Commando News Magazine edition 4 2020

FROM THE CHAIRMAN
Dear Members,
The Inspector General of the Australian Defence
Force has recently announced that the inquiry into
alleged breaches of the Laws of Armed Conflict by
Australian soldiers in Afghanistan is “in its final
stages” and that all notices to Potentially Affected
Persons (PAPs) have been issued. Even though the
inquiry is now according to the press focussing on
only 8-10 alleged incidents, it will still place great
stress on the serving and ex-serving members
involved as well as their families.
As the President of the Australian Commando
Association has said in his message this edition, this is
where the Australian Commando community now has
to stand up and provide support where it is needed.
In a similar way, a unified approach to the support of
all members and families of the Special Forces
Community is being taken with constant liaison
between the Australian SAS Association, the Aust -
ralian Commando Association, the SAS Resources
Trust, the Commando Welfare Trust and the Special
Operations Engineer Regiment Association, in addi -
tion to representatives of SOCOMD and the
Department of Defence.
It has been reported that there have been 419
suicides of serving, reserve and ex-serving ADF
personnel from 2001 to 2017 and the number is
increasing annually. The group at most risk is exserving
personnel. For those still serving there are
networks and links that can be accessed by members
and their families, however; for those no longer
serving the process is not that simple.
For ex-serving members to identify that they need
support can be confronting and, in some cases, seen
as failure. This is not the case; just like any mission that
we have conducted in the past we have relied upon
our Mission Support Elements to provide what we
need to achieve mission success. You may no longer
wear the uniform but your dedication to duty, honour,
loyalty and self-sacrifice should never be forgotten.
From a general welfare point of view the Dept of
Veterans’ Affairs provides the following resource:
https://afghanistaninquiry.defence.gov.au/welfaresupport
For those individuals that are needing to find a
new Mission Support Team, here are some options to
support your mental health and wellbeing:
• Consult a general practitioner (GP) or talk to a
mental health professional
• Open Arms Veterans & Families Counselling -
1800 011 046 – www.openarms.gov.au
• 1800 RESPECT – 1800 737 732 –
www.1800respect.org.au
• Lifeline Australia – 13 11 14 - www.lifeline.org.au
Please reach out to your mates once in a while and
see how they are going. Should you have any doubts
or questions, never hesitate to contact your local ACA
officers or the Commando Welfare Trust staff – all are
prepared to assist in any way they can.
Commando 4 Life
Brigadier Mark Smethurst, DSC. AM. (Retd)
18 COMMANDO ~ The Magazine of the Australian Commando Association ~ Edition 4 I 2020