EVERY year on Anzac Day we pause to remember and say thank you to our defence personnel for their courage and their service. It’s one of the most sacred days on the Australian calendar, and it will be good to return to local services and marches around the nation this year.
It’s a chance for us to honour the more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives for our freedom and way of life.
This year, Anzac Day coincides with the important announcement of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
The death of any Australian Defence Force member or veteran is one death too many and a tragedy that is deeply felt by all Australians. Tragically, this includes death through suicide.
This week, in trying to understand this awful phenomenon, I spoke to a senior air force commander, who told me that defence force men and women fulfilled their duty with a sense of honour and sacrifice that many of us mere civilians will never understand. Their commitment and dedication to duty can lead to personal or vicarious trauma.
She told me, with tears in her eyes, that a friend dying in the line of duty can lead to guilt for those left behind. They ask themselves “why them, why not me?”
Her quiet dignity could not hide her anguish for the friends she had lost, and those service men and women who continue to suffer. They are haunted by the horror of a war zone on a nightly basis. They cannot un-see what they witnessed.
Many people bear such scars that are rarely visible from the outside. For some, they become too difficult to bear.
As civilians, we need to better understand the kind of dedication and sacrifice we rely on in our service men and women. A royal commission will help us do this, and its outcomes will work to support defence force personnel and veterans who continue to be at risk of suicide.
Over the coming months throughout this royal commission, I encourage everybody to reflect on the sacrifice made by those who are serving, those who have served, and those who have paid the ultimate price. Lest we forget.
