Care Under Fire – Details, episodes & analysis

Today I chat with Dr Tony Robins, Tony is a GP and medical administrator whose expansive career has included service in the Australian Navy, deployment to Somalia and work everywhere from rural and remote Australia to PNG and Antarctica. Tony reflects on the incredible humanitarian legacy left by 1RAR in Baidoa, the threat on the ground in Mogadishu one year on from the Blackhawk Down incident,the clinical care he provided on AME missions and what it was like coming home.

Today on Care Under Fire I chat with Rich Sherman, Rich is a former US Navy Intelligence Officer, Gulf War Veteran and is the author and photographer of “Never Home – remembering the military heroes who never returned”. This episode has a slightly different angle as instead of focusing on his own personal story, Rich shares snippets from the biographies of service personnel who paid the ultimate sacrifice in WWI and WWII. We discuss gratitude, being part of something bigger than yourself and how you can commemorate and thank someone who you can never meet in person. To find out more about Rich’s work visit: neverhomeheros.com

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

Today on Care Under Fire I chat with Prue Wheelwright. Bought up on a rural property in NSW, Prue is a registered nurse and midwife with experience in regional and remote Australia; and internationally in Saudi Arabia and with Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) in Tajikistan and Ethiopia. Prue now works as a flight nurse with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, based out of Alice Springs and is the author of “The Flying Nurse: Saving lives and swaddling babies from outback Australia to Africa and beyond”. We chat about the realities of humanitarian aid work and the benefits of getting out of your comfort zone and out of the hospital. Lifeline 13 11 14, Sands 1300 308 307, https://www.sands.org.au/.

Today on Care Under Fire I chat with Brad Watts, DSM who outlines his experiences as a Special Forces Medic in Afghanistan in 2006. Brad outlines his experience as an AME medic from managing obstetric emergencies to retrieving a Danish soldier with a GSW to the head whilst under fire, actions that would later see him awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. Brad has also had operational experience in East Timor and in boarder protection and credits the Army with helping him develop resilience that would later assist him in corporate roles, mountaineering and supporting his daughter through brain cancer.Lifeline 13 11 14, Open Arms 1800 011 046

Today on Care Under Fire I catch up with Dianne Hutchinson. Di has had a long career as an Intensive Care Nurse and has worked in a range of austere environments including; Afghanistan, Iraq and immigration detention on Christmas Island. Di has also made an extensive contribution as a volunteer firefighter, with Camp Quality and Operation Open Heart. Through a lens of compassion, Di speaks about her involvement supporting the ADF Arts for Recovery, Resilience, Teamwork and Skills (ARRTS) program and her work providing nursing care in challenging environments with both Defence and as a contractor.Lifeline 13 11 14, Open Arms 1800 011 046

On today’s episode of Care Under Fire I chat with Terry Ledgard as he recalls his experiences as an SAS medic in Afghanistan; from treating trauma casualties, through to humanitarian assistance missions, saving his swag in a firefight and overcoming PTSD. He is now a mountaineer completing five of the seven summits, working in under in water medicine and offshore oil and gas and is the author of “Bad Medicine – A no-holds-barred account of life as an Australian SAS medic during the war in Afghanistan”. Lifeline 13 11 14, Open Arms 1800 011 046