240 Seconds Of Canberra At Night
Tag: AWM
Don’t Mention The War
Another ANZAC Day has come and gone. As with previous years I donned a suit with my medals affixed and attended a Dawn Service. This year, however, something seemed different. From the moment I stepped foot onto the rain-sodden grass of Warrawee Park and walked towards the Oakleigh Cenotaph I felt like an interloper at an event that I should have felt at ease attending. As far as I could tell under the glare of the nearby street lights, I was the only Modern-Day Veteran in attendance.
As I do when I attend any Military commemoration service by myself, I circled the crowd looking at faces and chests to see if I could recognise a former colleague or identify someone who has deployed on the same campaigns as I have. For the first time, I spotted neither; in fact, the only medals that were being worn were those of the attending Victorian Police Officers for their service to VICPOL, descendants wearing World War One and World War Two medals, and the Vietnam era medals worn by the local RSL Sub-branch representatives. At this Dawn Service I was alone; and I felt alone
The Service was like most others, the requisite boxes were ticked and despite some technical glitches due to the wet weather, the Service was completed as intended. However, two things occurred that would ensure I will not be attending another Dawn Service at the Oakleigh Cenotaph. A man, more than old enough to know better, spent the entire Last Post, Minute’s Silence and the Reveille with his concentration focused firmly on the iPhone glowing brightly in his hands; something I very much doubt he will do ever again after some quiet words from me. The second incident highlighted a growing trend I have noticed over the past several months. I was approached by the representative of the local council to pose for a photo with the attending local member for Monash Council. There was no request for my name, service details or any other personable interaction, I was requested to act as a prop in a photo opportunity to make a politician seem like he cared about ANZAC Day
Due to my previous volunteer work for Soldier On, I am no stranger to standing in front of a camera and playing the part of the modern-day Veteran for a cause or fundraising event. In the few short years since my participation with Australia’s highest profile ESO and subsequent withdrawal from Veteran Support Organisations and media engagements, I have seen an increase in the number of modern-day Veterans step in front of the camera and share their experiences with the community. A Veteran’s experiences on deployment are very personal and something that isn’t easily shared with others; especially strangers. When speaking to the media I would have a pre-prepared script in my head that I would follow. Even the details that I would share that seemed extremely personal were details that I had censored or had omitted entire events from to protect friends, family and myself.
In an age where so many rely on social media and smart devices for their news and real time information it should be no surprise that many Politicians, businesses and ESO’s have embraced a more arguably aggressive media campaign leading up to and on ANZAC Day. From my vantage point at the back of the crowd during the Oakleigh Dawn Service it was easy to spot the dozen or so camera flashes each time a local Politician or business owner laid a wreath at the base of the Cenotaph. A brief check of two of the attending member’s social media accounts the day after the Service indicated that the photos taken during were posted online less than an hour after the actual wreath laying. Such instances are not rare, in fact, during the Dawn Service itself I could see multiple groups of younger persons taking selfies with either the congregation or Cenotaph in the background. The same was clearly evident during the day when television news programs reported on the various Capital City Dawn Services; it was a sea of smart phones glowing brightly, replacing what used to be candles providing a sombre atmosphere.
A concerning emergence this ANZAC Day was the promotion of the ‘Struggling Modern-Day Veteran’ identity by various media outlets and some ESO’s. It’s a very fine line to tread at the best of times, but on the one day of the year when patriotism, jingoism and emotions can become blurred, some media reporting and ESO social media posts/promotions were seen by some people as being in bad taste.
On one side of the coin is an article published by the ABC and written by Jane Cowan regarding Australian Veteran Chris May’s experiences during and after his deployments to Afghanistan. As co-founder of ESO Young Veterans, Chris is at the forefront of Veteran advocacy and often speaks of his personal experiences as way to engage, educate and de-stigmatise the issues many Veterans face regarding mental health and suicide. As someone who has done this previously and quite openly, I applaud his stance and candour on these issues and without a doubt the decision by both Chris and the ABC to publish this article on ANZAC Day was one that was not made without careful consideration. In this instance it was an article that was published with an aim to inform and educate; and not push an agenda or promotional angle.
On the other side of the coin was a text message I and many thousands of others received in the afternoon on ANZAC Day from ESO Soldier On.
Without being too critical of an organisation I once supported and represented, the timing and wording of the text message leaves a lot to be desired. I openly question the aggressive tone of the message, especially considering the audience receiving it would be primarily made up of Veterans and Veteran’s families. Have we not served and sacrificed for our country? Do I really need to honour the memory of my dead friends, men killed in action on foreign soil, by sending $25 to Soldier On now?
The Veteran ESO network is particularly vast in Australia with some organisations focusing on providing support and support programs tailored to a specific activity or operating within a small geographical area. Other, larger ESO’s, aim to engage with and provide support to a larger community of Veterans across many states and sometimes nationally by providing a multitude of support programs, activities and fundraising opportunities. It is via these fundraising opportunities that many ESO’s engage with the broader community and raise the necessary funds to continue to provide support services to Veterans and their families.
It is often through this engagement via a fundraising platform that the wider community, without any direct connections to a wounded or service-affected Veteran, learns of the issues facing those of us that reach out to an ESO for assistance. Our experiences enter the public domain, with the aim of helping others; we share details that are often very personal and sometimes tragic. As I have written about before, some ESO’s are competing over finite sources of funding while simultaneously exploiting the experiences of Veterans and maintaining their focus on a what is a predominately negative narrative.
Of course there will always be articles and social media posts written about the negative experiences of Veterans. Whilst we await the provision of adequate Government provided support services and wade through the quagmire that is interacting with the Australian Defence Force and the Department of Veterans Affairs; Veterans will continue to express their frustration and anger to a wider audience. We will continue to reach out to ESO’s for support and they will continue to reach out to the Australian public to open their ears, hearts and wallets to fill the gaping hole left by failure of the Government and DVA to provide timely, tailored and adequate support for Australia’s Veterans. But must they do this by continually presenting the Modern-Day Veteran as a victim?
Those of us that live with physical and mental injuries deserve the best chance at a positive recovery. Each day is treated as a new step on a long journey to better our lives and the lives of those people we call friends and family. Our relatively new identity as an Australian Veteran is not and should not be treated as a burden. We are told to focus on the positives in our lives as we continue with our recovery. Should not those organisations purporting to assist us do the same?
What Does ANZAC Day Mean To You?
It is the question that gets asked every year; What does ANZAC Day mean to you? The quick, neat and politically correct answer is: “honouring the brave men and women who have served our nation in war and remembering those that died doing so”. But is that what the day really means to people?
As a child, I remember waking early and attending the Dawn Service with my Father at his various Units. I knew my Father was in the Army and I knew he had been a Soldier since long before I was born. The many medals he wore on his uniform reflected a lifetime spent serving his Nation; the same uniform and medals he would meticulously set up and layout the night before each Dawn Service.
Growing up, my Father rarely spoke of his time in Vietnam; there was never any depth or emotion to what he would tell my sister and I. Each year as ANZAC Day approached, my Father, a very quiet yet authoriative man, would become withdrawn and focused. To me this wasn’t unusual, this was just something my Father did prior to ANZAC Day; the one day of the year he would go drinking with his friends.
I look back to those years and I wonder if my Father and his brothers experienced the same with their Father; a Veteran of World War Two.
I have spent previous ANZAC Days attending the Dawn Service, have taken part in and commanded Catafalque Parties, have marched through a number of Capital and rural cities and have stood on foreign soil and listened to a bugler play The Last Post. This year I will once again take a set of medals from a box deep within my wardrobe, pin them onto a suit jacket and attend a Dawn Service close to my home. This will be the sixth ANZAC Day out of uniform since leaving the Australian Army. Not long into the day I will take off my jacket, un-pin my medals and place them in their box and back into the wardrobe to await the long year until they next see the light of day.
But why do I and so many others wake up early, put on clothes that often make this one day of the year our best dressed, and attend the various commemoration activities? If you listen to the media, various football codes and the RSL, it’s about remembering the men that landed at ANZAC Cove more than one hundred years ago; an act that helped to forge our National identity of a small yet determined Nation. Even as a child I found this a hard concept to understand. Unlike my Grandparents and Parents, I wasn’t born after a World War; there had not been a major conflict involving Australia since the Vietnam War and Australia was more than a decade away from participating in major Peace Keeping operations in Cambodia, Rwanda and later; East Timor. My generation was born into relative peace time, we weren’t baby boomers, we weren’t exposed to the hardships and austerity measures of our parents’ childhoods and we were long removed from those few left that had fought at Gallipoli.
For many of us that joined the Australian Defence Force in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s we were quickly thrust into an operational cycle that would see many service-people deployed to East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Iraq and Afghanistan. For the first time in decades, Australia was sending men and women to fight for their country on a large-scale. During these deployments we lost friends, young men, who’s names now join the more than one hundred thousand others on the walls within the Australian War Memorial.
In the years since our withdrawal and subsequent redeployment to the Middle East, we have continued to lose more and more service-people to suicide, yet this is not something that is spoken about widely in the lead up to ANZAC Day. We continue to hear about those that fought in Wars and Battles from the last century. Our elected Politicians will wear a memorial pin for the day, and of course, a few modern-day Veteran’s will be thrust in front of the camera at sporting events across the country and used as a prop to sell a false kinship between professional sportspeople representing a team and someone who has represented and served a Nation.
To some Australians, ANZAC Day is, and will always be about the original ANZAC legend; the subsequent generations that have served Australia are little more than another contingent of Veterans marching down the main street of their town or city. For others the day is an opportunity to enact a misguided interpretation of jingoism by starting their drinking early and displaying various patriotic symbols and emblems.
The disconnect between the general population, media, Veteran community and Veteran Support Organisations has grown over time. The days of the stereotypical Australian Veteran – the cocky and stoic Digger – are far behind us; yet the legacy of that era still remains. This ideology has been so ingrained into the Australian psyche that is comes as shock to many that Veteran suicide, substance abuse, homelessness and unemployment are so rife. The RSL and some ESO’s use ANZAC Day as a foundation for their fundraising efforts, the shock value behind the struggles of many modern-day Veterans is used in the same way the AFL and NRL use the ANZAC legacy to sell tickets and make money.
The individual Veteran is once again being replaced by what the Department of Veterans Affairs, the RSL/ESO’s and media believe the archetype should be presented as.
Instead of Australian men and women standing tall, side by side and sharing with other Australians their experiences in uniform in faraway lands, we are experiencing a degradation of our collective Veteran Identity.
That is the foundation on what ANZAC Day is built upon. Veterans supporting Veterans and entrusting our legacy, stories and experiences to a Nation that will undoubtedly provide more generations that will go to war; continuing a cycle that has existed for more than a century.
For me ANZAC Day is about the days and nights I spent in uniform, both in Australia and overseas. The men and women I shared good and bad times with. The men I called friends who spilled their blood on foreign soil and didn’t come home alive. The men and women I knew – and those I never met – who took their own lives long after their feet touched Australian soil again. We each have a story and it is up to us with who we share that story with.
One ANZAC Day a few years from now I will sit down with my children and begin with… “I was once an Australian Soldier…”
Soldier On Remembrance Ride 2014
I’m extremely proud and honoured to be a part of next week’s Soldier On Remembrance Ride 2014.
Over 22 April to 24 April 2014, I will participating in a fundraising/awareness raising ride to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Remembrance Driveway.
The Remembrance Driveway was created as a living memorial to those who served the nation from WWII and beyond and links Sydney and Canberra via the Hume and Federal Highways with a series of rest areas dedicated to the Victoria Cross recipients.
On 22 April, we will depart Sydney and arrive at the Australian War Memorial on the morning of 24 April in commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the Remembrance Driveway.
We will be riding over 230km in 3 days with an emphasis of fundraising and awareness raising for Soldier On along the way.
Donations to Soldier On can be made via the link below.
GoFundraise Remembrance Ride 2014 – Supporting Soldier On
Thank you for your support!
An Evening At The Australian War Memorial – Updated
ABC’s Big Ideas has released the Boys Don’t Cry program online for viewing.
The televised version is shorter by about 20 minutes and doesn’t include my speech at the end of the forum. The online long version does. I invite you to watch is however please be aware that some of the program is fairly confronting including what I have to say at the end.
Long version of the Boys Don’t Cry segment
Big Ideas Boys Don’t Cry segment
On Wednesday evening, 20 November 2013, I attended a panel discussion at the Australian War Memorial on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The event was hosted by journalist/writer Paul Barclay on behalf of ABC TV and Radio National.
On the panel were former Chief of Army LTGEN Peter Leahy; author and Beyond Blue ambassador Allan Sparkes; Beyond Blue board member Professor Brett McDermott; and the wife of a former British Royal Marine, Emily.
I was asked about attending the panel a few days earlier by my friend Jason. Originally I didn’t want to attend as I honestly thought it may be a trigger for an anxiety episode; so I declined. It wasn’t until the night before that I decided to go along and hopefully have a chance to speak to whoever was on the panel. I had no idea who was participating in the discussion other than LTGEN Peter Leahy and hadn’t really thought about what was going to be discussed.
In the afternoon prior to the start of the forum, I rode from work up to the Australian War Memorial. As is the norm, I was wearing my Soldier On jersey and happened upon new Soldier On team member Tony; who many moons ago was my Troop Commander when I served in Iraq. Jason arrived next and soon we were joined by Anna, Meredith and Dion from Soldier On. After I got changed into something more appropriate than skin tight lycra, we went into the BAE Systems Theatre.
After the introductions Paul started the discussion with some questions about PTSD in the military for LTGEN Leahy. The conversation and questions started to flow freely within the panel with some very emotional stories being shared by Emily and Allan. Prof McDermott gave some very interesting insights on PTSD for not only military personnel; but also for emergency service persons and of course their families.
I wasn’t the only veteran in the crowd; but I was the youngest. There were a few Vietnam Veterans present, family members of veterans with PTSD and a few senior Defence officers that were skulking around the back pews in civilian attire.
As the discussion progressed LTGEN Leahy was asked some questions about support services available to veterans. I have a lot of respect for this man; he was an exceptional Chief of Army and has done a lot to help veterans with his current position as Chairman for Soldier On. But there is a distinct level of detachment from what a high ranking officer is told and what happens on the ground.
Some of his responses started to irk not only me, but a lot of the crowd listening to him. There were more than a few audible scoffs at some comments about the Department of Veterans affairs doing their best to help all veterans. One comment in particular drew a very audible “get fucked” from me. The former Chief of Army said that when a Soldier asks for help, he or she will always receive it. Paul mentioned the story of MAJGEN John Cantwell and LTGEN Leahy was in agreement. Whilst MAJGEN Cantwell has done a lot to help break the stigma of PTSD in the ADF; it is also true that a very senior Officer is never going to be turned away when they ask for assistance.
Allan Sparkes shared his story of PTSD and depression from when he was a Police officer; and the ostracising that he experienced as a result. His story was a very raw, no punches pulled recount of his darkest days and his termination from his employment without his knowledge. His story was very reminiscent of many veterans from the Vietnam War up until today’s conflicts.
Emily’s story was one of amazing courage from both her and her husband Adrian. She spoke of her time in the United Kingdom when Adrian returned from deployment in Afghanistan a changed man. He had experienced traumatic events and as a result developed PTSD. His struggles with mental health affected his wife and two daughters as they watched as their husband and father dealt with his issues now that he was back at home. His eventual discharge from the Royal Marines was a result of a physical injury and just like the majority of occupationally injured Australian servicepersons; Adrian was soon pushed out the door with very little support and preparedness for his transition to civilian life.
As the forum was drawing to a close Paul invited Dr Brendan Nelson, director of the Australian War Memorial to speak and field some questions from the panel. He spoke about the AWM’s role with supporting veterans of recent conflicts by having interactive exhibits and involving them with other projects the AWM is conducting. As a former Minister for Defence he expressed his desire to see more support forthcoming as the Afghanistan War draws to a close.
As 7pm was quickly approaching a few of us in the audience were wondering if we would get a chance to ask questions of the panel. Adrian was next to take the stage and he recounted some of his experiences post deployment and how support for veterans is extremely slow from the government in Britain. He spoke of having his claim for assistance being rejected on the first submission; a trend very similar to that in Australia carried out by DVA.
Adrian expressed his concern for veterans being forgotten after the withdrawal from the Middle East and a strong desire for them to be able to access the support they deserve and not repeat the mistakes of the past. He likened the struggles of today’s returned servicepersons to that of the Vietnam War era in the way that the fight for support continues even after the war on foreign soil has ended.
Adrian’s address to the panel and audience had clearly reached out to everyone with many of the Vietnam Veterans visibly moved by his honesty. As he sat down Paul checked his watch and asked us sitting in the audience if anyone had anything questions or comments. I had been sitting and fidgeting for the past 10 minutes waiting for this moment. Several different introductions and talking points had gone through my head and all disappeared in the instant I raised my hand and Paul motioned for me to stand up.
I was shaking before I even started speaking; this was always going to be an emotionally charged interaction from me and I started by introducing myself.
“Hi I’m Chad, I separated from the Army early last year and have deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. I have been diagnosed with PTSD, depression and anxiety and I want to know why not enough is being done to help Australian veterans.”
I addressed LTGEN Leahy first and exclaimed to him that history was indeed repeating itself.
“I am a third generation Soldier, my Grandfather served in World War 2, my Father served in Vietnam and I have served in the Middle East. I watch as my Father and his mates still struggle with PTSD with many Vietnam Veterans taking their own lives since the war ended. I watch as my generation struggles with the same issues and now my mates, people I served with, are killing themselves because of PTSD and depression; and nothing is being done to stop this. There are more people in the ground because of PTSD and depression than there are that are on the wall outside who were killed on operations.”
I spoke of my efforts to get help when the weight was becoming too much for me to bear and that the first two times I asked for assistance I was rebuffed by my unit RSM’s; a statement that clearly shocked LTGEN Leahy. I was asked questions from both Allan Sparkes and Prof McDermott about my interactions with DVA and I recounted how I was told that my claim was going to be slow as my PTSD and depression ‘wasn’t that bad’. I explained to them that is was at this point that I withdrew my claim and stopped interacting with DVA as I felt I was being accused of chasing money and that by not receiving financial assistance my criticism of their practices would hold more weight in a public forum.
I described my battles with depression and that very few people understood; and the simple act of asking for help effectively stalled my career in the Australian Army for a number of years. The feeling of being ostracised and singled out was always present and that few people would support me when I asked for further help. I explained that while MAGJEN Cantwell’s story is not an isolated one, the level of support and assistance he received was. The average Digger in a unit has to contend with the ever present stigma of mental health issues and ignorance present within their chain of command and the probable persecution for not being able to fulfil their duties without restrictions.
I expressed astonishment that the very organisation founded to protect the rights of and provide assistance to veterans was failing in its primary role. I emphatically asked how in the forty years since the end of the Vietnam War servicepersons are still not being afforded the support we fought for. How it was possible that DVA can state they are still learning and getting better with a straight face as veterans from multiple deployments and generations kill themselves while waiting to access support services.
By this stage the room was silent and I had been speaking for around 20 minutes. The panel while sometimes asking me questions and making statements had clearly been unprepared for such a raw and uncompromising speech from someone. I had brought up some points with personal accounts of systematic failures from within the Australian Army, Australian Defence Force and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
There were some topics that I shared with a public forum that had only been discussed with medical professionals and not even shared with my wife and family. As my speech drew to a close I expressed the hope that one day veterans would receive the appropriate support from the Government but that it was very unlikely to occur in my lifetime and that my children probably wouldn’t see it happen either.
As I finished speaking I apologised for hijacking the Q&A session; Paul started wrapping up the forum and I sat down nervously. Jason patted me on the shoulder and most of the audience was either nodding in agreement or wiping away tears. I sat shaking and started to feel quiet anxious from speaking to a mostly unknown audience about issues so personal and distressing that I had spent the last few years repressing and ignoring them.
The rest of the evening was spent talking with members of the audience and panel. I received a great number of business cards and offers of assistance and opportunities to speak to other veterans and people with PTSD and depression. I found the response surprising and was shocked when LTGEN Leahy approached me as he was leaving. He handed me his business card and told me to email him. He offered to take me to see the Minister of Veterans Affairs to discuss the issues I had brought up.
He told me that the Service Chiefs would be made aware of what I had spoken about and that I should continue speaking up. Both he and Dr Nelson expressed the need for younger veterans to be the public faces and voices of our generation and that I should be one of them. I was very humbled by this statement and thought a lot about it over the following days.
At the conclusion of a big night, I farewelled Jason and the Soldier On crew, thanked the others and started riding my bike back home. The next 45 minutes were some of the most contemplative times of my life as I thought about what I had said and the inevitable shock-waves that they would create for my family and I when the ABC airs Boys Don’t Cry on Big Ideas in late 2013/early 2014.
An Open Letter To The Minister For Veterans’ Affairs
An Open Letter to Senator the Honourable Michael Ronaldson, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs
Dear Senator Ronaldson,
On 12 November 2013 I sent both an email and a letter to you via your gazetted Ministerial Office contact details. To date I have not received a reply nor have I received any acknowledgement that my correspondence was received by your office. Although traditional mail does occasionally fail to arrive at its intended destination, an email with the correct recipient address does not.
My original letter to you was in regards to the comments made by your Department’s Mental Health Adviser, Doctor Stephanie Hodson, which were aired during a segment on Channel 7’s Today Tonight entitled Fighting A Mental War. Dr Hodson’s comments were not only highly controversial, but also quite insulting to Australia’s Veterans. To claim that a major part of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs inability to provide timely support to Veterans with mental health issues was in part the fault of the Veterans themselves is nothing short of victim blaming.
Did I, like many others ask to be haunted and troubled by the traumatic experiences from our deployments?
No, we did not.
Did I ask for help from within the Australian Army?
Yes I did and on numerous occasions I was told to “harden the fuck up”.
Did I ask your Department for assistance?
Yes I did, but instead of the support that I was entitled to, I was forced to jump through hoops and make my way through a maze of red tape.
Like many Veterans, I found the system that is supposed to provide us assistance and avenues of support was, in reality, creating more roadblocks on the long journey to recovery. Roadblocks that ultimately resulted in me turning my back on DVA and finding the help I so desperately required from my family and friends. To be honest I couldn’t help but assume this was a deliberate ploy by DVA; make it as difficult as possible for Veterans to access support services and they will eventually give up; saving the Department a large sum of money.
Unfortunately many Veterans do not have the type of support from family and friends that I do, and when the world is at its darkest, some will take their own lives. This year alone more than twenty returned servicepersons have committed suicide. I must stress that this number reflects only those that are clear cut cases of suicide and not single-vehicle accidents and incidences of drowning while intoxicated.
I was extremely fortunate to attend Paul Barclay’s Boys Don’t Cry forum at the Australian War Memorial on the evening of Thursday 21 November 2013. During this forum members of the panel discussed various issues regarding PTSD and depression with a focus on the Australian Defence Force and withdraw from Afghanistan. It would have been highly beneficial for a member of your Department or staff to have attended in an official capacity in order to answer some questions regarding the level of support offered by DVA.
LTGEN Peter Leahy was a member of the panel and spoke about returned servicepersons accessing support from within the ADF and DVA. While I wholeheartedly agree that the ADF is getting better and that the stigma associated with PTSD and depression is slowly dissipating. I found LTGEN Leahy’s claims that the Department of Veterans’ Affairs is learning from the mistakes of the past a complete and utter fallacy.
This was an opinion that I shared with the panel and audience during the question time at the completion of the forum. For almost 25 minutes I spoke about my struggles with PTSD, the systematic failures of the ADF and DVA when I was trying to access support services and my fears for Australian Veterans in the future.
The Department of Veterans Affairs exists for the sole purpose to provide assistance to Australian Veterans, whether they have experienced overseas service or not. This is a role that DVA seems to fail at more often than not.
Senator Ronaldson you are quoted on the ABC’s World of Today webpage from a report by Lexi Metherell from Tuesday 10 December 2013 as saying:
MICHAEL RONALDSON: We cannot repeat the mistakes of post-Vietnam, where this country let down those men who were doing no more and no less than serving the nation at the nation’s request.
Senator Ronaldson I implore you to open your eyes to the facts. The mistakes of “post-Vietnam” were the mistakes from post-World War 2 which was the legacy from the mistakes made post-World War 1.
I am a third generation Soldier; my Grandfather served in World War 2 and was stalwart for Veteran’s advocacy his entire life, my Father served in Vietnam and dedicated 42 years as a fulltime Soldier; and I have served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. These mistakes you speak of, the mistakes of the past are in fact the Ghosts of the Past that continue to haunt us to this very day.
I watched as my Grandfather’s legacy and honour left with him as he passed away in a geriatrics ward; a man of such strong resolution, he dedicated the entirety of his post-war life to the Returned and Services League and spent a record 35 years as the President of the Corrimal RSL Sub-Branch. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs bureaucracy come to forefront when matters concerning his palliative health care and DVA Gold Card became an issue in his final days.
I have witnessed my Father’s transition to civilian and retired life; not an easy feat after spending almost half a century serving this great Nation. I watched as a child, my Father’s struggles with his past service in Vietnam and later as his friends died prematurely from illness brought on by exposure to hazardous materials and suicide brought on by depression and PTSD; long ignored and compounded by DVA’s ineptness and unwillingness to support struggling Vietnam Veterans.
To listen to spokespersons from the Government, Department of Veterans’ Affairs and even yourself; the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, speak of not having history repeat itself is insulting.
I have several friends with their names on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial; these are men now forever young that I mourn the loss of everyday. A heavy weight that I and many others carry on our shoulders as we will not let their sacrifice for the people of Australia and Afghanistan be in vain. Every loss is felt deeply within the Australian Defence community even if it becomes a just a distant memory for most.
I fear with the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Middle East almost complete, the spotlight will dim and the ongoing fight for support and assistance we have earned will not be forthcoming. Many Veterans spend months waiting to see specialists and have claims processed. Coupled with PTSD, depression, anxiety and the blasé attitude of some DVA staff this is a catalyst for self destructive and suicidal behaviour.
The number of Veterans who have taken their own lives now surpasses the brave 42 whose names are on display in our Nation’s capital.
Many of these Veterans have continued to fight long after their war in the Middle East ended. Like a battle with the enemy this too is a fight for survival; and without DVA accepting responsibility and acting on its mistakes this too will cost the lives of Australians that once donned the uniform of a Soldier, Sailor or Airman.
I care not for excuses and the ongoing blame game of previous Governments. I care only for you the current Minister for Veterans’ Affairs to stand up, acknowledge the mistakes of the past and find a way to move forward for the better. I ask you Senator Ronaldson, to engage with us, those Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen that have fought against the bureaucracy of a Government Department that has learnt nothing over the past 100 years.
As we prepare to remember and mark the 100th Anniversary of the Gallipoli Campaign; can you honestly say that today’s Veterans are receiving the appropriate level of support and assistance that our forefathers never got to experience; or like them will this fight become the legacy of my children when I am long gone from this world?
Respectfully yours,
Chad Dobbs
17 December 2013
This letter has been forwarded to Senator Ronaldson’s contact email address: officeoftheminister@dva.gov.au;
Tweeted to Senator Ronaldson’s Twitter page: @SenRonno;
Tweeted to DVA’s Twitter page: @DVAAus.
An Evening At The Australian War Memorial
On Wednesday evening, 20 November 2013, I attended a panel discussion at the Australian War Memorial on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The event was hosted by journalist/writer Paul Barclay on behalf of ABC TV and Radio National.
On the panel were former Chief of Army LTGEN Peter Leahy; author and Beyond Blue ambassador Allan Sparkes; Beyond Blue board member Professor Brett McDermott; and the wife of a former British Royal Marine, Emily.
I was asked about attending the panel a few days earlier by my friend Jason. Originally I didn’t want to attend as I honestly thought it may be a trigger for an anxiety episode; so I declined. It wasn’t until the night before that I decided to go along and hopefully have a chance to speak to whoever was on the panel. I had no idea who was participating in the discussion other than LTGEN Peter Leahy and hadn’t really thought about what was going to be discussed.
In the afternoon prior to the start of the forum, I rode from work up to the Australian War Memorial. As is the norm, I was wearing my Soldier On jersey and happened upon new Soldier On team member Tony; who many moons ago was my Troop Commander when I served in Iraq. Jason arrived next and soon we were joined by Anna, Meredith and Dion from Soldier On. After I got changed into something more appropriate than skin tight lycra, we went into the BAE Systems Theatre.
After the introductions Paul started the discussion with some questions about PTSD in the military for LTGEN Leahy. The conversation and questions started to flow freely within the panel with some very emotional stories being shared by Emily and Allan. Prof McDermott gave some very interesting insights on PTSD for not only military personnel; but also for emergency service persons and of course their families.
I wasn’t the only veteran in the crowd; but I was the youngest. There were a few Vietnam Veterans present, family members of veterans with PTSD and a few senior Defence officers that were skulking around the back pews in civilian attire.
As the discussion progressed LTGEN Leahy was asked some questions about support services available to veterans. I have a lot of respect for this man; he was an exceptional Chief of Army and has done a lot to help veterans with his current position as Chairman for Soldier On. But there is a distinct level of detachment from what a high ranking officer is told and what happens on the ground.
Some of his responses started to irk not only me, but a lot of the crowd listening to him. There were more than a few audible scoffs at some comments about the Department of Veterans affairs doing their best to help all veterans. One comment in particular drew a very audible “get fucked” from me. The former Chief of Army said that when a Soldier asks for help, he or she will always receive it. Paul mentioned the story of MAJGEN John Cantwell and LTGEN Leahy was in agreement. Whilst MAJGEN Cantwell has done a lot to help break the stigma of PTSD in the ADF; it is also true that a very senior Officer is never going to be turned away when they ask for assistance.
Allan Sparkes shared his story of PTSD and depression from when he was a Police officer; and the ostracising that he experienced as a result. His story was a very raw, no punches pulled recount of his darkest days and his termination from his employment without his knowledge. His story was very reminiscent of many veterans from the Vietnam War up until today’s conflicts.
Emily’s story was one of amazing courage from both her and her husband Adrian. She spoke of her time in the United Kingdom when Adrian returned from deployment in Afghanistan a changed man. He had experienced traumatic events and as a result developed PTSD. His struggles with mental health affected his wife and two daughters as they watched as their husband and father dealt with his issues now that he was back at home. His eventual discharge from the Royal Marines was a result of a physical injury and just like the majority of occupationally injured Australian servicepersons; Adrian was soon pushed out the door with very little support and preparedness for his transition to civilian life.
As the forum was drawing to a close Paul invited Dr Brendan Nelson, director of the Australian War Memorial to speak and field some questions from the panel. He spoke about the AWM’s role with supporting veterans of recent conflicts by having interactive exhibits and involving them with other projects the AWM is conducting. As a former Minister for Defence he expressed his desire to see more support forthcoming as the Afghanistan War draws to a close.
As 7pm was quickly approaching a few of us in the audience were wondering if we would get a chance to ask questions of the panel. Adrian was next to take the stage and he recounted some of his experiences post deployment and how support for veterans is extremely slow from the government in Britain. He spoke of having his claim for assistance being rejected on the first submission; a trend very similar to that in Australia carried out by DVA.
Adrian expressed his concern for veterans being forgotten after the withdrawal from the Middle East and a strong desire for them to be able to access the support they deserve and not repeat the mistakes of the past. He likened the struggles of today’s returned servicepersons to that of the Vietnam War era in the way that the fight for support continues even after the war on foreign soil has ended.
Adrian’s address to the panel and audience had clearly reached out to everyone with many of the Vietnam Veterans visibly moved by his honesty. As he sat down Paul checked his watch and asked us sitting in the audience if anyone had anything questions or comments. I had been sitting and fidgeting for the past 10 minutes waiting for this moment. Several different introductions and talking points had gone through my head and all disappeared in the instant I raised my hand and Paul motioned for me to stand up.
I was shaking before I even started speaking; this was always going to be an emotionally charged interaction from me and I started by introducing myself.
“Hi I’m Chad, I separated from the Army early last year and have deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. I have been diagnosed with PTSD, depression and anxiety and I want to know why not enough is being done to help Australian veterans.”
I addressed LTGEN Leahy first and exclaimed to him that history was indeed repeating itself.
“I am a third generation Soldier, my Grandfather served in World War 2, my Father served in Vietnam and I have served in the Middle East. I watch as my Father and his mates still struggle with PTSD with many Vietnam Veterans taking their own lives since the war ended. I watch as my generation struggles with the same issues and now my mates, people I served with, are killing themselves because of PTSD and depression; and nothing is being done to stop this. There are more people in the ground because of PTSD and depression than there are that are on the wall outside who were killed on operations.”
I spoke of my efforts to get help when the weight was becoming too much for me to bear and that the first two times I asked for assistance I was rebuffed by my unit RSM’s; a statement that clearly shocked LTGEN Leahy. I was asked questions from both Allan Sparkes and Prof McDermott about my interactions with DVA and I recounted how I was told that my claim was going to be slow as my PTSD and depression ‘wasn’t that bad’. I explained to them that is was at this point that I withdrew my claim and stopped interacting with DVA as I felt I was being accused of chasing money and that by not receiving financial assistance my criticism of their practices would hold more weight in a public forum.
I described my battles with depression and that very few people understood; and the simple act of asking for help effectively stalled my career in the Australian Army for a number of years. The feeling of being ostracised and singled out was always present and that few people would support me when I asked for further help. I explained that while MAGJEN Cantwell’s story is not an isolated one, the level of support and assistance he received was. The average Digger in a unit has to contend with the ever present stigma of mental health issues and ignorance present within their chain of command and the probable persecution for not being able to fulfil their duties without restrictions.
I expressed astonishment that the very organisation founded to protect the rights of and provide assistance to veterans was failing in its primary role. I emphatically asked how in the forty years since the end of the Vietnam War servicepersons are still not being afforded the support we fought for. How it was possible that DVA can state they are still learning and getting better with a straight face as veterans from multiple deployments and generations kill themselves while waiting to access support services.
By this stage the room was silent and I had been speaking for around 20 minutes. The panel while sometimes asking me questions and making statements had clearly been unprepared for such a raw and uncompromising speech from someone. I had brought up some points with personal accounts of systematic failures from within the Australian Army, Australian Defence Force and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
There were some topics that I shared with a public forum that had only been discussed with medical professionals and not even shared with my wife and family. As my speech drew to a close I expressed the hope that one day veterans would receive the appropriate support from the Government but that it was very unlikely to occur in my lifetime and that my children probably wouldn’t see it happen either.
As I finished speaking I apologised for hijacking the Q&A session; Paul started wrapping up the forum and I sat down nervously. Jason patted me on the shoulder and most of the audience was either nodding in agreement or wiping away tears. I sat shaking and started to feel quiet anxious from speaking to a mostly unknown audience about issues so personal and distressing that I had spent the last few years repressing and ignoring them.
The rest of the evening was spent talking with members of the audience and panel. I received a great number of business cards and offers of assistance and opportunities to speak to other veterans and people with PTSD and depression. I found the response surprising and was shocked when LTGEN Leahy approached me as he was leaving. He handed me his business card and told me to email him. He offered to take me to see the Minister of Veterans Affairs to discuss the issues I had brought up.
He told me that the Service Chiefs would be made aware of what I had spoken about and that I should continue speaking up. Both he and Dr Nelson expressed the need for younger veterans to be the public faces and voices of our generation and that I should be one of them. I was very humbled by this statement and thought a lot about it over the following days.
At the conclusion of a big night, I farewelled Jason and the Soldier On crew, thanked the others and started riding my bike back home. The next 45 minutes were some of the most contemplative times of my life as I thought about what I had said and the inevitable shock-waves that they would create for my family and I when the ABC airs Boys Don’t Cry on Big Ideas in late 2013/early 2014.
An Afternoon At The Australian War Memorial
Blogged Down By Life 