3rd Brigade Public Affairs Cell gain largest ADF social media following in the country

Townsville’s ‘weapons-grade’ 3rd Brigade media team has built its Facebook following into the largest Defence page in the country. Here’s how they are changing the Army’s approach to digital.

3rd Brigade Public Affairs photographers Corporal Brandon Grey and Trooper Dana Millington taking photos during exercise

The 3rd Brigade Facebook page has set a social media benchmark, overtaking the Australian Army to become the largest followed Defence page in the country — but this wasn’t an overnight success.

In a little over a year and a half the 3rd Brigade Public Affairs cell has taken the Facebook page from a following of 41,000 to a record-breaking 512,000 followers, beating out all other Defence social pages in Australia and setting a new standard for their digital content.

The five-person team behind the success consists of Major Taylor Lynch, Captain Brittany Evans, Corporal Guy Sadler, Corporal Brandon Grey and Trooper Dana Millington who bring a wide range of experience and knowledge into their work.

“The team we have is weapons grade. They’re all former combat corps so we’ve got one from cavalry, one from artillery, one from infantry and then the officers have that marketing and communications background to guide them,” Major Lynch said.

“It’s been awesome seeing the Facebook page grow, 3rd Brigade now has the largest social media presence in Defence.

3rd Brigade Public Affairs Officer Major Taylor Lynch

“We’ve got a good Townsville following but we’ve got a great regional following too. We’ve got a huge following in the Philippines, huge following in Papua New Guinea, huge following with our U.S. allies, in Thailand and Malaysia as well.”

Major Lynch began his work in Townsville in early 2023 and after gaining the green light from Brigade commander Brigadier Dave McCammon, he set out on curating a social media page that challenges the norm for Defence digital content.

Australian Army Corporal Brandon Grey from Joint Task Group 637.3 shows children photographs on his camera at the Private Jamie Clark Memorial Kindergarten in Honiara, Solomon Islands on 13 December 2021. Photo: CPL Brodie Cross

“He’s a great boss. He really empowered me to get after it and told me that he’d rather rein in a stallion than flog a donkey, so just go for it,” Major Lynch said.

“No one complains about eating Italian food in an Italian restaurant and no one complains about seeing army content on an army page, people follow an army page to see army and warfighting content.

“So all we do is post about training, warfighting and international engagement with our partners and just being the best combat brigade that we can possibly be.

“It’s good to make fun of ourselves sometimes so it’s about balancing having a bit of a laugh and showing what we’re doing. It’s important to show the public that all soldiers in the Australian Army are everyday Australians and they’re human beings too.”

3rd Brigade Public Affairs Cell Trooper Dana Millington showing soldiers photos during an exercise

Photographer Corporal Grey, who began his army career as an infantry soldier at 3RAR, said that seeing the content they produce adapt over the years, and playing a contributing role to their success has been a highlight of his career.

“It’s been great watching the 3rd Brigade facebook page grow. Providing the page with organic stills and video contributes to the team effort and subsequently, our success,” he said.

“It’s been pretty cool to have people come up to us and say ‘the Facebook page is great’.

“It’s kind of breaking the rules and it’s paying off by taking that bit of a risk so I guess it kind of feels like we are changing the way that things should be done.”

Australian Army officer Major Taylor Lynch from the 3rd Brigade Public Affairs Cell assists Papua New Guinea Defence Force members during the Smartphone Photography Course on 08 April 2024 at Camp Key, Wewak, Papua New Guinea. Photo: CPL Guy Sadler

His photos have set a benchmark for the brigade’s visual content, something that he credits to his ability to combine his combat experience with his photography and videography skills.

“You have to be able to seamlessly integrate with a combat team. If you can keep up with them and understand what is going on, you won’t last,” he said.

“If you stay out of the way and have situational awareness of what’s actually happening, you will be able to get better shots and build a rapport. That’s really what it’s all about.”

Originally published as 3rd Brigade Public Affairs Cell gain largest ADF social media following in the country