Timor Awakening Podcast

Ladies and Gents,

This week we are chatting with Sean De Gelder, former infantryman and petroleum operator with a colourful background.

Heading to Timor-Leste as a teenager as part of Interfet, he got his teeth cut in the military young. Some challenges were to follow however, Sean encountered some considerable personal issues, went AWOL in Papua New Guinea amongst a whole host of other adventures, ended up in military prison, then bounced back and soldiered on with his career.

A family shock took place as his brother, Paul, was involved in a horrific shark attack in Sydney harbour while training to be a clearance diver, losing two limbs in the process. A captivating story in and of itself, Paul ended up working overseas with Discovery channel teaching celebrities how to dive with sharks!

Sean, who hastily withdrew his application to also be a clearance diver after his brother's incident, Corps transferred and became a petroleum operator, eventually discharging as a SGT. He has navigated the world of PTSD and has found solace in his faith and work with veterans.

Cheers for a great chat Sean

VCA Team

Folks,

We are kicking off with another great podcast episode from TA16, this time with former RAAF member Tammy Richie.

Tammy has incredible stories from both her military, and post military careers.

A very moving lesson learned from a near tragedy involving her baby son, and how the situation was resolved.

Tammy teaches us the importance of trusting our heart space and our intuition, rather than just our heads.

The heart is often far more aware and much quicker than our brains, a paradigm we are unlikely to learn in Defence.

Thank you Tammy for many great words of wisdom and your commitment to the veteran community.

VCA Team

Ladies and Gents,

Another must listen podcast episode.🎧

Vietnam veteran John White, was a Captain in the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam. Guided by Gary Stone, John shares deeply personal and eye opening insights into how he has dealt with the sorrow, guilt and heaviness of his military service in Vietnam, where he been in charge of a Chinese mercenary force that both inflicted and sustained heavy casualties during a heated battle against the North Vietnamese.

John's witty sense of humour, story telling style and profound insights into how to navigate a host of internal battles makes for one heck of an interview.

Thank you John

Enjoy

VCA Team

Ladies and Gents,

Another must listen podcast episode.

Vietnam veteran John White, was a Captain in the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam. Guided by Gary Stone, John shares deeply personal and eye opening insights into how he has dealt with the sorrow, guilt and heaviness of his military service in Vietnam, where he been in charge of a Chinese mercenary force that both inflicted and sustained heavy casualties during a heated battle against the North Vietnamese.

John's witty sense of humour, story telling style and profound insights into how to navigate a host of internal battles makes for one heck of an interview.

Thank you John

Enjoy

VCA Team

We are kicking off the first of our TA16 episodes with a heartfelt chat from Gavin Tunstall, former Army Engineer.

Gavin talks about his battle with moral injury after witnessing an incident in Afghanistan, as well as confronting a family history of domestic violence and a commitment to making sure the buck stops with him, by becoming a role model father.

Inspirational stuff, thank you for a raw and honest chat that many will resonate with. Huge breakthroughs after the program that will be followed up with immediate lifestyle changes.

Great work Gavin.

VCA Team

Ladies and Gents,

This episode we delve into the very important topic of moral injury, with Nikki Jamieson.

Nikki tragically lost her son to suicide in 2014, who had been serving in the Australian Army.

Since this time Nikki has embarked on a journey to uncover and understand suicide, especially within the veteran community.

Her thesis has also just been submitted, on the topic of moral injury, which is the focus of this interview.

We will explore what Moral Injury is and what causes it, the difference between PTSD and Moral Injury, the impact if the Brereton Report, a little on suicide statistics, integrating resilience into the Defence Force, possible solutions and treatments for Moral Injury and how to follow Nikki's work.

Thank you for your excellent insights Nikki

VCA Team

Ladies and Gents,

In this episode we chat with Simon Wilson. As our only non-veteran VCA staff member, who has been with the organisation for four years, Simon brings a very unique perspective to the Timor Awakening and the veteran community, based on over two decades of being a high school teacher and behaviour specialist.

A History teacher by trade, Simon decided to explore Timor Leste in 2005, with the vision of bringing more knowledge of the country to the Australian school curriculum. It was then he met Michael Stone and deepened his passion to help the veteran community in any way he can.

A worldly, well educated and insightful guy, well worth a listen.

VCA Team

Ladies and Gents,

We are pleased to announce our next podcast.

This week we chat with Jud, ex-Army engineering officer and logistician.

Before separating from Defence in 2008, Jud served in East Timor and Iraq, being responsible for a range of projects.

A former AFL player and bike rider Jud has had to deal with his fair share of injuries and setbacks throughout his career.

He shares his insights into being aware of concrete communication, dealing with fear, and his experiences of having a fairly fortunate and successful transition overall.

Cheers for your great shares Jud.

Gary Klarenbeck shares his story of being an airframe technician in the Australian Air Force for 20 years.

He worked on Iroquois, Hornets and F-111 around the country, before leaving Defence in 1992.

Since that time he has been diagnosed with a service related illness, and shares a fascinating story of the events leading up to his diagnosis.

Since his time in Defence, Gary has worked for BAE in Saudi Arabia, alongside the Saudi Air Force, and has run an earth moving business.

Thank you Gary for your stories and insights.

Another great guest.

VCA Team

After earning her bachelor degree in Nursing, Belinda did a postgrad year in Manly hospital, before starting a colourful career in Defence. With deployments to Rwanda, East Timor (twice - Interfet and UNTAET) and in Baghdad, Belinda had found her calling in life. Working as a Nursing officer in Intensive Care and in the AeroMedical Evacuation team in Timor, and Iraq, Belinda has more than her fair share of stories and lessons. Some great advice on veterans transitioning and finding purpose on the other side. Thank you for your service and advice Belinda VCA Team