9th October 2014 Washington DC, USA
The P-51 Mustang was an iconic fighter aircraft in US combat service during the 1940s and 1950s during the Second World War, and the Korean War. A global phenomenon, it was also pressed into service by allies including Australia, South Africa, the Republic of Korea, France and the Netherlands. It was first flown operationally by […]
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19th August 2014 Skopje, North Macedonia
Yesterday I accompanied the Ambassador to an event in the historic town of Ohrid to mark ‘18 August, Macedonian Army Day’. The ceremony was held at the Water Training Centre in a beautiful setting next to Lake Ohrid. As Commander-in-Chief the President headed a guest list of senior political, diplomatic and military guests. It was a great opportunity to meet with friends and […]
14th July 2014 Washington DC, USA
The following is a guest post from Captain Graham Henderson, Plans Staff Officer within the Headquarters of the UK’s 1st Mechanized Brigade who participated in the Network Integration Evaluation (NIE). Heavy wind gusts and unforgiving terrain set ideal conditions for testing new equipment in a joint exercise known as the NIE. The Network Integration Evaluation […]
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19th June 2014 Washington DC, USA
When Google unveiled its latest prototype of a self-driving car in May, it marked a new stage in the relationship between humans and autonomous vehicles in a very public way. But it is just one visible piece of the technical progress in areas such as autonomous systems, advanced manufacturing, and in the thinking on how […]
3rd June 2014
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and I co-hosted a Dialogue on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict at Parliament House yesterday. It was well timed, just a week before the London summit from 10-13 June. Julie is one of 14 global champions for the PSVI initiative, including presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers from a diverse range […]
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5th May 2014
‘A nation that forgets its past has no future.’ Churchill’s words are still relevant today. On the 18-19 May HRH Prince Harry will visit Italy to attend a number of events commemorating the Allied Campaign in Italy during WWII, focussing on the 70th anniversary of the Battles of Monte Cassino. We are honoured that HRH […]
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2nd May 2014
With the search for Malaysian Airlines MH370 moving to a new phase this week, the two British ships involved – Hydrographical vessel HMS Echo, and submarine HMS Tireless – have been withdrawn from the search and are both in port in Western Australia. I invited Defence Minister, Senator David Johnston, to come on board to […]
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25th April 2014 Dublin, Ireland
I last commented publicly on the subject of European security at the Institute for Strategic Studies in Krakow in May 2013. A lot has happened since then. The crisis in Ukraine and Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea is of course the most significant development. I wrote recently about how Russia’s actions are completely indefensible and what […]
10th April 2014
Anyone who has ever boarded an aeroplane must have felt a sense of personal engagement as the sad story of Malaysian Airlines MH370 has unfolded. Our hearts go out to the families of the passengers from many nations, and particularly China which had over 150 citizens on board. In the last couple of weeks the […]
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1st April 2014 Athens, Greece
Rupert Brooke’s grave on the Aegean island of Skyros is well known to many. I once walked there – it is a beautiful spot. Cared for by the Commonwealth Graves Commission, his gravestone is engraved with his famous poem ‘The Soldier’: If I should die, think only this of me; That there’s some corner of […]
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