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"He had severe traumatic brain injury and he's really recovered well now, but something he has to burden for the rest of his life." "One of them when he got home couldn't remember his children's names," he said. When Mr Bale's good friend Michael Fussell was killed by an improvised explosive device in 2008, Mr Fussell's family were supported, but Mr Bale says the same cannot be said for others wounded. This is where Soldier On, a veterans' support group co-founded by former soldier John Bale, steps in to bridge this critical gap. "It drains me but I also feel an obligation." Veteran helps colleagues to Soldier On "I don't have the strength to help myself, let alone these other soldiers," he said.
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He has been told his paralysing PTSD will prevent him from ever working again, yet he is a lifeline for other soldiers. Retired Major Anthony Krupa is in a similar position. "He was basically asking for help, but because he didn't do any frontline action, and his deployment was quite small in duration, they're not really paying attention to him," Mr Dobbs said. Now he is playing counsellor to a colleague, who called him from a ledge as he was about to jump. Mr Dobbs says he gave up on counselling after being handballed to a different psychologist every week. Eventually the young blokes become the old boys and they perpetuate the cycle," he said.Ĭhad Dobbs, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, says he gave up on traditional counselling. where the old boys don't like the young blokes. "You go to an RSL and the RSL has a history. Some who feel abandoned by the ADF and DVA are feeling similarly ostracised by the older veteran generations.įormer signalman Chad Dobbs says there is a culture where older veterans opt not to mix with their younger counterparts. With a high prevalence of suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among serving and former soldiers, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) are trying to promote the message that it is OK to ask for help.īut many personnel have lost patience and faith in these organisations and it is falling to veteran support groups to fill the gap. Their battle scars run deep with some feeling chewed up and spat out by the institution they devoted their life to. As Australia commemorates Anzac Day on Friday, many contemporary veterans will have nothing to do with it.