Joint Health - Australian Defence Force

👑Congratulations! 🇦🇺

King’s Birthday military honours list

The list recognises work across a wide range of areas, from shipbuilding and engineering to operations and international peacekeeping, ADF members from Navy, Army and Air Force have been recognised in the 2026 King’s Birthday military honours list.

This year, 97 ADF members have received honours for distinguished and conspicuous service. Recipients range in rank from leading seaman to rear admiral, reflecting contributions made at every level of the Australian Defence Force.

Congratulations to all 👏

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💪💪Excellent work 31 Army Cadet Unit - Norwood! Perhaps some future ADF health professionals here?

A massive congratulations to our cadets who smashed out their first aid training last weekend. You showed great attitude, teamwork, and resilience, exactly what we love to see at 31 ACU.

A big thank you to CAPT(AAC) Ziegler from VIC BDE Regional Support Unit for providing this training.

Fantastic effort from everyone!

2LT(AAC) Kara Diakomanolis
31 Army Cadet Unit Norwood – Ringwood

‘All In’ is this year’s National Reconciliation Week theme which asks us to show up for reconciliation in our daily actions, inside Defence and across the wider community.

National Reconciliation Week 2026 - Petty Officer Stacey Allen

Petty Officer Stacey Allen is a proud Dagoman woman and the newest Regional Indigenous Development Coordinator at HMAS Stirling. She continues the long standing relationship building established by previous coordinators with the local Whadjuk and Binjareb peoples.

Born and raised on Jawoyn Country in Katherine, Northern Territory, PO Allen carries fond memories of home. She remembers picking the sweet and sour green plums, also known as wild mango, on the way to school and spending time among the towering sandstone walls of Nitmiluk Gorge. The gorge, shaped by immense volumes of water over thousands of years, stands as a symbol of the resilience of her community, which continues to face seasonal flooding and support one another through hardship.

Her connection to Country remains strong. She stays in daily contact with family in Katherine and, whenever she returns home, she visits the cemetery to tidy the gravestones of loved ones, pay her respects, and reflect on her journey.

PO Allen joined the Navy as a dental assistant, but her pathway into health began much earlier. Raised by aunties who worked in community health, she watched them care for her Nana during illness and saw the impact of helping others. Nursing did not appeal to her, but dental assisting became her way of contributing to community wellbeing.

People who work in health services are often described as being driven by care, grounded in ethics, and united by a commitment to improving the lives of others, and she carries these values into her work.

Her grandmothers, including her great grandmother Nanna Peckham who was part of the Stolen Generation, and her Nana Jackie, shaped her understanding of service, strength and selflessness. Their dedication to supporting family and community continues to guide her approach to leadership and cultural engagement.

Today, as a Regional Indigenous Development Coordinator, PO Allen is building on the foundations laid by previous coordinators and strengthening ties with local Aboriginal organisations, Elders and community leaders. She considers the highlight of her role to be meeting different people and having meaningful conversations. Even when these interactions seem small, she believes they contribute to significant and lasting impacts across the community.

Congratulations to Captain Ian Young for delivering a lecture at the 94th Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Annual Scientific Congress in early May.

“You can be the best surgeon in a tertiary hospital, but if you can't adapt your technical skill sets to raw, open, damage-control surgery, you won't succeed in an austere environment.”



Read more ⬇️

Rest, recovery and readiness A captain lectures on the overlooked issue of protecting the health of military healthcare professionals.

Thank you to all who have served on peacekeeping missions.

As a reservist who works in the emergency department at Ipswich Hospital, Major Richman said the R2F was a world away from the trauma of a civilian emergency room.

“With the reserve force, I’ve been able to take my civilian skills to a military environment and do things I’d never thought I’d get to do, and go places I never thought I’d get to go,” he said.

“And in that way, not only can I contribute to Australia’s medical assets, but I can have experiences I couldn’t get anywhere else.”

Emergency services on the front line Emergency medicine specialist Major Eric Richman applies his skills in the Philippines during Exercise Balikatan.