RSL going bush to connect with veterans from Afghanistan

Bellinger River RSL re-engages veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq In short: A Mid North Coast RSL sub-branch is finding new ways to connect Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans. It comes 25 years after Australian soldiers entered the longest conflict the country has ever been involved in. What's next? The Bellinger River RSL will host a retreat to reach out to younger veterans who may have felt isolated. 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. 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. With his PTSD making it difficult to work, Mr Donnelly gets to make up for lost time with his three youngest 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. "And they can come and see me, and I can be an angry bastard, basically. "It's hard for them, having a dad with PTSD, but at the same time, it's all they've ever known." 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. Approximately 30,000 Australians were deployed across the Middle East from 2001 to 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. "At the age of 43, you've still got commitments to work, and you've got commitments to your family," he said. "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. She was deployed as a nurse to the Uruzgan Medical Centre, where she treated all patients impacted by the conflict. "It was a life-defining experience," she said. "I was only there for a short time, but the impact of that has been lifelong." When Ms Palmer came home, the staff who worked alongside her in a civilian hospital at home asked where her compassion had gone. It was only at the end of last year that she was diagnosed with PTSD. "It doesn't stop affecting you and you need somewhere to talk about 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. "Afghanistan is the longest running conflict, so some people did like seven tours," Ms Palmer said. "[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." 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. 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. "It could be nerve-wracking outside the bases and even inside the bases, due to indirect rocket fire," he said. "The thing that gets everyone through is the mateship and the guys and girls that you're there with." Mr Donnelly said the trip would give veterans a chance to commemorate and connect in an informal 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." Ms Palmer said it was important to include the families of veterans because their lived experience was different to that of other families. "No veteran has served alone; their family serves alongside them," she said.