After three tours of duty in the Middle East with the Australian Air Force, Jimmy Anderson returned home a different man.
As Australia pauses to mark Anzac Day and those who died for our freedoms, countless modern heroes who also served their country have been all but cast aside.
Not long after leaving the Defence Force, he wound up behind bars after being convicted of attempted armed robbery and grievous bodily harm.Luke Millwood was a major in the Australian Army who was deployed to East Timor in a senior international engagement role.“There’s a lot of poverty, a lot of social issues. There was some pretty confronting moments over there.
“Because of Covid and all these new restrictions, I was also pretty isolated. I was tired and burnt out, my family were stuck in Brazil, there wasn’t much to do but work and drink.”“I went from being one of the most motivated individuals in the organisation, just very outcomes focused, very driven, very actions focused, to essentially at its worst point unable to get off the lounge,” he said.
A survey of 123 occupational therapists who provide services to return service members heard of systemic issues surrounding complex administration processes and inadequate funding. “Australia’s veteran compensation and rehabilitation legislative system is so complicated that it adversely affects the mental health of some veterans … and can contribute to suicidality,” it found.
At the end of May 2022, the Royal Commission found the federal government’s Department of Veterans’ Affairs had a staggering backlog of more than 41,000 claims.Around the same time that interim report was handed down, Mr Millwood was back in Australia struggling to keep himself together. “I still wasn’t taking care of myself. I was seeing a psychiatrist and a doctor to try to work through things, but I was still a mess. It got to the day before I was supposed to parade, to return to work, and I just messaged them and said that I couldn’t do it,” he said.
“Emotionally, I was diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, a major depressive disorder and severe anxiety disorder.”In some ways, winding up in jail presented a return to normality for Mr Anderson, who found many similarities with military life.“It reminded me of the military in a lot of ways. There’s a lot of discipline, you do what you’re told to do, there’s a routine.”
“They’re changing or amending the character traits that you have to suit the military. That builds a dependence on the military to a degree. You get, you’re in this very strong culture, you’ve got a new family, you’ve got housing, medical, you’ve got a guaranteed income, you’ve got all of those fundamental needs that are requirements to living a fairly stable life.
“I didn’t do anything ridiculous. It wasn’t like a scene from a movie or anything, but it was embarrassing, and it really embarrassed and upset my wife,” he said. “That whole attitude sat very uncomfortably with me. I’m very lucky in that I’ve never been suicidal. I’ve been reckless and careless to the point of almost death. But I hadn’t considered harming myself.
“So, imagine a guy that is by his nature selfless, who has a hard exterior, who has been taught to put himself last. Imagine he gets to breaking point and finally managed to ask for help, but it’s refused because an office is closed.Four-and-a-half months into Mr Anderson’s prison sentence, a lawyer became aware of his case and reached out.
His advice for current and former members of the Defence Force who are suffering is to not suffer in silence.Mr Millwood said finding a sense of purpose was crucial in his recovery and urged any veterans who aren’t coping to find their “thing”. “We are committed to making every possible effort to prevent any further tragedies of this nature,” Mr Keogh said.
Defence Force War Zone Deployments Military Culture Border Closures Peer Support Officer Administration Processes Keogh Mental Health East Timor Prison Life Members Experience Difficulties Veteran Focus Suicide Rates Environmental Perspective Greece Jimmy Anderson Real World Inpatient Stay Wellbeing Services Character Traits Western Asia Turning Point Brazil Depressive Disorder Service Members Iraq Health Conditions Support Services Rehabilitation Legislative System Senior Lecturer Fundamental Needs Open Arms Rehabilitation Services La Trobe University Europe Australian Army Endless Red Tape Athens Defence Force Sky News Breaking Point Young Son Erin Molan Carpentry Apprenticeship South-Eastern Asia Southern Europe Returned Service Members All-Hours Support Line International Engagement Role Mental Health Post-Deployment Mental Health Claims Anxiety Disorder Attitude Sat Afghanistan Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Rehabilitation Facility Prison Sense Health Treatment National Shame Life Post-Military Veteran Compensation Australian Air Force Oceania Mental Health Challenges Mental Health Helplines Pressure Cooker Coping Mechanisms Heart Disease America Rehab Facility Mood Affective Disorders Service Members Experience Australian Institute Of Health And Welfare Mental Health Issues Immense Difficulty Defence Forces Interim Report Approved Treatment Facilities Australian Military Culture Australia And New Zealand Military Bootcamp-Style Program Southern Asia Work Needs Defence Personnel Royal Commission Luke Millwood Health Centre Asia United States Department Of Veterans Affairs Australia Discarded Heroes Defence Force Members Military Personnel
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