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Kate BanvilleDefence reporter

Kate Banville is a news reporter at the Townsville Bulletin, covering Defence, Education and Health. She draws on her personal experience as a 7-year Army veteran to report on matters relevant to the defence community. Kate was awarded the 2018 Ossie Awards for Investigative Journalism by an undergraduate for her ABC 7.30 report and ongoing coverage of a group of combat veterans’ fight against the Home Affairs Department to have their Afghan interpreters relocated to Australia on humanitarian grounds. The case has since been overturned by a Federal Court decision. She has previously worked at WIN News in Townsville and ABC Gold Coast where she started as an intern. Kate is a wife and mother of two young boys.

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ExclusiveVictoria

Men allegedly held soldier hostage to find teen’s rapists

A man charged with holding a soldier hostage says he did so to track down two military mates who allegedly drugged and raped a teen girl.

Former soldier Bram Connolly, who has released a book called The Commando Way

THE COMMANDO WAY: Lessons of 1RAR soldier’s life to SF and beyond

After 20 years in the Australia Army where a young boy was moulded into a highly trained warfighter, Bram Connolly learnt a thing or two about life’s adversities and how to manipulate fear into triumph. Now, the retired Special Forces Major has laid it all bare in his book ‘The Commando Way’.

Mates4Mates NQ Director Brendan Wethary. Picture: Alix Sweeney

Townsville RAAF vet’s new mission to help mates in need

After leaving behind a career of almost three decades in Defence, Brendan Wethery’s new mission is aimed solely at helping veterans and their families ‘find a way forward’.

Jai and Kylie Ryan with Ika, 13 and Emily, 14. Residents of Hamptongrove Boulevard in Mount Louisa took to their street to commemorate Anzac Day 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent social distancing regulations. PICTURE: MATT TAYLOR.

ANZAC AWARDS: Students urged to remember nation’s war history

School students are being urged to take part in self reflection and ask questions of the importance of Anzac Day, as part of a national awards aimed at learning about veteran service and Australian wartime history.

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos NOVEMBER 6, 2020: Defence personnel at the Dardanelles Memorial during the wreath laying, a part of Legacy's annual Remembrance Walk which took place this morning. It started and finished at the Torrens Parade Ground.Around 200 people attended the 1.5km walk to pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of service personnel both past and present who gave their lives serving Australia during war or peace keeping and to remember the families left behind. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

SHOTS FIRED: Labor MP takes aim at PM’s Veteran Commissioner role

Labor’s Shadow Minister for Veteran’s Affairs and Defence Personnel has penned a scathing review of the National Commissioner role, a year on from its announcement.

Rebuild Project. Townsville City Council James Wong, Community Information Centre Helen Lynn, Townsville Community Rebuild Project Bruce Cornish, Gail Barnes 77, The Salvation Army Tamara Barnes , St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland Ray O'Brien, National Drought and North Queensland Flood Response and Recovery Agency Emma Rush. Picture: Alix Sweeney

HELP ON OFFER: NQ flood relief funding still available

NORTH Queensland residents still reeling from the financial and personal losses from the 2019 flood are urged to access available help, as cut off dates edge closer.

An Australian Army MRH-90 Taipan launches from the flight deck of HMAS Adelaide to drop disaster relief supplies to Nabouwalu on the island of Vanua Levu, Fiji, during Operation Fiji Assist. *** Local Caption *** Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel delivered 14 tonnes of disaster relief supplies to Nabouwalu on the northern island of Vanua Levu, Fiji. On Thursday 24 December 2020, over 600 ADF personnel deployed to Fiji on HMAS Adelaide to support the Fijian Governmentâs disaster relief efforts in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Yasa. ADF elements are working with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to support the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) who are assisting thousands of Fijians, including many from remote islands whose homes, schools and other local infrastructure were damaged or destroyed by the category 5 cyclone.

How soldiers helped Fijians rebuild village after horror storm

Townsville based soldiers have returned from a humanitarian mission providing aid to Fiji, as the South Pacific nation grapples with an unfolding crisis left in the wake of devastating cyclones.

An Australian Army M1A1 Abrams tank fires at targets during Exercise Chong Ju at Puckapunyal training area, Victoria, on 16 May 2018. *** Local Caption *** Exercise Chong Ju is an annual live-fire training exercise conducted at the Australian Army’s Combined Arms Training Centre at Puckapunyal training area in northern Victoria to showcase capabilities to Army’s next generation of combat leaders. Exercise Chong Ju 2018 included demonstrations from the M1A1 Abrams tank, ASLAV (Australian Light Armoured Vehicle), M113 armoured personnel carriers, 81mm mortars and M777 155mm howitzer artillery piece. Static displays of Land 400 CRV Boxer, Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles, Hawkei Protected Mobility Vehicle – Light. Other capabilities on display will include the Tiger ARH, Unmanned Aerial Systems, Soldier Combat Ensemble, Battle Management System, as well as two Hawk 127 lead-in fighter aircraft from the Royal Australian Air Force. Exercise Chong Ju is named after a battle in North Korea in 1950, when the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, supported by tanks and artillery, attacked and captured a large North Korean defensive line during their northward advance to the Yalu River.

Build set for $31m combat training centre

The Australian Army will continue to grow its close combat warfighting capabilities with a new $31m simulation centre to be built in Townsville

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CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA-NCA NewsWire Photos DECEMBER 8 2020.Bob Katter with Senator Jacqui Lambie with former special forces veteran and founder of veterans support organisation Voice of a Veteran Heston Russell about the Brereton Report in Parliament House, Canberra.Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Lambie goes back to drawing board to keep pace in veterans’ fight

Lambie goes back to drawing board to keep pace in veterans’ fight

Warrant Officer 1 Retd Command Sergeant Major Kerry Danes is appealing to the Prime Minister and ADF to reconsider disbanding SASR 2 Squadron and revoking the Meritorious Unit Citation given to the Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan. Mr Danes served in the ADF between 1976 and 2018, he joined special forces in 1981, and was in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2008. He received the MUC and served in the 2 Squadron. Picture: Supplied

SF soldier, human rights activist call for change in ADF workers rights

A SENIOR Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) soldier has launched a petition the Federal Government can’t ignore, calling for changes to Australian Defence Force personnel workers rights.

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Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/journalists/kate-banville