The Cove Podcast brings you candid, unfiltered conversations with the leaders, soldiers, and scholars shaping the Australian Army today. Each week, our host CAPT Todd Lempa sits down with uniformed officers and soldiers leading the change in the Australian Army as well as academics and international partners to unpack what modern warfare demands.
From redefining leadership and resilience in the modern Army to exploring lessons from combat operations, command culture, human performance, and the future of land power, The Cove Podcast reveals how the Australian Army thinks, learns, and fights. Whether it’s a Regimental Sergeant Major reflecting on combat, a general discussing Warrior Culture, or a psychologist unpacking mental readiness—each episode delivers a grounded look at the people and ideas driving the Australian Army forward.
Insightful, grounded, and authentic — this is where the Australian Army thinks out loud.
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The Cove Podcast brings you candid, unfiltered conversations with the leaders, soldiers, and scholars shaping the Australian Army today. Each week, our host CAPT Todd Lempa sits down with uniformed officers and soldiers leading the change in the Australian Army as well as academics and international partners to unpack what modern warfare demands.
From redefining leadership and resilience in the modern Army to exploring lessons from combat operations, command culture, human performance, and the future of land power, The Cove Podcast reveals how the Australian Army thinks, learns, and fights. Whether it’s a Regimental Sergeant Major reflecting on combat, a general discussing Warrior Culture, or a psychologist unpacking mental readiness—each episode delivers a grounded look at the people and ideas driving the Australian Army forward.
Insightful, grounded, and authentic — this is where the Australian Army thinks out loud.
Survival Starts with Hygiene: How to Thrive in the Field - LTCOL Gordon Wing MBBS
The Cove Podcast
39 minutes
2 months ago
Survival Starts with Hygiene: How to Thrive in the Field - LTCOL Gordon Wing MBBS
‘Again, you’re talking to someone who used to shave and drink out of the same cup ...’
In this week’s episode, we welcome back LTCOL Gordon Wing MBBS, the Senior Medical Officer in the Directorate of Army Health. An infantry Combat Team Commander turned Medical Doctor, LTCOL Wing brings his expertise in military medicine and prevention. His first appearance on the podcast covered the Military Employment Classification System; this time, we explore a topic with immediate, practical consequences for every soldier — field hygiene.
From the campaigns at Milne Bay and the Huon Peninsula to the more recent deployment of Australian forces to INTEFET in East Timor, history reminds us that disease and poor sanitation can cripple armies just as easily as the enemy. General Douglas MacArthur is famously quoted as saying ‘[t]his will be a long war if, for every division I have facing the enemy, I must count on a second division in hospital with malaria and a third division convalescing from this debilitating disease.’ In this conversation, LTCOL Wing explains why hygiene remains a commander’s responsibility, and how discipline in the basics — cleanliness, waste management, water control, and illness prevention — is a combat multiplier.
He breaks down what good hygiene looks like in austere environments, from simple routines every soldier can maintain without showers, to wider practices like dipping cams and medication. We discuss common illnesses in the field, how quickly poor hygiene can degrade operational effectiveness, and what leaders at every level can do to prevent infections
before they spread, particular by enforcing strict routines and checks.
Drawing on his medical expertise combined with his time in command in-the-field, LTCOL Wing offers practical, evidence-based advice: how antimicrobial wipes stack up against soap and water, how bacteria is passed through the urinary tract, and the role of medications like doxycycline in prevention. He also shares some essential hygiene rules every soldier should follow during high-tempo operations to remain healthy and combat effective.
This episode is a timely reminder that maintaining health in the field is as much about discipline and leadership as it is about medicine — prevention against illness or injury in our potential operating environment will sustain a large fighting force to win.
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Leading source: The Battle Lab’s article on Field Hygiene published on The Cove.
The Cove Podcast
The Cove Podcast brings you candid, unfiltered conversations with the leaders, soldiers, and scholars shaping the Australian Army today. Each week, our host CAPT Todd Lempa sits down with uniformed officers and soldiers leading the change in the Australian Army as well as academics and international partners to unpack what modern warfare demands.
From redefining leadership and resilience in the modern Army to exploring lessons from combat operations, command culture, human performance, and the future of land power, The Cove Podcast reveals how the Australian Army thinks, learns, and fights. Whether it’s a Regimental Sergeant Major reflecting on combat, a general discussing Warrior Culture, or a psychologist unpacking mental readiness—each episode delivers a grounded look at the people and ideas driving the Australian Army forward.
Insightful, grounded, and authentic — this is where the Australian Army thinks out loud.
