SGT M has served nearly 20 years in the ADF, the vast majority of which has been in the Corps of RAEME and within Special Operations Command (SOCOMD). SGT M has deployed numerous times with both Forces Command and SOCOMD and in 2020 was awarded an Army Silver Commendation.

Lieutenant Yuetong Zheng comes from an academic background in language and music. Having majored in Chinese Translation for her Bachelor of Arts at Monash University, she continued to gain a Graduate Diploma in Music (Performance) and a Master of Teaching (Secondary) at the University of Melbourne. Following a career in teaching, Lieutenant Zheng joined the Army as an Education Officer.

Neil is a Director of the Institute of Integrated Economics Research, and the consultancy Collaborative Outcomes. He is an Engineering Executive and Deputy Chair of the Engineers Australia College of Leadership and Management. Through Engineers Australia, Australian Security Policy Institute and other NGOs, Neil has led policy development on energy security, humanitarian engineering, resilience, and the advancement of indigenous engineering. Neil served in the Australia Defence Force for 30 years with operational service in Iraq and Timor Leste.

The authors of this articles composed the content during their time at the Australian Defence Force Academy under the guidance and ingenuity of their Officer Commanding, Major Newham. The authors are all history students across the Army, Navy, and Airforce and have since graduated the Academy in 2022.