In short:
A Mid North Coast RSL sub-branch is finding new ways to connect Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans.
asserted
branch → find → Afghanistan
It comes 25 years after Australian soldiers entered the longest conflict the country has ever been involved in.
asserted
country → come → conflict
The Bellinger River RSL will host a retreat to reach out to younger veterans who may have felt isolated.
uncertain
who → host → veterans
Afghanistan war veteran Josh Donnelly straddles two worlds: being a father of six living on the NSW mid-north coast, and a former soldier confronting his own isolating battles.
asserted
Donnelly → straddle → battles
The 39-year-old was medically discharged with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after serving in the army from 2006 to 2013 and being deployed to Afghanistan from 2012.
asserted
old → discharge → 2012
With his PTSD making it difficult to work, Mr Donnelly gets to make up for lost time with his three youngest children.
asserted
Donnelly → make → children
"It's hard; all of them could come and see Dad, and I could be the happiest bloke in the world," Mr Donnelly said.
uncertain
Donnelly → come → world
"And they can come and see me, and I can be an angry bastard, basically.
asserted
I → come → me
It's hard for them, having a dad with PTSD, but at the same time, it's all they've ever known."
asserted
they → have → time
Younger veterans needing support
The Royal Commission into Veteran and Defence Suicide found there was a clear need for members transitioning out of Defence to access ongoing support and rebuild their identities as civilians.
asserted
members → need → civilians
Approximately 30,000 Australians were deployed across the Middle East from 2001 to 2021.
asserted
Australians → deploy → 2021
While the national average age of an RSL member is 69, NSW RSL president Vincent Williams said the youngest possible veteran from the first deployment to Afghanistan in 2001 would now be only 43.
asserted
veteran → say → 2001
"At the age of 43, you've still got commitments to work, and you've got commitments to your family," he said.
asserted
he → get → family
"It's important for us to provide activities which will allow them to engage with other veterans because the camaraderie and the connectivity are very important."
Bellinger River RSL sub-branch president Emma Palmer has been working to attract younger veterans to her RSL branch to help build that connection among those who served.
asserted
who → provide → those
She was deployed as a nurse to the Uruzgan Medical Centre, where she treated all patients impacted by the conflict.
asserted
she → deploy → conflict
"It was a life-defining experience," she said.
asserted
she → define → ?
When Ms Palmer came home, the staff who worked alongside her in a civilian hospital at home asked where her compassion had gone.
asserted
compassion → come → home
It was only at the end of last year that she was diagnosed with PTSD.
asserted
she → diagnose → PTSD
"It doesn't stop affecting you and you need somewhere to talk about it.
asserted
you → stop → it
Finding a new place for mateship
Ms Palmer said Afghanistan veterans had been missing a place to settle in the returned service person community.
asserted
veterans → find → community
"Afghanistan is the longest running conflict, so some people did like seven tours," Ms Palmer said.
asserted
Palmer → run → tours
"[We're] trying to give people a place where they can feel connected, where they can share their experiences with someone who understands, so they don't have to explain."
asserted
they → try → someone
This weekend, to mark 25 years since Australian troops were first deployed to Afghanistan, veterans like Matt Foster will go camping and fishing together with their families on a property nicknamed "Chora Valley Resort" in the Bellinger Valley.
asserted
veterans → mark → Valley
Mr Foster, who served in Afghanistan in 2009, said he wanted a chance to reconnect with those who understood what it was like to be there.
asserted
it → serve → what
"It could be nerve-wracking outside the bases and even inside the bases, due to indirect rocket fire," he said.
uncertain
he → wrack → fire
"The thing that gets everyone through is the mateship and the guys and girls that you're there with."
asserted
you → get → that
Mr Donnelly said the trip would give veterans a chance to commemorate and connect in an informal way.
asserted
trip → say → way
"If it's sitting around having a beer, or a chat with people around a fire," he said.
"That is what I find most exciting about what we're doing."
asserted
we → sit → what
Ms Palmer said it was important to include the families of veterans because their lived experience was different to that of other families.
asserted
experience → say → families
"No veteran has served alone; their family serves alongside them," she said.
asserted
she → serve → them
The Aporia