Vedran ‘Maz’ Maslic is the host of ‘The Voices Of War’. In this episode, Maz interviews Brendan Cox. Who has served in the Australian Army for 25 years, first as a soldier, and later as an officer in the Infantry Corps. During his time, he has done a number of operational tours including to Bosnia, East Timor and Afghanistan. For his exemplary service, he has received a number of awards, including a Commendation for Distinguished Service in the Australia Day Honours List in 2014.

Brendan is now the Chief Executive Officer of Legacy Brisbane, an organisation that supports families who are experiencing hardship due to the loss or injury of a loved one while serving in the armed forces. Some of the topics covered are: healing our own wounds by helping others, responsibilities of command, and building partnerships with foreign forces.

Vedran ‘Maz’ Maslic is the host of ‘The Voices Of War’. In this episode, Maz interviews Wolfgang Sporrer. He is an Adjunct Professor at the Hertie School in Berlin. He used to be the head of the Human Dimension Department of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Kyiv, where he lead the civilian aspects of conflict management and facilitated and promoted dialogue between the opposing sides.

Before that, he was the head of the international oil and gas company OMV's representation in the Caspian region, where he spearheaded regional efforts to promote the Southern Gas Corridor for the EU.

Previously, he served as the Head of the Europa House of the European Commission in Baku/Azerbaijan and as the Head of the Democratisation Department of the OSCE Presence in Albania. He also served as a political adviser in the EU delegation in Moscow and in several functions for the OSCE in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.

Vedran ‘Maz’ Maslic is the host of ‘The Voices Of War’. In this episode, Maz interviews Andrew Quilty. Who started his career in Sydney, then moved to New York City and eventually to Kabul, Afghanistan, after a two-week trip to photograph the Afghan cricket team turned into an odyssey now into its eighth year. He has worked in all but a handful of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, photographed for most of the world's premiere publications and won several accolades, including a World Press Photo Award, a Polk Award, several Picture of the Year International awards and the Gold Walkley, Australian journalism's highest honour.

We covered many topics, including: the danger of oversimplified narratives of conflict, se

Vedran ‘Maz’ Maslic is the host of ‘The Voices Of War’. In this episode, Maz interviews Arne Bård Dalhaug. Lieutenant General (Ret.) Arne Dalhaug has had an extensive and distinguished career serving at the highest levels of the Norwegian Armed Forces, the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, as well as NATO. His several final postings in uniform as a three-star general include serving as the Chief of Defence Staff/Deputy Chief of Norwegian Armed Forces, as the Norwegian Military Representative to the NATO Military Committee, and as the Commandant at the NATO Defense College. After retiring from the military, Arne served for three years in a senior management position for the OSCE in the non-government-controlled area in eastern Donbas in Ukraine. Arne now works as an independent expert on NATO, Russia and conflicts in the post-Soviet domain.

During our conversation we covered topics such as: reasons behind President Vladimir Putin's actions, NATO cohesion and current posture, and impact of the media on the current crisis.

Vedran ‘Maz’ Maslic is the host of ‘The Voices Of War’. In this episode, Maz interviews John Blaxland. A Professor of International Security and Intelligence Studies and former Head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University.

Prior to his academic pursuits, John enjoyed an extensive career as an Intelligence Officer in the Australian Army including as the principal intelligence staff officer for the Australian infantry brigade deployed to East Timor in September 1999, an intelligence exchange officer in Washington DC, Director Joint Intelligence Operations at Headquarters Joint Operations Command and Australia’s Defence Attaché to Thailand and Myanmar.

As you will hear, we covered a broad range of subjects, including: John’s Army career and journey into academia, building the cultural knowledge of Timor Leste, and Understanding the human terrain and culture - critical to mission success.

Vedran ‘Maz’ Maslic is the host of ‘The Voices Of War’. In this episode, Maz interviews Duncan Spinner. Since 2015, Duncan Spinner has been working in Ukraine and for four years was the OSCE Head of Operations for Luhansk. Apart from sharing information on the current situation in Ukraine, this episode is also an appeal for your help in getting at-risk individuals out of harm’s way. As you’ll find out, Duncan and a small team of professionals are informally helping some of the most-vulnerable civilians whose lives are in grave danger.

Providing a snapshot of Duncan's extensive experience working in conflict affected nations. Some of the other topics covered are: questioning the Russian mindset, the reality of those fleeing Ukraine, and getting personal protective equipment to fighters in Ukraine.

Vedran ‘Maz’ Maslic is the host of ‘The Voices Of War’. In this episode, Maz interviews Anthony ‘Harry’ Moffitt. A recently retired veteran of the Australian Defence Force where he served for nearly 30 years. Most of that time, he has spent in the Special Air Service Regiment, more commonly known as the SAS. During his time, he completed 11 active service deployments amassing nearly 1000 days on Special Operations globally.

Since leaving the Army, Harry has become a registered psychologist and runs a human performance consultancy working with sports teams, the military and industry. He is also the Asia-Pacific Director for the Mission Critical Team Institute. He is also the lead singer and songwriter for the rock band The Externals.

Harry also recently authored his memoir, 'Eleven Bats', which is a book about his military service, the SAS and his love of cricket. Along with the book, some of the other topics we covered are: his journey into the SAS, the first years of the war in Afghanistan, and changes in how the SAS came to be used.

Vedran ‘Maz’ Maslic is the host of ‘The Voices Of War’. In this episode, Maz interviews Dmytro Gurin. Who is a currently serving Member of Parliament in Ukraine. Dmytro is originally from Mariupol, the besieged city in South-eastern Ukraine that is capturing global headlines, where he has spent his childhood and where he went to university. In the past, Dmytro has also spent more than a decade living in Moscow and is very familiar with Russian political and media machinations.

Some of the topics covered are: the general Russian orientation towards Ukraine, life in the besieged city of Mariupol, and what Ukraine needs form the West.

Vedran ‘Maz’ Maslic is the host of ‘The Voices Of War’. In this episode, Maz interviews Stephanie Speck. Who has lived and worked in more than 20 countries, accumulating almost 25 years experience as a strategy and communications adviser, supporting democratic reform in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Stephanie’s expertise includes the design and programming of cross-government reform strategies, strategic communication, and advocacy initiatives; public policy development; counter-terrorism communication strategies, government public affairs and crisis communications.

Stephanie has launched TV channels (including the Middle East’s most popular, MBC Action); was Deputy Director of the first Palestine Investment Forum; led a US$1billion governance reform portfolio in Afghanistan; developed maternal health campaigns in the Vietnamese/Chinese border regions; worked to eliminate family voting in Albania; reported on disasters - earning her the Australian Humanitarian Award for her work post the Indian Ocean tsunami; and held several high-level public diplomacy and spokesperson roles, including as Senior Adviser to the Senior Minister of Afghanistan, the President of Somalia and the Prime Minister of Iraq.

Stephanie has just finished almost three years leading communication and advocacy initiatives for the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, in Geneva. Some of the topics we covered include: strategic communication as a tool for change, 'those who tell the stories rule society', and when expectations and reality do not align.

In this series summary, the episode will explain the importance of giving praise where praise is due. In addition, the reasons not to flog a willing horse. If a person feels they have some control and are accepted by their workmates, they have no hesitation in giving all of their effort.