Alex Lloyd interviews 2nd Commando Regiment veteran Scott Ryder, author of FORGED IN FIRE. Scott Ryder served for 22 years with the Australian Army, including 16 years as an operator with the 2nd Commando Regiment. He served in East Timor and multiple tours of Afghanistan and Iraq. He holds numerous commendations and a Masters of Business, and he works in veteran charities to improve the lives of veterans and their families. He is the author of a newly published book, FORGED IN FIRE, a memoir...

Alex Lloyd speaks with the Chair of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, Nick Kaldas. On 8 July 2021, the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide was established by the Governor-General. After years of receiving testimony from veterans and other relevant witnesses, the Commission’s work is nearly over. An Interim Report was delivered in August 2022, and a Final Report is due this September, in 2024. Meanwhile, they have also released a book, Shining a Light:...

Alex Lloyd interviews SAS veteran Mark Wales for a third time.  Mark Wales is a veteran of the Special Air Service Regiment, and this is the SASR veteran's third appearance on the podcast. Alex Lloyd first interviewed Mark in 2018, Season 2, about his life in the military and life after service. In 2021, Season 5, Mark came back on the show to discuss his memoir, SURVIVOR: LIFE IN THE SAS and share new stories from his time in uniform. Since then, Mark has continued to achieve new goals -...

Alex Lloyd interviews SASR and 2nd Commando Regiment veteran Peter Rudland. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Peter Rudland is a veteran of the Special Air Service Regiment and the Commandos, 4RAR(Commando) and when they became the 2nd Commando Regiment. Over a long career in Special Forces, Peter deployed to Cambodia, Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan. He was seriously injured in the June 2010 Black Hawk helicopter crash in Afghanistan. In his...

Tony Park interviews World War II veteran Peter Whitehead. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Peter Whitehead, born in 1923, is a veteran of World War II. He tried to join the Royal Australian Navy when war broke out but was rejected, instead becoming a ‘rough rider’ with the 2nd Remount Unit based at Holsworthy, in Sydney. After breaking in thousands of horses to support domestic war operations, he managed to join the Royal Australian Air...

Veterans of Season 7 share their stories of a Christmas in uniform. Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Veterans of Season 7 share with the Thistle Productions team their experiences of Christmas in uniform, from deployments overseas and back home in Australia. Featured guests include John White, Rod Henderson, Mark Direen, Rebecca and Ashley Semmens, Ray James and Doug Sheridan. This episode was edited by Sophie Hu and Alex Lloyd. The episodes...

Alex Lloyd interviews SASR veteran Doug Sheridan in the Season 7 finale.  Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Doug Sheridan is a veteran of the Special Air Service Regiment. He served for 33 years in the Australian Army, full-time and reserve. This included various deployments with the United Nations, the SASR and the Australian Federal Police to the Western Sahara, East Timor, the Solomon Islands and Afghanistan. He also served for 10 years in...

Sharon Mascall-Dare interviews Namibia, Iraq and Timor veteran Doug Langrehr. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Doug Langrehr began his career, now spanning close to four decades, as an engineer in the Australian Army. He served on operations in Namibia, Iraq and Timor. His military career culminated in moving to New York to work with the United Nations. Today he is the chief of the mission support and planning section for the United Nations...

Thomas Kaye interviews 2nd Commando Regiment veteran and dog handler Steve Moharic. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Steve Moharic is an Australian Army veteran. He was a paratrooper, a shooter in the 2nd Commando Regiment, and then a dog handler within the Commandos. He and his four-legged best mate Guge saw a lot together. Steve spoke with Thomas Kaye over Zoom about his difficult pre-military past, his career in uniform, his life today...

Angus Hordern interviews Vietnam veteran and RSL NSW President Ray James. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Ray James is a veteran of the Vietnam War and is currently the President of NSW RSL. He served in the Royal Australian Navy on HMAS Sydney, the Vung Tau ferry. He was also on HMAS Melbourne when it collided with the USS Frank E. Evans in 1969. Ray spoke with Angus Hordern about his life of service – in the military, in the police force...

Alex Lloyd speaks with founder of the veterans charity Working Spirit, Army and RAAF veteran Karyn Hinder. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and tells their story. This is a bonus episode focused on the veterans-run charity Working Spirit, in a conversation with its founder. Karyn Hinder is an army and air force veteran with over 25 years of service. She has deployed to Timor and the Middle East. Her passion today is assisting military veterans to find employment in...

Thomas Kaye interviews Afghanistan veteran Joel Sardi.  Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Joel Sardi is a veteran of the Australian Army. He served for 5 years and deployed to Afghanistan as a rifleman at 7 RAR. Shortly after coming home, Joel had an accident, leaving him as a C-5 quadriplegic. Joel spoke to Thomas Kaye over Zoom about his time in the army, and adjusting to a new life after the accident. This episode was edited by Sophie...

Sharon Mascall-Dare interviews Timor and Bougainville veteran, Lily Mulholland. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Lily Mulholland served in the Australian Defence Force for 24 years as a public affairs officer. She has deployed to Timor, Bougainville and the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games on Operation Gold. During her time in the army, she also undertook an ADF expedition to Mount Everest. Lily shared her story with Sharon Mascall-Dare.  To see...

Angus Hordern interviews Afghanistan veteran and Federal MP Phillip Thompson. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Phillip Thompson is the Federal Member for Herbert and an Australian Army veteran. He deployed to Timor and Afghanistan, and was blown up by an improvised explosive device. He represented Australia at the Invictus Games in 2014 and now represents Townsville in Canberra. This is his conversation with Angus Hordern. This episode was...

Alex Lloyd interviews navy veterans Rebecca and Ashley Semmens. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Rebecca Semmens served in the Royal Australian Navy for 18 years, and was medically discharged in 2020 at the rank of Chief Petty Officer. Bec was a medic, and deployed to Timor and Afghanistan. Her husband, Ashley Semmens, was a Clearance Diver, also serving in the navy for 18 years. Ash had multiple deployments, including to Afghanistan. He was...

Thomas Kaye interviews Special Air Service Regiment veteran Mark Direen.  Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Mark Direen deployed multiple times to Afghanistan as a member of the SASR. He experienced long range reconnaissance missions, more kinetic operations and was injured by an improvised explosive device. He also worked at the Australian Embassy in Kabul. Today he runs his company Point Assist, its goal to assist people to evolve through...

Sharon Mascall-Dare interviews army veteran Rob Manton. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Rob Manton served in the Australian Army for 30 years. His time in uniform saw multiple command appointments, an operational deployment to Iraq, and advisory and peacekeeping roles with the United Nations. Today, he’s the Chair of the Veterans Advisory Council in South Australia. He spoke to Sharon Mascall-Dare in Adelaide. Episodes referenced at the end...

Angus Hordern interviews Afghanistan veteran and artist Mike Armstrong. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Michael Armstrong joined the Australian Defence Force in 1998 as an aircraft technician. He went on to serve as a signals officer, deploying with 2 RAR to Timor and with the 2nd Commando Regiment to Afghanistan. He was on the last plane out of Afghanistan in Rotation XX. Throughout his time in the army Mike also taught as a hand-to-hand...

Alex Lloyd interviews former sniper team leader Ryan Shaw. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Ryan Shaw joined the Australian Defence Force in 2006. During his 14-year career in the military he was a sniper team leader, deployed to Timor and Afghanistan, and worked in border protection. Today he’s the Director of Gaythorne RSL, in Brisbane, where he spoke with Alex Lloyd. To see photos related to today's interview, visit our website -...

Angus Hordern interviews Army Aviation veteran Rod Henderson. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Rod Henderson is an Australian Army veteran. He has served as an infantryman and in Army Aviation, working with Black Hawks and Chinooks, including as a door gunner. Rod has deployed on warlike and humanitarian operations to Timor, Pakistan, New Guinea and Afghanistan. He’s now a volunteer guide at the Australian War Memorial.  This episode was...

Alex Lloyd interviews Vietnam War veteran John White. Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. John White was an officer in the Australian Army during the Vietnam War. He was decorated for outstanding gallantry in the 1968 Battle of Ngok Tavak in South Vietnam. In the first episode of Season 7, Alex Lloyd spoke with John at Gaythorne RSL in Brisbane. This episode was edited by Sophie Hu. Episodes referenced at the end of the podcast include: #15...

Welcome to Season 7 of LIFE ON THE LINE, Australia's first and leading veterans podcast, from Thistle Productions. In our 7th year, after 6 seasons, 2 miniseries, 261 podcasts, 17 video episodes, 188 veterans and over 1.7 million downloads, Life on the Line is back. We now present Season 7. Our ongoing mission is to track down Australian military veterans and record their stories, from World War II to the 21st century. The vision of Life on the Line continues to be to capture the raw human...

Alex Lloyd introduces the WWII video documentary FOR SCHOOL AND COUNTRY, coming to YouTube over the next five weeks. FOR SCHOOL AND COUNTRY is a five-part video documentary miniseries, created by us, Thistle Productions. The series chronicles the lives and service of twelve WWII veterans who went to school together and took up arms when war broke out. This production was originally released on DVD in 2015 - the first ‘Thistle Productions’ project - and it is finally available for free via...

Veterans of Season 6 share their stories of a Christmas in uniform. Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Veterans of Season 6 share with the Thistle Productions team their experiences of Christmas in uniform, from deployments overseas and back home in Australia. The episodes these veterans were featured in earlier this season include: #123 Nick Howlett Vol I #123 Nick Howlett Vol II #127 Reg Chard #129 Paul Gebran #31 Dr Dan Pronk Vol III #131...