Service and Beyond

John served 5 years in the Australian Army as an infantry soldier amassing a range of skills, weapon and vehicle qualifications with ultimate aim of deploying to Afghanistan. Despite his continual efforts John's posting trajectory and a later leg injury meant he was overlooked for deployment, leaving him dealing with shame and feelings of inadequacy of a solider trained but not deployed to the battlefield.

John later made the decision to discharge from Army with minimal planning, training or transition assistance - fortunately landing security role along with a number of his former colleagues. In the years following transition John worked to piece together his identity and life direction working in fields as diverse as immigration detention, youth and disability work and now to study to pursue his passion of a career in paramedicine. As a proud veteran John has crafted his own identity and experienced remarkable personal growth and now looks forward to fatherhood and welcoming his first child.

If you've got a story of service to share, or feedback on Season 1 or 2 you can reach me at - [email protected]

For more information on Soldier On's Gala Ball go to https://soldieron.org.au/national-gala-ball-2021/

Jason Dunn served 9 years full time in the Australian Army in transport roles across numerous operational deployments, and was attached to both Australian and British Special Forces units.

On initially discharging from service Jason experienced difficulties obtaining employment and finding meaning in civilian life. Defining himself as an Australian soldier from age 17, leaving service he struggled to move on from Army's culture, camaraderie and security.

In the years that followed, Jason experienced a series of crises that threatened his welfare, personal relationships and quality of life.

Following one incident Jason came face to face with his unexamined emotional scars,

understanding that his rigid self reliance, and fervent independence was preventing him from asking for help and being open to dealing with the issues the affected him.

Jason has since sought out the help he needed to transform his life, he's demonstrated the strength to confront his difficult truths, and has now found purpose in a new profession, and in fatherhood and family. Jason now shares his story of identity and adjustment to life after service.

This is the introduction to Season 2 where Matt discusses the theme of season 2; The Identity shift and Adjustment to life after service careers.

Matt reveals his own adjustment experience in his early Defence career and how his identity struggles upon discharge from service following academic training failures have shaped his thoughts on the challenges many face in their ADF transition.

He also previews the veterans stories and guest research organisations and transition and coaching professionals who will be featured in season 2.

Submissions are being taken into the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, you can find out more and have your say here https://www.dva.gov.au/public-consultation-inform-terms-reference-royal-commission-defence-and-veteran-suicide

This ANZAC Day special episode was recorded in Canberra on 25 April 2021, marking the return of the public commemoration of ANZAC Day following last year's cancellation of official events around that nation due to COVID19.

In this episode I speak with a number of fellow veterans about their experiences of ANZAC Day under lockdown in 2020, and the special meaning the day has to them now they're reunited with their mates and peers and able to commemorate ANZAC Day 2021.

I also preview the upcoming season - launching 12 May 2021.

You can provide your feedback on your favourite episode from season 1 and the topic you would most like explored in the upcoming season at: [email protected]

In this the final episode of season 1, I host an open discussion with my fellow veteran, advocate and podcaster Heston Russell. Heston's remarkable story of special forces service, his openness over his mental health battles, and his public stand for those without a voice is changing the face of the veteran's discussion in Australia.

We talk about our own mental health journeys, emotional compartmentalisation while in service, the push for a Royal Commission into Veteran Suicide, the future demands on the service men and women of the ADF, and the case for emotional intelligence skills training and exposure to enhance both the in-service performance and wellbeing and the transition experience of ADF personnel.

For more on Heston's background go to episode 7 of his podcast at

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/voav-podcast-voice-of-a-veteran/id1549423741#episodeGuid=VOAVpodcast.podbean.com%2Fe787a52d-855e-3097-ad59-ed4abe763c67

Support Heston's movement at

Voice Of A Veteranhttps://www.voiceofaveteran.org

My men's group Common Ground has been instrumental to my mental health through my transition

https://menswellbeing.org

This is Part 2 of my discussion with Heath Smith. Heath discusses his experiences in recruiting veterans to his company and advising veterans on enhancing their employability as well as taking a learning approach to the recruiting process in general. He also answers the big 8 transition questions revealing what shaped his journey out of Defence and into management consulting and ultimately business ownership.

If you wish to discuss your transition journey or career options with Heath you can reach him at [email protected]

Heath Smith is a former Army Aeronautical Engineer who's early career included an exchange with the US Army's 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan, before assuming the senior engineer role for Army's 1st Aviation Regiment ARH Tiger helicopters in Darwin.

Heath was later selected to join an expert panel led by Air Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston, which conducted a wholesale review of all aspects of Army Aviation. Heath later left Army trading his engineering expertise for management consulting with KPMG, and in 2019 he co-founded his own business GSA Management Consulting which has grown steadily now employing a number of ADF veterans.

In this in-depth conversation Heath outlines his views on the learning and growth stages throughout a career, and the outsized role that unexpected opportunities played in both advancing his Army career and shaping options for his transition into an entirely different industry following his service.

Heath also discusses the inherent sacrifices of giving up one career for another, the mindset and work ethic needed to re-establish momentum in a new profession, and the importance of family in guiding his transition journey.

In Part 2 of my interview with Sean O'Loughlin, Sean answers the 8 transition questions and I discuss my key takeaways from Sean's story; the application of military learned resilience skills to the identity shift of becoming a civilian once more, the power of mindfulness practices in dealing with the emotional stressors and distractions of life, and the Sean's affinity for training mentoring and teamwork which were instrumental in his transition from infantry soldier to university student peer mentor, and then on to emergency medicine training provider with Emergency Australia.

For more on mindfulness I recommend CD and MP3 recordings from Jon Kabat Zinn (also available on YouTube) https://www.betterlisten.com/pages/jonkabatzinnseries123

Or neuroscientist Sam Harris' app Waking Up for iOS or Android https://wakingup.com

Sean O'Loughlin is a former Army infantry soldier who deployed to East Timor and later Afghanistan where contributed to Australian forces mentoring of the Afghan National Army. After leaving Army Sean completed a degree in paramedicine at Charles Sturt University. During his studies Sean teamed with fellow veterans to provide paramedic services at motor racing events in rural NSW and later throughout the country, and following increasing demand for his services Emergency Australia was born in 2013. Sean's company now provides training to emergency medical practitioners and remote paramedics, including in his Brisbane high fidelity simulation center. Sean was recognised in Prime Minister's Veterans Awards as Small Business of The Year 2020.

In this episode Sean discusses his passion for mentoring and training cultivated during his Army career, pursuing an interest in paramedicine through full time university studies, and combining these and his perspectives from his military experience to incrementally grow Emergency Australia into its current form.

We also discuss the media portrayal of the 'broken veteran' narrative, adjusting to life after service, devoting time and energy to self care and keeping an active eye on mental health, and the sense of purpose through joining in humanitarian assistance efforts during the Syrian refugee crisis.

In part 2 of the interview with Matthew Smith, Matt details the significant time and effort he invested into exploring his transition options, from a career locality and lifestyle perspective and also considering his family's future priorities. This included a number of trips across the country to explore the area in which he intended to settle, as well as reaching out to numerous former colleagues and discussing their transition lessons. Matt describes how his hard work and careful forethought paid off through his transition out of RAAF.

Service and Beyond is taking part in the March On Challenge - organised by Soldier On, where we'll run 96kms in the month of March to support ADF veterans' mental health services. You can support the team by donating at https://fundraise.soldieron.org.au/fundraisers/ServiceandBeyond