Mal Logue on Army, Policing, Burnout, and Why the System Breaks Good PeopleMal Logue brings 40 years of military experience, 15 years in policing, and a blunt firsthand view of what happens when frontline service meets bureaucracy, bad policy, and constant scrutiny. This episode covers his path from Adelaide to the army, deployments in Somalia and beyond, his move into Queensland Police, and the burnout that came from trauma, understaffing, and boxed-in decision-making.We also discuss his COVID vaccine mandate fight, the human rights court case that followed, and why he believes support systems inside policing often fail the very people they claim to protect. Timestamps(00:05) - The introduction and why Mal Logue was brought in(01:20) - Growing up in Adelaide and choosing the army at 17 (02:09) - Leaving the military, moving to Brisbane, and joining QPS (03:50) - What Mal was like at school and why he hated it (04:33) - Why he loved infantry life, fitness, and military work (05:17) - Training at Kapooka and watching his son follow the same path (06:58) - Deployments to Somalia, East Timor, and other exchanges (08:06) - Somalia: first contact, command stress, and live rounds(10:10) - Military trauma versus policing trauma (12:22) - Getting help, drinking, rage, and why support mattered (14:21) - How army rank progression and promotion actually work (17:00) - Reserve service, police academy life, and juggling family (21:07) - Why he joined QPS and hated the academy (23:02) - OST, fighting, taser training, and what academy skills missed (25:24) - Why he thinks police training standards are too low (27:57) - Spike strip training, union complaints, and being kicked out (31:25) - Caboolture policing, team culture, and proactive patrol work (34:48) - A typical shift, briefings, and how crews were deployed (36:15) - DV, mental health, and the strain of modern policing (37:33) - Resources, budgets, and why police are asked to do more with less (39:04) - Burnout, rosters, and RBTs as stats-driven policing (43:25) - How DV jobs evolved into paperwork-heavy cover your ass policing (48:44) - Why he says decision-making has been replaced by fear (51:01) - False DV allegations, family court, and the damage to officers (55:38) - Why he believes DV policy is unbalanced and politically driven (57:23) - Male suicides, false allegations, and what he sees in the data (59:57) - How DV work consumes policing resources and shift time (61:58) - A Christmas DV breach that left him sickened (66:16) - A funny Redcliffe patrol story and classic dark humour (68:26) - Dealing with tragic scenes without letting them destroy you (69:24) - The lack of mental health support in QPS (72:29) - Being stood down after injury and getting help only by pushing for it (78:32) - COVID, masks, and why the vaccine mandate triggered everything (83:24) - The human rights court case and why the mandate was unlawful (88:35) - Being stood down again after the mandate lifted (91:29) - A senior officer’s toxic attitude during a major training event (95:07) - The 50/50 recruiting process and why he says merit was undermined (101:09) - Selective crime stats and clearance-rate games (103:19) - Pauline Hanson, immigration, and political frustration (105:07) - Why DV systems often treat women as the default aggrieved party (107:26) - His pet peeves, including immigration policy and crunching sounds (109:09) - Closing reflections on policing, mental health, and a possible return visit
