Line, Alex Lloyd spoke with Siobhan about her career in journalism, the media and public access to the ADF in the 21st century, and the relationship between the media, the military and the public in the wake of current stories being reported on alleged war crimes.
Angus Hordern interviews Vietnam veteran Madelon Heuke.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Madelon 'Del' Heuke was a nurse in the Royal Australian Air Force. In 1965 she was deployed to Butterworth, Malaysia, where she nursed Australian soldiers that had been wounded in action in the Vietnam War. She also flew into Vietnam for medevacs. She shared with Angus Hordern stories of her experiences overseas and the soldiers she nursed to health, giving a nurse's perspective to the Vietnam conflict.
Alex Lloyd interviews 2nd Commando Regiment veteran and renowned martial artist Paul Cale.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Paul Cale is a veteran of the 2nd Commando Regiment and a black belt in eight different styles of martial arts. He has been involved with the Australian Army for 30 years, either as a soldier or a preferred contractor, as he is today. As a commando, he was deployed five times on combat tours to Afghanistan and Iraq, and at home served as a team leader in Tactical Assault Group East. Paul’s personal hand-to-hand combat experiences in theatres of war, and those of his fellow commandos, have guided his development of the Kinetic Fighting system. Today he is the CEO of Kinetic Fighting Pty Ltd. Paul is a world leader in close-combat and personal protection training. Alex Lloyd spoke with Paul over Zoom about his military service and martial arts career.
Paul returned to the podcast in Christmas on the Line Vol III.
Sharon Mascall-Dare interviews Benedict Farrell, currently on deployment to the Middle East.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Flight Lieutenant Benedict “Eggs” Farrell joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 2015, going into RAAF Intelligence. He transferred to Logistics in 2018, and has gone to Darwin, Japan, Guam and Las Vegas on various military exercises. He is currently in the Middle East on Operation Accordion with the Air Task Group, as the officer in command of Logistics Operations. Eggs spoke to Sharon-Mascall Dare about his time in the military so far, diversity in the modern military, his family military history and how COVID-19 is affecting his current deployment.
Alex Lloyd interviews Victoria Cross recipient Dan Keighran and retired Major General John Cantwell.
AVAILABLE NOW FOR PURCHASE, click the image above.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Daniel Keighran VC is the 99th Australian to receive the Victoria Cross, our nation’s highest award for bravery. Dan served in the Australian Army, 6 RAR, for a decade, deploying twice to Malaysia, once to Timor, once to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan. In his first Afghanistan deployment, he drove Bushmasters outside the wire with the Special Operations Task Group. In his second deployment there, Corporal Dan Keighran served in a traditional infantry role as a mentor for the Afghan National Army. On 24 August 2010, he performed a series of selfless and heroic actions in the Battle of Derapet, for which he was awarded the VC. Jared ‘Crash’ McKinney lost his life during this battle, and various awards for bravery and gallantry were given out. Dan received the VC in November 2012.
Alex Lloyd first spoke with Dan in Season 3, in #43 Dan Keighran VC. In that interview, they talked about Dan’s upbringing, his various military deployments, Derapet and the life-changing day he was bestowed the Victoria Cross. Since that conversation, Dan has written his autobiography COURAGE UNDER FIRE, out now. As Dan’s editor on the book, Alex brought him back on the show to talk about the book, and the fascinating new insights and revelations it offers about his life.
John Cantwell also came back on the show, after speaking earlier this season with Angus Hordern in a two-part conversation about his long career, to talk to Alex about the Battle of Derapet and his part in Dan Keighran’s story.
Dan also appeared in Season 3’s Christmas on the Line Vol II. Both Dan and John were featured in Season 4’s Christmas on the Line Vol III.
