Voices of War | John Blaxland – Reflexions on Australian military operations and lessons learnt

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.