‘I talked to a few people, and that was the worst exercise they had ever done in their lives.’ In this episode, Todd and Jake delve into the depths of Mount Bundey Training Area and Townsville Field Training Area to tell stories about what happens when you run on 8 hours of water and 2 litres of sleep. Some field exercises are well-planned, some are not, and this episode has a heavy right foot towards telling stories of the latter.

Whinging about your higher headquarters is a god given right; however, Todd and Jake expose exactly what happens when they became that part of that higher headquarters. Stories about visiting generals being exposed to every harsh element of Mount Bundey, First Appointment Reserve Officers (FARO) being thrust elbow-deep into a complex planning cycle with zero preparation and the Army’s own Bachelors and Spinster’s Ball, the Line Creek Dance.

Jake plays another of his original songs – Rolling up a Ciggy out Field – written in the depths of a 28-day field exercise at Royal Military College – Duntroon called Defensive Operations. They even delve into Capability Management, wondering how the head net for the old Night Vision Goggles (NVG) made it through the tender process as the winner out of all the other options that would not have caused excruciating pain and would have held the NVG in a spot that actually made it functional.

Join us for some of stories of our time on exercise and out-bush and subscribe to The Cove Community Podcast so that you do not miss next week’s episode where we give our hot chips on where you should post for your first posting.