A beloved 28-year-old father-of-two who “would give the shirt off his back for anybody” has been identified as the Australian Army soldier killed in a Northern Territory training exercise.
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The Australian Defence Force (ADF) confirmed Corporal Brendan Hannam had lost his life in a vehicle rollover at the Mount Bundey training ground outside Darwin on Monday afternoon.
Five other men were also injured in the incident, two of whom are still in Royal Darwin Hospital.
At a press conference in Perth, Chief of Army Susan Coyle confirmed Corporal Hannam was a junior non-commissioned officer who had served in Afghanistan and trained soldiers in the Ukraine.
“It is with deep and profound sadness that I can confirm that we lost one of our soldiers yesterday,” she said.
“Brendan is survived by a partner and two young children.
A photo of Brendan Hannam with his partner and two young children, supplied by the ADF. (Supplied: ADF)
“He is a much beloved junior leader in our army, he has served and sacrificed on two operational tours.
“His mates tell me that he would give the shirt of his back for anybody, and the thing that he will be most be remembered for is the love and support that he had for his partner and his kids.
“For now … the family are being deeply supported by the unit, by the 5th/7th Battalion, it’s the unit that Brendan has grown up with since he joined the army.
“They are his army family, and it’s the right people to be connected with the family at this time.”
General Coyle said Corporal Hannam had aspirations to be a medical technician in the army.
“And I know that he would’ve been superb,” she said.
The Mount Bundey Training Area is used by the Australian Army and its allies for live-fire training, including Exercise Predators Run in 2022. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
The Mount Bundey Training Area, about 100 kilometres south-east of Darwin, is used by the Australian Army and its allies for live-fire training.
NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro confirmed the five injured soldiers were flown to Royal Darwin Hospital.
“The Northern Territory supported two injured evacuations by helicopter to Royal Darwin Hospital at about 7:30 last night and another three by plane at about 9:30 last night,” she said.
“I want to offer our sincere condolences to the family of the young service personnel who lost their life yesterday.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family who are obviously devastated by this loss and of course, the support of our entire community is there for all of our service personnel who will be feeling this loss immensely.”
General Coyle said the death of a member of the army brings profound sadness.
“My heart goes out to his family, as well as to his mates, the unit, across broader army as well,” she told 102.5 ABC Perth earlier today.
“These are always a difficult time for anybody, but it hits home, it’s like they’re your own kids.”
General Coyle said further details would not be released until after an investigation was completed.
Susan Coyle says investigations into the incident are underway. (Supplied: Australian Defence Force)
“The site gets secured at the incident, it gets handed over to our military police,” she said.
“We have a land accident investigation board team that will then undertake an investigation as well.
“We’ve got to give them the time and space to truly understand what has happened so that we can make informed decisions on what to do next and what steps to take to try and mitigate this so it doesn’t happen again.”
NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole said he had sent resources to the training facility to assist the Defence Department’s investigation.
“We can’t comment on the cause of the injury to the defence personnel but we are assisting and we’re helping to investigate on behalf of the coroner,” he said.
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Image of Corporal Brendan Hannam released
Leaders will meet with family when it’s the ‘right time’
Tributes flow for ‘one of our finest soldiers’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the nation’s thoughts were with the family, friends and colleagues of all of the soldiers involved.
“There are no safe or easy days for those who serve in our country’s name,” Mr Albanese said.
“This sad incident is a terrible reminder of what families take on when their loved one bravely puts on our nation’s uniform.
“Every loss and every incident is felt deeply by the broader Defence family, but by none more so than their mates who served alongside them. We think of them today and every day.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles said the incident was “a tragic loss of one of our finest soldiers”.
“Australia’s service men and women do an exceptional job training and fighting for our country,” he said.
“This work in the defence of our nation carries risk.”
Mr Marles said Defence was working with and supporting all the families involved and that further information would be provided “in due course”.
Federal Minister for Veteran Affairs Matthew Keogh extended his condolences to the family of the soldier who has died and the broader Australian Defence Force family.
Exercises are held regularly at Mount Bundey, south-east of Darwin. (ABC News: Steven Schubert)
“No matter how someone in our Australian defence force passes away, it’s tragic and we want to make sure that their families and the people who work with them are supported whenever that occurs,” he said.
Mr Keogh said the army had already been looking into the force’s training systems and ensuring “everyone is safe as possible”.
Federal Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister for Defence Angus Taylor offered condolences to the soldier’s family, loved ones, and unit mates.
“It’s another tragic reminder that our men and women war-fighters put their lives on the line even when they are not on mission,”
he said.
“We are also thinking of the five soldiers injured in this incident.
“We wish them a full and swift recovery, and our thoughts are with their families who will be supporting them through this very challenging time.”
Second Australian soldier death this year
The latest incident is the second death of an Australian soldier this year, after Warrant Officer Class Two Lachlan Muddle from the Special Air Service Regiment died during a training exercise in Jervis Bay in May.
Warrant Officer Muddle fell to the ground after a midair collision with another paratrooper.
The other paratrooper, a sergeant from the Australian Defence Force Parachute School, survived the fall with minor injuries.
The Mount Bundey incident is not the first death at the Northern Territory training ground.
In 2017, Australian Army Private Jason Challis was killed there during a live-fire training exercise.
Australian Army soldiers during Exercise Predators Run at the Mount Bundey Training Area in 2022. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
An inquest into his death in 2019 heard Private Challis was shot while standing behind a plywood wall in an urban attack exercise in a setting meant to resemble a village.
The NT coroner described the Victorian soldier’s death as being part of a “shambolic” live-fire exercise and partly the result of a “long-held mindset” against rehearsals for combat-like operations.
The Department of Defence later pleaded guilty in the Darwin Local Court to one charge of failing to comply with a health and safety duty.
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