After the Blast

After the Blast: An Australian Officer in Iraq and Afghanistan is a memoir written by Major Garth Callender. The book follows the author through three operational deployments with the Australian Army over 2004 to 2010.


 * The first tour was with the Australian Security Detachment in Baghdad when the author was badly wounded in an improvised explosive device attack on 25 October 2004.


 * The second tour saw the author return to Baghdad in 2006. The story details several incidents including a rocket attack that injured four soldiers and a shooting incident which resulted in three Iraqi security guards wounded and one killed. Most notably the story details the shooting death of Private Jacob Kovco.


 * The final section of the book follows the author to Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan over June 2009 to February 2010 where he commanded a weapons intelligence team.

After the Blast won the 2016 Nib Waverly Military History Literary Prize.