Today on Care Under Fire I catch up with Bahaa Alasady. Bahaa was born in Iraq and worked as a coalition interpreter during the ISIS uprising. His story highlights the vital role of the interpreter in medical, training and partner force missions and the violent realities of living in Baghdad. Bahaa has since migrated to Australia and is studying nursing.

Today on Care Under Fire I catch up with Roneel Chandra, Chands has had an extensive military nursing career spanning 22 years and has served with the Army, Special Operations and the Navy. He shares some wisdom for new ADF nurses as he recounts his experiences including being in a Blackhawk crash landing on an AME mission in Afghanistan, to providing humanitarian aid in Fiji and the Mallacoota bushfire rescue.

Today I chat with Jack Dear, current ACT paramedic who recently deployed with the NGO, Frontline Medics to assist with the evacuation and treatment of civilian casualties in Ukraine. Jack discusses his early career as an Army Bushmaster crew commander and how his deployment to Afghanistan left him feeling underprepared in managing trauma casualties. Jack later sought further education in South Africa as a remote area medical technician and returned to Afghanistan as a contract security officer at the Australian Embassy in Kabul before committing to paramedicine.

Today I chat with Doctor Howard Roby, CSM. Howard is a specialist in Anaesthesia and Intensive care and after gaining aeromedical retrieval skill in Australia joined the RAAF reserve as part of the Military Critical Care Air Transport Service (MCAT). Howard recounts some of the critically ill patients he retrieved over the subsequent 15 years he worked on call for MCAT, from military traumatic injuries out of the Middle East to civilian casualties from the White Island Volcano eruption in NZ. We also discuss the innovation in clinical equipment and training that has led to better patient outcomes in war and austere environments.

Today I catch up with Jody Tieche, former special forces medic, Timor and Afghanistan veteran and now remote area paramedic. Jody recounts his experiences in the early part of the Australian Afghanistan campaign that saw a change in tactics due to the rise of improvised explosive devices and his experience under fire treating Chad Elliot who was shot in the femur by a 7.62mm round. Jody humbly discusses what the core role of the SF medic is; providing unconventional medicine during unconventional warfare to embody the SF medic slogan ‘we do the voodoo so you can do you’.

Today I chat with Mark Mathieson, former military psychologist and veteran of East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan. Mark shares some fascinating insights as we discuss the role of an Army Special Forces psychologist, to some of the moral challenges of organisation psychology in the military to life post the military and his work as a production psychologist for reality TV.Lifeline 13 11 14, Open Arms 1800 011 046

On today’s episode of Care Under Fire I chat all things reserve medic with Ben Flynn. We discuss how through a few short courses the Army transforms someone with no medical background into a medic who can provide advanced first aid and trauma care in remote environments. Ben recalls his experiences deployed in the Solomon Islands and picking up asylum seekers whilst on boarder protection operations with the Australian Navy. We chat about some of the limitations to mental health first aid and trauma care scope of practice in both the military and police force and the moral injury that can result in mental health battles. Lifeline 13 11 14, Open Arms 1800 011 046

Today I chat with Andy Brayshaw, former combat medic with 43 years’ experience in both the British and Australian Army serving in the Falklands war, Iraq, Croatia and Bosnia. Andy recounts being wounded and treating combat casualties when his troop land ship, the Sir Galahad was hit by an Argentine air strike in the Falklands through to the CBRN threat in the First Gulf War to his work with the UN, we also chat about the evolution of medic practice across his four decades of service.Lifeline 13 11 14, Open Arms 1800 011 046

In today’s episode of Care Under Fire it’s a real privilege to chat with Jess Rychlewski, former Army medic and Vietnam Veteran. Jess recounts his experiences as a patrol medic during a 13 month deployment with Charlie Company 2RAR in Vietnam in 1970. Post Vietnam, Jess continued to serve for 20 years full time and 10 years after that as a reserve medic.Lifeline 13 11 14, Open Arms 1800 011 046

Today I chat which David Leaf, rural generalist, and RAAF Timor veteran. David survived a 2004 helicopter crash in a mountainous region of East Timor, where his team was on-route to retrieve a pregnant woman in obstructed labour. We chat about the role rural generalists play in military medicine, PTSD and David’s work in the veteran health space, particularly improving training for GPs in veteran and first responder health care.Lifeline 13 11 14, Open Arms 1800 011 046