User:MatthewDalhousie/sandbox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mark Wales
Wales in 2020
Personal details
Born
Mark Adam Wales

(1979-11-03) 3 November 1979 (age 44)
Newman, Western Australia, Australia
SpouseSamantha Gash
Children1
Alma materUniversity of New South Wales
Royal Military College, Duntroon
Websitehttps://www.markwales.com.au
Military service
Allegiance Australia
Branch/service
Years of service1996–2014
RankMajor
CommandsSpecial Air Service Regiment
Battles/wars

Mark Adam Wales (born 3 November 1979) is an Australian author and entrepreneur. He gained national attention as a competitor on Australian Survivor, which he eventually won. His earlier career had been as an officer in the Australian Army, where he made ten deployments over 16 years, including four to Afghanistan with the Special Air Service Regiment. On leaving the military he began business studies in the United States, before launching an apparel brand in New York. His 2021 memoir, also called Survivor, documented his experiences of war, PTSD and moral injury.

Early life[edit]

Family background[edit]

Wales' parents met in the Victorian town of Maffra, where his mother was a secretary and his father a bank teller, before he took a job as truck driver in the remote iron ore community of Newman in Western Australia.[1][2] Wales grew up with older brother Steve, younger brother Dan and very few rules, which were "no drugs, no motorbikes, and always do your best, always."[3][4]

He recalled life in regional Australia as friendly, even hitchhiking as a child with his older brother.[1] Trips to visit his mother's family in Cookernup, in the state's south west, were frequent.[1] It was here that he and his older brother were sexually abused by a family member on a dairy farm, where he was "utterly helpless against this guy because he was bigger, stronger, could do whatever he wanted."[1] Wales has indicated that choosing a military career had been shaped by a desire "to be in control of my environment—never getting in that situation again."[1] His grandfather on his father's side also influenced the young man, handing him the shin guntō captured from Japanese forces whilst fighting the Battle of Morotai.[5]

Job moves with Australian Customs took the family to Perth, then Geraldton, then back to Perth, where the family settled in Leeming, where Wales went to high school [6][7] Wales recalls a moment at school where he decided his future: seeing an image on a classmate's magazine showing black-clad troops storming the Iranian Embassy in London to rescue western hostages.[1][8][2] In particular he found the idea of "saving people from hell" compelling.[2] In June of 1996, his final year of school, 18 Australian soldiers were killed in a tragic Black Hawk accident; though this seemed to increase his resolve.[9]

Military service[edit]

With a fellow SASR soldier before an AH-64 Apache helicopter, Afghanistan, 2010

Age 17, Wales took the Oath of Allegiance at an Australian Defence Force ceremony at Swan Barracks in 1997.[2] Commissioned as an officer cadet, he moved to Canberra to study at Australian Defence Force Academy which he did not enjoy.[10] In his service memoir Wales admits "I was a disaster as cadet."[10] In one fire and maneuver exercise he led, most soldier cadets became lost.[11] In his grenade training, the weapon was fumbled before exploding, though, remarkably, no one was hurt.[12] However, he successfully completed his degree and went on to Royal Military College, Duntroon in 2000.[10] Here, Wales was dressed down by an assessor officer for a catastrophic ambush exercise, along with the feedback that "To my absolute bloody amazement, they followed you. They wanted to work for you. That’s a good thing. You can lead, you have that skill – you just need more technical work."[10] He would go on to active service, making ten deployments, including Timor-Leste, Solomon Islands, Iraq, Afghanistan, Fiji and Lebanon.[1][6]

Royal Australian Regiment[edit]

Commissioned as a Lieutenant, Wales was appointed as commander of 5 Platoon in 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, known as 2RAR, based in Townsville.[13][14] Through 2001, he lead the platoon on exercises at Line Creek Junction, before deploying to East Timor.[13]

Timor Leste, 2001-2002[edit]

Leading a infantry platoon of 30 soldiers, Wales served a 7 month tour in Timor Leste to protect locals from pro-Indonesia militias.[14][15] These involved long patrols of up to nine-days without resupply; and securing Junction Point Alpha on the border with West Timor.[16] Reporting to Angus Campbell allowed him to learn more about the SASR from a former Squadron commander.[17] Only to hear that the unit was, at that time, "a menagerie" and that warfare "brings nothing but misery.[18] During Easter 2002, his platoon oversaw the repatriation of 3000 East-Timorese from refugee camps, which, Wales later said, was the first time he had witnessed real human suffering.[19]

Solomon Islands, 2003[edit]

To support Operation Anode, Wales' 2RAR unit was sent to the Solomon Islands in to stabilise the country. This included missions on rigid inflatable boats close to where Australians fought in the Guadalcanal campaign of World War II.[20] By the end of that year he was made a Captain, leading exercises for the 11th/28th Battalion, based in Perth.[13]

SAS Regiment[edit]

Wales in Tarin Kot, Afghanistan, October 2010

After Selection, Wales moved into special forces, where he would complete four tours of Afghanistan between 2007 and 2010.[21]

Selection, 2004[edit]

Wales was one of 83 candidates who underwent selection for the Special Air Service Regiment, completing the additional officers module after the first week.[1][13][22] In interviews, Wales has said this included planning a hostage rescue operation, whilst being denied food and sleep, and 130 kilometres navigation exercise, on foot, in which he became badly injured.[23] Though he had concerns that his size would impede endurance (he is six foot three inches) he completed all modules and was accepted into the regiment and began the one-year reinforcement cycle in 2005.[24][25]

Close protection, 2006[edit]

Operational roles in special forces began when Wales started leading close protection teams in war zones.[26] He led protective security detachments for visiting generals and political leaders, such as Lt Gen Peter Leahy, as they visited Baghdad, Basra, Talil, and Camp Victory in Iraq; and Kabul, Camp Russell, Kandahar, and Bagram in Afghanistan.[27][28] Wales' squadron was called to provide protection to Xanana Gusmão during the 2006 East Timorese crisis, which extended to combat roles later in the year. [24]

Timor-Leste, early 2007[edit]

After providing security for world leaders at the 2007 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Wales was asked to return to Timor for a third tour, in the role of Operations Officer.[24] At one point, this involved missions to retrieve the fugitive rebel officer, Major Alfredo Reinado, who died in early 2008.[29]

Afghanistan, late 2007[edit]

While in Timor, Wales was asked to help form a composite troop within Rotation V, deploying to Uruzgan Province in September 2007.[30][31] E Troop would be Wales' first troop command; with the task of clearing the Chora Valley of insurgents.[32][33][34]

On 24-25 October, he led his soldiers in a 12-hour firefight with Taliban fighters in a greenbelt of cornfield and its surrounding compounds.[35][36] In the action he was supported by Australian snipers, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters of the British Army Air Corps, members of the 1st Gorkha Rifles and MQ-9 Reapers from the 432nd Wing of the U.S. Air Force; here Wales role meant directing fires, coordinating troops and coordinating medivac.[37][38] The unharvested field enabled an ambush by the enemy and, very early in the action, Wale's sergeant, Matthew Locke was shot in the upper chest by a PK machine gun and was pronounced dead shortly after extraction.[21][38] Amongst the hellfire missiles, 50 cal burst and 30mm cannon fire, "it was busy."[37] In the reporting of the battle by Chris Masters the soldiers were said to have "fought like mongrel dogs." [34][39] Wales was devastated by the death of his sergeant, giving himself tough criticism for being insufficiently aware of the dangers of the greenbelt.[40]

On 1-5 December, Wales led the Australian force element in support of an attack on the enemy stronghold of Musa Qala.[41] Whilst cutting off Taliban reinforcements at Deh Rawood, an Australian long range vehicle became stuck in the Helmand River, with Taliban fighters approaching.[42] Wales' unit soon came under mortar fire but the Taliban effort was repulsed by heavy weapons, artillery fire from a long range self propelled Panzerhaubitze howitzer and B-1 Lancer bombing runs, dropping 2000 pound munitions.[43] By the end of the tour, Wales had developed PTSD and depression.[33]

Lebanon, 2008[edit]

In what became known as the 7 May clashes, Hezbollah took over parts of Lebanon and was fighting with the Lebanese Army.[44] Wales was given a task to enter the country within 24 hours, in a discrete reconnaissance mission, planning a possible national evacuation operation.[44]

Afghanistan, 2009-2010[edit]

Australian forces in the Chora Valley, 2010

In 2009, while in a liaison role with Australian operators, Wales noticed "something here wasn't right" at the Australian base. Facilities had been greatly improved, but use of alcohol during the day was now open, and interest in violent combat had become "dark."[45] He took on the role of Executive Officer of 1 Squadron, leading combat operations from Camp Russell, Tarin Kot, in the northern summer of 2010, during what became known as the troop surge.[46][47] This involved planning operations, including air packages, the rotary wing, counter-insurgency and targeting force commanders.[48][49]

By the end of 2010, Wales saw strategic, operational and moral problems in Operation Slipper. Strategically, he began seeing the conflict as an "aimless war" with no discernible objective.[36][50] This gave the enemy an advantage that could not be overcome: "The arrogance you have as a Westerner with hardware, satellites etc. We think we can be beaten and it is such a shock to learn somebody incredibly motivated with a cheap weapon and a willingness to fight you at close range can nullify all those advantages."[34] Operationally, Wales believed that, in contrast to American forces, Australian missions were poorly resourced.[51] He has expressed "frustration that we're not, at the national level, understanding that."[21]

Personally, Wales had begun drinking heavily, had difficulty sleeping and his "moral compass" was slipping.[33] He found that his view of the Afghan people had changed. “I lost trust in the population. I was like, ‘you are all against us, until you prove otherwise’. I just assumed that anyone in the population could be out to kill us.”[21] Surrounded by men who had done "six or seven tours with heavy combat" he came to the conclusion that "a war like that will turn good men bad, and bad men evil."[52] Even so, the journalist Chris Masters came to describe Wales as one a small number of SAS officers who was "admired for assured application of intelligence and integrity within an anarchic a sometimes soulless environment.[53] When the Brereton Report found evidence of war crimes in the regiment, Wales expressed that he was shocked, but unsurprised, telling Neil Mitchell that a cohort of soldiers had been exposed to combat for too long, such that “your sense of what is normal gets warped".[54]

Duntroon, 2011[edit]

Now a Major, Wales returned to Australia, with some anxiety about the future.[40] With the support of his former Commanding Officer, Peter Winnall, Wales taking a teaching role back to Duntroon in 2011.[55] Outside of teaching hours, Wales began to look at ways to move into the business world, applying to American business schools and practicing the GMAT.[56] After several attempts, he won a place at Wharton School in Pennsylvania.[6]

Business and entertainment[edit]

Wales wearing a "Pathfinder" jacket, 2020

Arriving at Wharton for the 2012 MBA program, Wales collaborated with other students, which included veterans from around the world, along with extracurricular—such as competing as a heavy weight boxer in the Philly Fight Night.[57][58] On graduation Wharton named placed Wales in the the "40 under 40" list for business excellence.[59]

McKinsey[edit]

After completing the MBA, Wales applied for a role with McKinsey & Company.[6] He later learned he'd been successful because, in his interview, he made clear business recommendations without hedging.[60][61] Sent to Australia, his first project was with an iron ore business, based in Newman; and later went on to manage the McKinsey Academy program.[61] However, he chose to move on from the company to concentrate on his own start up.[61]

Kill Kapture[edit]

During his MBA, Wales had created a "tough luxury" fashion label, Kill Kapture, and he moved to New York City to work on the business full time.[62][61][63] Beginning with leather jackets, he hoped the brand could be a way of telling the story of what he, and others, had been through.[64] During business development, he was partly inspired by retired general Jim Mattis, who came to visit the students, "He told us the best thing we could do for the security of the country was to go out and start good businesses to make the economy stronger."[8] Wales moved to New York City in 2017 to work on the business full time. The initial jacket, known as Pathfinder was made from kangaroo hide, said to be ten times stronger than cowhide.[8][62] The shape was directly taken from contemporary special forces combat gear, which had became form-fitting.[8] Wales aimed his product at a particular type of person, "someone who had taken a few knocks, stood firmly by their values and who should not be taken lightly."[8] Sewed into the jacket was a tracking beacon that allows the jacket to be tracked should the item become lost.[62] The initial modelling was done by General Mattis and Wales himself.[63]

Eco-challenge and Survivor[edit]

While in New York, where funds were running low, a friend recommended that Wales audition for the season 4 of Australian Survivor.[40][65] One of 20,000 applicants to the Endemol production in 2017, Wales positioned himself as as a 'special ops / fashion designer' and he was invited to screen test.[66][65] Wales was chosen and filming began on location in Samoa in May of that year.[40] The cast included the ultramarathon runner Samantha Gash, who formed a relationship with Wales during filming.[67] This proved detrimental to both competitors—being voted out because of the romance—however, the relationship endured.[67]

Wales found adventure entertainment suited him and took up the opportunity to compete in the World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji[68] Filmed in 2019 and premiered on Amazon Prime in August 2020, the 700 km course was extremely demanding, where contestants experienced hypothermia in the highlands and Wales' team finished 26th out of field of 44.[68][69]

Both Gash and Wales returned to Survivor for Australian Survivor: Blood V Water.[6] In this 2022 production, based in Queensland, Wales defeated 23 competitors, including his now wife.[70]

Shortly after Survivor, Wales auditioned for a character role in Mad Max: Furiosa, being cast as Hefty Brakeman and he was filmed on location in mid 2022.[71][72] The film is due for release in 2024.[6]

Writer[edit]

In 2019, Macmillan Australia published Wales' memoir, also titled Survivor.[73] His first non-fiction work, many parts were written in "a cold sweat" as the covered disturbing aspects of family life, and combat, which he later said, "unhinged me morally and mentally."[74][75] At its mid-point, the Wales becomes no only critical of himself, but of the leaders and policies that had sent him to war:

"...more people would die, more proclamations about ‘difficult, fragile’ progress would be made. Meanwhile the moral injuries piled up behind the casualty lists – especially in special forces. We were being flogged with operational tempo, which we loved, at least initially. Selected and trained to generate high-tempo operations, we were the willing workhorses of the Aussie task group. But the cost was high. Death, injury and burnout was boiling to the surface. I had seen all three of them as far back as 2007.[76]

The memoir was endorsed by Bear Grylls and Chris Masters, receiving positive reviews from the Australian military community, describing it as "inspirational" and "an epic story of survival" and was listed for the Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award for 2022.[77][40][78] The book is the first memoir published after the Brereton Report, and seems to have emboldened Wales to write further contributions about the war in Afghanistan, including an op-ed with the Sydney Morning Herald titled "SAS war crimes: 'killing became incentivised, a toxic culture grew.'""[79] Wales' first novel is slated to be published in 2024.[80] It is said to depict a fictional Australian conflict triggered by influence of China.[72]

Personal life[edit]

Wales with family, 2024

Wales met Samantha Gash as a fellow contestant in 2017 of Survivor, and the couple married in Monbulk, Victoria in 2019.[1][70] The couple lived in Kalorama, Victoria[70] for many years before moving to Bicton, south of Perth, where they are raising their son Harry Locke Wales.[1][40]

While staying silent for many years on his experience of childhood abuse, becoming a father prompted Wales to report the matter to Western Australian Police in 2019.[1] The abuser, who was later convicted, was their mother's cousin, Richard Ernest Jackson.[1]

Honours and awards[edit]

Australian Active Service Medal with 3 clasps: East Timor, Iraq and ICAT
Ribbon of the Afghanistan Medal for Australia
Afghanistan Medal Operation SLIPPER
Iraq Medal
Ribbon of the Australian Service Medal
Australian Service Medal with 3 clasps for Lebanon, Solomon Islands and Counter Terrorism / Special Recovery
Ribbon of the ADM
Australian Defence Medal
Ribbon of the United Nations Medal (UNAMET)
United Nations Medal with UNAMET ribbon for active service in Timor-Leste (East Timor).
NATO Medal for the Non-Article 5 ISAF Operation in Afghanistan With clasp ISAF and Multi-tour Indicator 2.
Timor-Leste Solidarity Medal

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Former SAS commander and Survivor TV star reveals he was sexually abused as a child". ABC News. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: LIfe in the SAS. MacMillan Australia. pp. 17–19. ISBN 978-1760982751.
  3. ^ "‎Combat Story: Combat Story (Ep 36): Mark Wales | Australian SAS | Troop Commander | TV Personality | Author | Entrepreneur | Kill Kapture on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 7 minutes 30 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  4. ^ Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: Life in the SAS. MacMillan Australia. pp. 18, 19, 38, 44. ISBN 978-1760982751.
  5. ^ "‎Combat Story: Combat Story (Ep 36): Mark Wales | Australian SAS | Troop Commander | TV Personality | Author | Entrepreneur | Kill Kapture on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 6 minutes 40 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Can this SAS vet and reality TV star save the Liberals?". The West Australian. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  7. ^ Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: Life in the SAS. Macmillan Australia. pp. 19–21. ISBN 978-1760982751.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  8. ^ a b c d e "What do Tony Abbott, roos and 'Mad Dog' Mattis all have in common?". ABC News. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  9. ^ Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: Life in the SAS. Macmillan Australia. pp. 29–34. ISBN 978-1760982751.
  10. ^ a b c d Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: Life in the SAS. Macmillan Australia. pp. 46–54. ISBN 978-1760982751.
  11. ^ Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: Life in the SAS. Macmillan Australia. pp. 49–55. ISBN 978-1760982751.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  12. ^ "‎Combat Story: Combat Story (Ep 36): Mark Wales | Australian SAS | Troop Commander | TV Personality | Author | Entrepreneur | Kill Kapture on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 18 minutes 20 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d Pronk, Ben; Curtis, Tim (12 March 2020). "Mark Wales: SAS Journeyman- Beyond Survivor to Tough Luxury". 9:35 to 10:55.
  14. ^ a b Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: Life in the SAS. Macmillan Australia. p. 57. ISBN 978-1760982751.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  15. ^ "‎Combat Story: Combat Story (Ep 36): Mark Wales | Australian SAS | Troop Commander | TV Personality | Author | Entrepreneur | Kill Kapture on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 12 minutes 30 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  16. ^ "‎Combat Story: Combat Story (Ep 36): Mark Wales | Australian SAS | Troop Commander | TV Personality | Author | Entrepreneur | Kill Kapture on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 25 minutes 0 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  17. ^ "‎Life on the Line: #28 Mark Wales Vol II on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 4 minutes 45 seconds to 6 minutes 0 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  18. ^ "‎Life on the Line: #28 Mark Wales Vol II on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 6 minutes 20 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  19. ^ Lloyd, Alex (12 June 2018). "Life on the Line". 7 minutes 40 seconds.
  20. ^ "‎Combat Story: Combat Story (Ep 36): Mark Wales | Australian SAS | Troop Commander | TV Personality | Author | Entrepreneur | Kill Kapture on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 28 minutes 10 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  21. ^ a b c d "This former Australian soldier fought the war in Afghanistan. Now he says it wasn't worth it". SBS News. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  22. ^ Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: Life in the SAS. Macmillan Australia. pp. 69–75. ISBN 978-1760982751.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  23. ^ "‎Combat Story: Combat Story (Ep 36): Mark Wales | Australian SAS | Troop Commander | TV Personality | Author | Entrepreneur | Kill Kapture on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. From 32 minutes 50 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  24. ^ a b c Ben, Pronk; Curtis, Tim (12 March 2020). "Mark Wales: SAS Journeyman". Unforgiving 60. 12 minutes 20 seconds to 12 minutes 40 seconds.
  25. ^ Mckelvey, Ben (5 October 2022). Find Fix Finish. HarperCollins AU (published 2022). p. 242. ISBN 978-1460760765.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  26. ^ "‎Life on the Line: #28 Mark Wales Vol II on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 9 minutes 0 seconds to 10 minutes 35 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  27. ^ Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: Life in the SAS. Macmillan Australia. pp. 95–101. ISBN 978-1760982751.
  28. ^ "‎Combat Story: Combat Story (Ep 36): Mark Wales | Australian SAS | Troop Commander | TV Personality | Author | Entrepreneur | Kill Kapture on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 45 minutes 40 seconds on. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  29. ^ "‎Combat Story: Combat Story (Ep 36): Mark Wales | Australian SAS | Troop Commander | TV Personality | Author | Entrepreneur | Kill Kapture on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 47 minutes 50 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  30. ^ Pronk, Ben; Curtis, Tim (12 March 2020). "Mark Wales: SAS Journeyman". Unforgiving 60. 14 minutes 15 seconds on.
  31. ^ Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: Life in the SAS. Macmillan Australia. p. 331. ISBN 978-1760982751.
  32. ^ Masters, Chris (2017). No Front Line: Australian Special Forces in Afghanistan. Allen & Unwin. p. 358. ISBN 9781760638962.
  33. ^ a b c Packham, Ben (19 September 2020). "Pawns in a deadly game". The Australian.
  34. ^ a b c Masters, Chris (2017). No Front Line: Australian special forces at war in Afghanistan. Allen & Unwin. pp. 181–182. ISBN 9781760111144.
  35. ^ "Operation Spin Ghar: Uruzgan gets ugly | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. 16 November 2007. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  36. ^ a b "This former Australian soldier fought the war in Afghanistan. Now he says it wasn't worth it". SBS News. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  37. ^ a b "‎Combat Story: Combat Story (Ep 36): Mark Wales | Australian SAS | Troop Commander | TV Personality | Author | Entrepreneur | Kill Kapture on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 58 minutes 15 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  38. ^ a b Mckelvey, Ben (2022). Find Fix Finish. HarperCollins AU (5 October 2022). pp. 244–246. ISBN 978-1460760765.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  39. ^ "‎Combat Story: Combat Story (Ep 36): Mark Wales | Australian SAS | Troop Commander | TV Personality | Author | Entrepreneur | Kill Kapture on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 56 minutes 10 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  40. ^ a b c d e f Margetson, Andrew (2022). "Book Review: Survivor - Life in the SAS" (PDF). Australian Army Chaplaincy Journal (2022): 81–82.
  41. ^ Masters, Chris (25 October 2017). No Front Line: Australian special forces at war in Afghanistan. pp. 192–194. ISBN 1760528900.
  42. ^ Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: Life in the SAS. Macmillan Australia. pp. 152–161. ISBN 978-1760982751.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  43. ^ "‎Combat Story: Combat Story (Ep 36): Mark Wales | Australian SAS | Troop Commander | TV Personality | Author | Entrepreneur | Kill Kapture on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 1 hour 7 minutes 0 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  44. ^ a b Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: Life in the SAS. Macmillan Australia. pp. 179–183. ISBN 978-1760982751.
  45. ^ Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: Life in the SAS. Macmillan Australia. pp. 186–196. ISBN 978-1760982751.
  46. ^ "‎Life on the Line: #28 Mark Wales Vol II on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 11 minutes 25 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  47. ^ Lam, Joseph (18 April 2021). "Out of Afghanistan: SAS veterans reflect on 'graveyard of empires'". The Australian.
  48. ^ "‎Life on the Line: #28 Mark Wales Vol II on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 12 minutes 35 seconds to 13 minutes 5 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  49. ^ Mckelvey, Ben (5 October 2022). Find Fix Finish. HarperCollins AU. ISBN 978-1460760765.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  50. ^ "Lessons from our longest war". The Australian. 9 September 2020.
  51. ^ "‎Combat Story: Combat Story (Ep 36): Mark Wales | Australian SAS | Troop Commander | TV Personality | Author | Entrepreneur | Kill Kapture on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 20 minutes 30 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  52. ^ "‎Life on the Line: #28 Mark Wales Vol II on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 17 minutes 35 seconds on. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  53. ^ Masters, Chris (2017). No Front Line: Australia's special forces at war in Afghanistan. Allen & Unwin. p. 579. ISBN 9781760638962.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  54. ^ "Why a former SAS commander is 'shocked but ... not surprised' by Ben Roberts-Smith findings". 3AW. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  55. ^ Wales, Mark. Survivor: Life in the SAS. Pan Macmillan Australia. ISBN 9781760982751.
  56. ^ "‎Combat Story: Combat Story (Ep 36): Mark Wales | Australian SAS | Troop Commander | TV Personality | Author | Entrepreneur | Kill Kapture on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 0 hour 10 minutes 5 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  57. ^ Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: Life in the SAS. Macmillan Australia. pp. 252–256. ISBN 978-1760982751.
  58. ^ "Fighters". 9th Annual Philly Fight Night. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  59. ^ Kelner, Braden (20 October 2017). "40 Under 40". Wharton Magazine. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  60. ^ Pronk, Ben; Curtis, Tim (12 March 2020). "Mark Wales: SAS Journeyman - Beyond Survivor to Tough Luxury". The Unforgiving 60. 35 minutes 55 seconds.
  61. ^ a b c d Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: Life in the SAS. Macmillan Australia. pp. 278–291.
  62. ^ a b c Stephenson, Alison (5 August 2017). "Survivor contestant starts exclusive line of kangaroo leather jackets". Daily Telegraph.
  63. ^ a b Britzky, Haley (22 April 2020). "Yes, this photo of Mattis modeling a leather jacket is very real". Task & Purpose. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  64. ^ "‎Combat Story: Combat Story (Ep 36): Mark Wales | Australian SAS | Troop Commander | TV Personality | Author | Entrepreneur | Kill Kapture on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 1 hour 10th 5 minutes 10 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  65. ^ a b Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: Life in the SAS. Macmillan Australia. pp. 298–304. ISBN 978-1760982751.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  66. ^ Knox, David (11 June 2017). "20,000 applied for next Australian Survivor". https://tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved 20 March 2024. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  67. ^ a b Dennehy, Luke (13 August 207). "Australian Survivor wasn't just a game for these two contestants, who reveal they're now an item". news.com.au.
  68. ^ a b Fugit, Ryan (8 August 2021). "‎Combat Story: Combat Story (Ep 36): Mark Wales | Australian SAS | Troop Commander | TV Personality | Author | Entrepreneur | Kill Kapture on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 1 minute 0 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  69. ^ "‎Combat Story: Combat Story (Ep 36): Mark Wales | Australian SAS | Troop Commander | TV Personality | Author | Entrepreneur | Kill Kapture on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 1 hour 20 minutes 10 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  70. ^ a b c Hui, Jin (7 April 2022). "Kalorama local Mark Wales wins Survivor: Blood and Water". Ferntree Gully Star Mail. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  71. ^ Tangcay, Jazz (1 June 2022). "George Miller's 'Mad Max: Fury Road' Prequel 'Furiosa' Begins Filming". Variety. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  72. ^ a b "China hawk? Tangney hopeful Wales pens controversial novel". Busselton-Dunsborough Times. 11 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  73. ^ "‎Life on the Line: #28 Mark Wales Vol II on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 1 minute 20 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  74. ^ Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: Life in the SAS. Macmillan Austrlia. p. 323. ISBN 978-1760982751.
  75. ^ "‎Life on the Line: #28 Mark Wales Vol II on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 3 minutes 15 seconds. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  76. ^ Wales, Mark (2019). Survivor: Life in the SAS. Macmillan Australia. p. 191. ISBN 978-1760982751.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  77. ^ Masters, Peter (5 February 2024). "Survivor: Life in the SAS by Mark Wales". militarybooksaustralia.com. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  78. ^ Mem: 10677520. "Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award 2022 longlist announced | Books+Publishing". Retrieved 20 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  79. ^ Wales, Mark (24 November 2020). "SAS war crimes: 'killing became incentivised, a toxic culture grew'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  80. ^ Wales, Mark (20 March 2024). "Liberal aspirant's new novel sparks concerns among Chinese Australians". The Australian.

External links[edit]