Published: Aug. 11, 2022, 11:19 p.m.
In this episode of the Defence Connect\xa0Podcast,\xa0Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)\xa0diplomat and folk singer Fred Smith joins host Liam Garman to reflect on\xa0Australia\u2019s 20-year\xa0commitment to Afghanistan and last\xa0year\u2019s\xa0humanitarian mission at Kabul\xa0International\xa0Airport.
- The pair begin the podcast discussing\xa0Smith\u2019s\xa0background, and how he came to use music as a tool to bring communities together as a diplomat in\xa0DFAT.
- The podcast\xa0continues by\xa0reflecting on\xa0Smith\u2019s\xa0time as the first Australian civilian to be posted to Uruzgan province in Afghanistan, and his subsequent\xa0Dust of Uruzgan\xa0album which tells the story of Australian service in the\xa0region.
- Smith\xa0also\xa0talks about his current\xa0cross-country\xa0tour\xa0\u201cSparrows of Kabul\u201d,\xa0honouring the first anniversary of the fall of Kabul and\xa0Australia\u2019s\xa0commitment to\xa0Afghanistan.
- The pair\xa0then\xa0discuss his upcoming\xa0Townsville show along with the 1RAR band, commemorating the\xa0Battalion\u2019s\xa0commitment to Afghanistan over the last 20 years.
To read more about\xa0Smith
\u2019s\xa0tour,\xa0click\xa0here.