Following requests from a number of community-based organisations and private citizens, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has established special mailing addresses for members of the public to send Anzac Day care packages to service men and women serving on operations overseas.
The ADF Joint Operations Command Director of General Support, Brigadier Dianne Gallasch, said she is moved by the desire among ordinary Australians to remember those currently serving overseas on the day the nation honours all who have made the ultimate sacrifice in present and past conflicts.
“To be serving on operations on Anzac Day is an experience no sailor, soldier, airman or airwoman forgets,” Brigadier Gallasch said.
“The significance of the challenges and sacrifices made by those who have gone before them is all the more poignant when they stop to commemorate Anzac Day on foreign soil. To know that complete strangers back home are thinking of them on this significant day and have sent a small care package is extremely heartening.”
Members of the public are able to send parcels through Australia Post, so long as they do not exceed a 2kg cubic weight limit. Items weighing up to 2kg and posted in a ‘BM’ size Australia Post carton can be posted without cost to the sender. Parcels exceeding this limit will incur full postal charges which must be paid by the sender.
The postal addresses are active from 14 March until 15 April 2011 and packages will be distributed throughout the appropriate operational areas. For postal security reasons, parcels must be posted in person with presentation of photograph identification and can be lodged at any Australia Post outlet, using the following addresses:
Middle East:
An Australian Soldier/Sailor/Airman/Airwoman
Anzac Day Mail
Middle East Operations
AFPO 60
Australian Defence Force NSW 2890
East Timor
An Australian Soldier/Sailor/Airman/Airwoman
Anzac Day Mail
East Timor Operations
AFPO 61
Australian Defence Force NSW 2890
Solomon Islands
An Australian Soldier/Sailor/Airman/Airwoman
Anzac Day Mail
Solomon Islands Operations
AFPO 62
Australian Defence Force NSW 2890
Brigadier Gallasch said deployed service men and women usually have access to essential personal items and those care package items most often appreciated include uniquely Australian treats such as lollies, as well as magazines, books and DVDs.
“Defence subsidises care packages to deployed personnel for Anzac Day and Christmas each year. For Christmas last year, some 10 tonnes of care packages were sent to deployed personnel by members of the public, boosting morale and providing a welcome treat,” Brigadier Gallasch said.
“On behalf of those members of the ADF who will receive care packages this Anzac Day, I would like to thank the public and community groups, particularly the RSL, for their thoughtfulness and kindness.”
Information on sending Anzac Day messages and care packages is available on the Defence website at http://www.defence.gov.au/anzacday/mail/index.htm.
An alternate option to individual members of the public sending care packages is to donate to the RSL Australian Forces Overseas Fund (AFOF). Twice a year the AFOF provides packages to Australian Defence Force, Australian Federal Police and AusAID personnel serving overseas. Further information regarding the AFOF is available on the RSL web site (http://www.rsl.org.au/).
Friday 11 March 2011
Wednesday 9 March 2011
Injured RAN sailor left without enough money to feed himself
FORMER high-achieving navy sailor is having to eat every second day so he can support his eight-year-old daughter on just $130 a week.
When Karl Andrews' back was seriously injured in a workplace accident, RAN doctors wrongly fed him a cocktail of prescription drugs - including morphine.
He became addicted to the drug and was medically discharged in 2002 and labelled "drug dependent".
While military accident victims are now entitled to a tax-free pension and free medical benefits, the former navy communicator is not - which means his annual $30,000 pension is taxed and docked for child support for his two older children.
Injured Service Persons Association president Ray Brown said Mr Andrews' case was not an isolated one. Despite having fought for total and permanent incapacity status for 10 years, he was ignored by both sides of politics.
"The doctors say he can't work and if he was on a [TPI] pension he would not be taxed or assessed for child support," Mr Brown said.
He would receive a gold card for free healthcare, free public transport and car registration and other benefits.
"Because of the navy I'm forever a drug addict and I struggle with it every day. I can't live like this," Mr Andrews said.
He hopes to contact other veterans in a similar situation to form a support group. A spokeswoman for Veterans Affairs Minister Warren Snowdon said that no defence personnel were disadvantaged in treatment for accepted medical conditions no matter what legislation they were covered by.
Ian McPhedran
From: The Daily Telegraph
March 09, 2011 12:00AM
Monday 28 February 2011
Why Yoga for PTSD?
The Veterans Yoga Project
Yoga does not cure PTSD. Yoga practices are, however, a valuable complement to professional treatment for PTSD. PTSD is a complex psychological disorder that can be effectively treated with professional evidence-based psychotherapy. Unfortunately, even evidence-based psychotherapies do not work for many Veterans, and leave many other Veterans with residual symptoms. A mindful, embodied yoga practice can help provide relief from some of the symptoms of PTSD, and can help provide the supportive skills that are needed in other psychotherapeutic modalities. Yoga will not eliminate a Veteran’s PTSD symptoms, but it can support and aid in a Veteran’s healing journey.
Yoga has worked so well with many Veterans who are coping with PTSD and other trauma-related psychological difficulties because it brings them back into their body. It helps them sleep more soundly. It helps them transform anger. It helps them rediscover curiosity. It helps them experience love and happiness. It gives them the opportunity to live at their own pace and find their own truth. Veterans with PTSD use yoga as a method to regain control over a nervous system that is always “on edge”, and to regain control over self-destructive behaviors and habits. Since trauma lies in the body, mind, and spirit, we can use a holistic, integrated yoga practice to re-connect with ourselves as we are in the present moment, letting us feel comfortable in our own skin.
The healing effects of ancient yoga practices have begun to receive validation from modern science. Researchers have started to discover the pathways by which the physical postures and movements, meditation, and breathing practices support healing. In fact, many of the techniques used in yoga are strikingly similar to strategies used by clinical psychologists in the treatment of anxiety disorders including PTSD. (Veterans Yoga Project is working on a Virtual Library of resources-check back soon. In the meantime, check out our references page).
Mindful Yoga Therapy for Veterans Coping with Trauma is an empirically-informed, clinically-tested program consisting of a variety of "tools" that can help connect the mind and body. These practices or "tools" include breathing practices (pranayama), meditation, physical postures and movements (asana), and a specific form of guided imagery/meditation (Yoga Nidra). We invite you to give it a try.
Yoga does not cure PTSD. Yoga practices are, however, a valuable complement to professional treatment for PTSD. PTSD is a complex psychological disorder that can be effectively treated with professional evidence-based psychotherapy. Unfortunately, even evidence-based psychotherapies do not work for many Veterans, and leave many other Veterans with residual symptoms. A mindful, embodied yoga practice can help provide relief from some of the symptoms of PTSD, and can help provide the supportive skills that are needed in other psychotherapeutic modalities. Yoga will not eliminate a Veteran’s PTSD symptoms, but it can support and aid in a Veteran’s healing journey.
Yoga has worked so well with many Veterans who are coping with PTSD and other trauma-related psychological difficulties because it brings them back into their body. It helps them sleep more soundly. It helps them transform anger. It helps them rediscover curiosity. It helps them experience love and happiness. It gives them the opportunity to live at their own pace and find their own truth. Veterans with PTSD use yoga as a method to regain control over a nervous system that is always “on edge”, and to regain control over self-destructive behaviors and habits. Since trauma lies in the body, mind, and spirit, we can use a holistic, integrated yoga practice to re-connect with ourselves as we are in the present moment, letting us feel comfortable in our own skin.
The healing effects of ancient yoga practices have begun to receive validation from modern science. Researchers have started to discover the pathways by which the physical postures and movements, meditation, and breathing practices support healing. In fact, many of the techniques used in yoga are strikingly similar to strategies used by clinical psychologists in the treatment of anxiety disorders including PTSD. (Veterans Yoga Project is working on a Virtual Library of resources-check back soon. In the meantime, check out our references page).
Mindful Yoga Therapy for Veterans Coping with Trauma is an empirically-informed, clinically-tested program consisting of a variety of "tools" that can help connect the mind and body. These practices or "tools" include breathing practices (pranayama), meditation, physical postures and movements (asana), and a specific form of guided imagery/meditation (Yoga Nidra). We invite you to give it a try.
Monday 21 February 2011
DFWA MONTHLY UPDATE #257 – 15 February 2011
UPDATE is a monthly news sheet produced by the Defence Force Welfare Association containing current items of interest to the Service and ex-Service community. It is widely distributed to Members of Parliament,
media outlets, senior Service and Public Service Officers and DFWA members.
THE FAIR INDEXATION BILL
On 10 February 2011 the Senate scheduled debate on the Bill proposed by the Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Senator the Hon. Michael Ronaldson, to index military pensions in line with the Coalition's pre
election commitment. If passed, the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Amendment (Fair Indexation) Bill 2010 will enable DFRDB (and DFRB) superannuants aged 55 and over from 1 July 2011 to
have their pensions indexed at the higher rate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Male Total Average Weekly Earnings (MTAWE) or the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI).
The debate was delayed and has been rescheduled for debate on 3 March 2011. Unsettlingly, the Government has suggested that this Bill (along with a number of others) is “unconstitutional”, as it involves introducing 'money bills' in the Senate. The disagreement about this rages on between the Houses (s53 of the
Constitution refers) and we shall see what transpires. A hung Parliament can toss up many conundrums !
During debate in the Senate on 10 February, the Greens indicated that they will not support any Bill that puts a burden on the budget without there being a mechanism for funding. Indeed if there is a reluctance to place any further “burden on the budget” then an analysis of the excess earnings of the Future Fund provides a strong argument for affordability at no conceivable extant cost to the “on-book” budget. The Association, in concert with the Superannuated Commonwealth Officers Association has made representations along these lines, providing an analysis of how the Future Fund could be utilised.
Finally, the Association was disappointed in the advice provided to Senators and MPs by the Parliamentary Library on the Bill in its Bill Digest #55, finding it flawed in many aspects. The Association has issued its own commentary on the Bill and this has been distributed to all Senators and MPs.
We again call upon all elected Senators and Members of Parliament to show their support for the military and veteran community by supporting the legislation, and following up with further legislation to ensure all military superannuants are included. In particular, we call on those independent members who have previously voiced their support for the provisions contained within the legislation, to show their support by voting accordingly.
LIVING-COST RISES OUTPACE INFLATION
The Association welcomes the confirmation in today’s The Age that living-cost indices released by the Bureau of Statistics show the increases facing families, age pension households and welfare beneficiaries have all outpaced the CPI. Working households faced extra costs of 4.5 per cent in the year to December,
age pensioners 3.1 per cent and welfare recipients 4.5 per cent. The CPI grew 2.7 per cent. The bureau says there are different reasons for each group. Age pensioners spend a relatively high proportion of their income on utility bills and fruit and vegetables, both of which shot up in price in the year to December.
Does this mean the consumer price index is a poor guide to living costs? The bureau says it does. It is meant to be a measure of inflation rather than living costs, a very different concept, which is why the bureau produces separate living-cost indices.
The good news for pensioners is they get a choice. Their payments are adjusted twice a year in line with eitherthe CPI, the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living-Cost Index or Male Total Average Earnings, whichever has increased the fastest. For Military superannuants of course there is only bad news!
SENATE QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
On a closely related matter, the Department of Finance and Deregulation continues to drag its heels by its delays in responding to the Questions placed by Senator Humphries on 16 November 2010 on matters relating to the flawed Matthews report and other matters relating to indexation. To date, replies to just one question out of nine have been received, and that over two months after it was due.
REVIEW OF DVA FUNDED ADVOCACY AND WELFARE SERVICES REPORT
The Association will closely examine the Review of Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)–Funded Ex-Service Organisation (ESO) Advocacy and Welfare Services Report which was released yesterday.
Whilst the aims of the review are laudable – ie, to provide a prescribed framework to ensure veterans, war widow/ers and their families have access to quality advocacy, welfare and support services – there may be unexpected consequences that will need close examination.
The Review covered the Building Excellence in Support and Training Program (BEST), Training Information Program (TIP), and the Veteran and Community Grants (V&C) program.
MINISTER’S RESPONSE - RELEASE OF SERVICE RECRDS
The Association was pleased to receive a detailed response from the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel to our concerns about the release of Service Records by the National Archives. The Minister acknowledged that the fairness of a particular decision to release information is not an issue that can be easily
resolved.
Of specific interest was the Minister’s advice that both the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Federal Court have determined that information relating to a person’s professional affairs, including their employment performance, is not considered to be their personal affairs. The Association acknowledges this however suggests that ADF records are, by their nature, more detailed and contain more sensitive and personal information than any civilian employment record would contain!
The Minister also advises that the National Archives policy for the release of deceased members’ medical information is that it will release information unless it contains information about medical conditions that are hereditary and that such release may constitute an unreasonable disclosure of a third party’s personal affairs.
However, the Association wonders whether National Archives officers are medically qualified to make such a decision?
OUR THANKS TO THE ADF
The Association, along with its partners in the Alliance of Defence Service Organizations, expresses its thanks to the ADF for the support provided in the recent natural disasters that have plagued Australia. Once again the true grit of the members of the ADF was on display for the Nation to see and the community owes them a great deal.
We offer our sincere and profound sympathies to all those who were adversely impacted by the disasters.
Media Contacts
Executive Director:
Les Bienkiewicz 0411 444248
http://www.dfwa.org.au/
National President:
David Jamison 0416 107557
media outlets, senior Service and Public Service Officers and DFWA members.
THE FAIR INDEXATION BILL
On 10 February 2011 the Senate scheduled debate on the Bill proposed by the Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Senator the Hon. Michael Ronaldson, to index military pensions in line with the Coalition's pre
election commitment. If passed, the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Amendment (Fair Indexation) Bill 2010 will enable DFRDB (and DFRB) superannuants aged 55 and over from 1 July 2011 to
have their pensions indexed at the higher rate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Male Total Average Weekly Earnings (MTAWE) or the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI).
The debate was delayed and has been rescheduled for debate on 3 March 2011. Unsettlingly, the Government has suggested that this Bill (along with a number of others) is “unconstitutional”, as it involves introducing 'money bills' in the Senate. The disagreement about this rages on between the Houses (s53 of the
Constitution refers) and we shall see what transpires. A hung Parliament can toss up many conundrums !
During debate in the Senate on 10 February, the Greens indicated that they will not support any Bill that puts a burden on the budget without there being a mechanism for funding. Indeed if there is a reluctance to place any further “burden on the budget” then an analysis of the excess earnings of the Future Fund provides a strong argument for affordability at no conceivable extant cost to the “on-book” budget. The Association, in concert with the Superannuated Commonwealth Officers Association has made representations along these lines, providing an analysis of how the Future Fund could be utilised.
Finally, the Association was disappointed in the advice provided to Senators and MPs by the Parliamentary Library on the Bill in its Bill Digest #55, finding it flawed in many aspects. The Association has issued its own commentary on the Bill and this has been distributed to all Senators and MPs.
We again call upon all elected Senators and Members of Parliament to show their support for the military and veteran community by supporting the legislation, and following up with further legislation to ensure all military superannuants are included. In particular, we call on those independent members who have previously voiced their support for the provisions contained within the legislation, to show their support by voting accordingly.
LIVING-COST RISES OUTPACE INFLATION
The Association welcomes the confirmation in today’s The Age that living-cost indices released by the Bureau of Statistics show the increases facing families, age pension households and welfare beneficiaries have all outpaced the CPI. Working households faced extra costs of 4.5 per cent in the year to December,
age pensioners 3.1 per cent and welfare recipients 4.5 per cent. The CPI grew 2.7 per cent. The bureau says there are different reasons for each group. Age pensioners spend a relatively high proportion of their income on utility bills and fruit and vegetables, both of which shot up in price in the year to December.
Does this mean the consumer price index is a poor guide to living costs? The bureau says it does. It is meant to be a measure of inflation rather than living costs, a very different concept, which is why the bureau produces separate living-cost indices.
The good news for pensioners is they get a choice. Their payments are adjusted twice a year in line with eitherthe CPI, the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living-Cost Index or Male Total Average Earnings, whichever has increased the fastest. For Military superannuants of course there is only bad news!
SENATE QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
On a closely related matter, the Department of Finance and Deregulation continues to drag its heels by its delays in responding to the Questions placed by Senator Humphries on 16 November 2010 on matters relating to the flawed Matthews report and other matters relating to indexation. To date, replies to just one question out of nine have been received, and that over two months after it was due.
REVIEW OF DVA FUNDED ADVOCACY AND WELFARE SERVICES REPORT
The Association will closely examine the Review of Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)–Funded Ex-Service Organisation (ESO) Advocacy and Welfare Services Report which was released yesterday.
Whilst the aims of the review are laudable – ie, to provide a prescribed framework to ensure veterans, war widow/ers and their families have access to quality advocacy, welfare and support services – there may be unexpected consequences that will need close examination.
The Review covered the Building Excellence in Support and Training Program (BEST), Training Information Program (TIP), and the Veteran and Community Grants (V&C) program.
MINISTER’S RESPONSE - RELEASE OF SERVICE RECRDS
The Association was pleased to receive a detailed response from the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel to our concerns about the release of Service Records by the National Archives. The Minister acknowledged that the fairness of a particular decision to release information is not an issue that can be easily
resolved.
Of specific interest was the Minister’s advice that both the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Federal Court have determined that information relating to a person’s professional affairs, including their employment performance, is not considered to be their personal affairs. The Association acknowledges this however suggests that ADF records are, by their nature, more detailed and contain more sensitive and personal information than any civilian employment record would contain!
The Minister also advises that the National Archives policy for the release of deceased members’ medical information is that it will release information unless it contains information about medical conditions that are hereditary and that such release may constitute an unreasonable disclosure of a third party’s personal affairs.
However, the Association wonders whether National Archives officers are medically qualified to make such a decision?
OUR THANKS TO THE ADF
The Association, along with its partners in the Alliance of Defence Service Organizations, expresses its thanks to the ADF for the support provided in the recent natural disasters that have plagued Australia. Once again the true grit of the members of the ADF was on display for the Nation to see and the community owes them a great deal.
We offer our sincere and profound sympathies to all those who were adversely impacted by the disasters.
Media Contacts
Executive Director:
Les Bienkiewicz 0411 444248
http://www.dfwa.org.au/
National President:
David Jamison 0416 107557
Thursday 17 February 2011
Robert S Buick MM JP - Gallantry award
Last year the Australian government awarded the highest unit gallantry citation to D Company the Sixth Battalion Royal Australian Regiment for its gallantry in the Battle of Long Tan 18 August 1966.
LtCol Smith was awarded the nation’s second highest individual gallant award, the Star of Gallantry, and 2Lts Kendall and Sabben the Medal for Gallantry earlier in 2009.
LtCol Harry Smith SG MC arranged with Her Excellency the Governor General for the investiture of the three officers of their Gallantry Awards and the company members the Unit Citation for Gallantry (UCG) and the next of kin of those veterans now dead to be done at Yarralumla.
The G-G agreed but this important and significant event was stymied by the Chief of Defence and Defence Department. The government refused to approve the transport arrangements for members from their place of residence to Canberra and return.
The veterans, and those of the veteran community who were aware of this refusal, were angry and disappointed. There is still no date when the veterans will be awarded with the UCG emblem and Harry Smith will have his Star of Gallantry pinned to his chest during a function at Maryborough early March by his local federal Member of Parliament..
Today I have received two phone calls from Long Tan veterans who are again spitting chips because the Australian government flew detained illegal entries from Christmas Island to attend the funeral for those who tragically died when the boat they used from Indonesia was shipwrecked on Christmas Island late last year. I accept and applauded this humanitarian service but I too am not happy with the CDF and Defence Department refusing war veterans their honour they are also entitled to.
They could not understand how, or why, their government would approved the cost for non citizens to attend a funeral yet deny this nation’s war veterans transport to Canberra to received Gallantry awards from the Governor General.
Robert S Buick MM JP
24 Mountain Ash Drive
Mountain Creek 4557 Qld
07 5452 5890
strait8@bigpond.com
LtCol Smith was awarded the nation’s second highest individual gallant award, the Star of Gallantry, and 2Lts Kendall and Sabben the Medal for Gallantry earlier in 2009.
LtCol Harry Smith SG MC arranged with Her Excellency the Governor General for the investiture of the three officers of their Gallantry Awards and the company members the Unit Citation for Gallantry (UCG) and the next of kin of those veterans now dead to be done at Yarralumla.
The G-G agreed but this important and significant event was stymied by the Chief of Defence and Defence Department. The government refused to approve the transport arrangements for members from their place of residence to Canberra and return.
The veterans, and those of the veteran community who were aware of this refusal, were angry and disappointed. There is still no date when the veterans will be awarded with the UCG emblem and Harry Smith will have his Star of Gallantry pinned to his chest during a function at Maryborough early March by his local federal Member of Parliament..
Today I have received two phone calls from Long Tan veterans who are again spitting chips because the Australian government flew detained illegal entries from Christmas Island to attend the funeral for those who tragically died when the boat they used from Indonesia was shipwrecked on Christmas Island late last year. I accept and applauded this humanitarian service but I too am not happy with the CDF and Defence Department refusing war veterans their honour they are also entitled to.
They could not understand how, or why, their government would approved the cost for non citizens to attend a funeral yet deny this nation’s war veterans transport to Canberra to received Gallantry awards from the Governor General.
Robert S Buick MM JP
24 Mountain Ash Drive
Mountain Creek 4557 Qld
07 5452 5890
strait8@bigpond.com
Thursday 10 February 2011
Government to replace medals lost in natural disasters
Directorate of Honours and Awards
Government to replace medals lost in natural disasters
Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, Senator the Hon David Feeney, today announced that the Government will relax the policy on replacement of Australian Defence Force (ADF) medals so that medals lost during the Queensland and Victorian floods, the impact of Cyclone Yasi and the fires in Western Australia can be replaced.
“Government policy for many years has been medals can only be issued to the ADF member who earned them,” Senator Feeney said.
“This usually means that medals cannot be replaced if they are lost or destroyed after the ADF member has died.”
Where medals are lost in natural disasters, however, this policy may be relaxed. This was done following the Victorian bushfires in 2009.
“While the Government is committed to maintaining the integrity of our system of military honours and awards, there are circumstances in which the Australian community rightly expects us to show greater flexibility in implementing the existing policy. I believe this unprecedented series of natural disasters is one of those circumstances,” Senator Feeney said.
“I have therefore decided that ADF medals may be reissued to the next of kin or other appropriate relative of deceased ADF members, if the medals have been lost or destroyed in the current natural disasters. Family members who have, in the course of these natural disasters, lost the medals of loved ones, may now make application for replacements.
“Unfortunately, however, only medals dating back to the First World War can be replaced. Medals for conflicts prior to this war are no longer in production.”
Applicants should use the application form and statutory declaration located on the Defence Honours and Awards website at: www.defence.gov.au/medals
Completed applications should be submitted to: Directorate of Honours and Awards
Department of Defence, PO Box 7952, Canberra BC, ACT 2610. Enquiries may also be directed to Defence Honours and Awards toll free on 1800 111 321.
Wednesday 19 January 2011
Help for Flood affected veterans
Both Di and I feel for all those affected by the floods, not only in Queensland but Australia wide. We would like to do our bit to help with the recovery, but Di's Military commitments preclude this. (Yes she is still serving and almost ready to complete her 36th year). I was involved with the cleanup with 6RAR in the '74 floods so I have a pretty good understanding of the problems faced by all affected.
As you may know, I have been mounting medals professionally for about 16 years, and because of that I thought I might offer my services to those affected by the floods.
I am offering all veterans the following:
If service medals were damaged as a result of the floods, I will
polish, re-ribbon and mount all damaged medals FREE of charge;
If Service medals were lost I can replace with high grade Replicas at
cost price(normally about $10.00 ea). I will ribbon and mount any replica medal purchased, FREE of charge.
The turn-around time would be about 7-10 days after either receiving original medals or notification of Replicas required.
From my understanding, lost medals will take about 4-6 months to replace.
The only cost to the Veteran will be return postage via Yellow Express Bag ($10.00 approx) and cost price of any Replicas required.
Should anyone want to avail themselves of my offer, I can be contacted in any of the following ways:
Phone: 02 9938 3572
Mobile: 0410 519968
e-mail: kayel@iprimus.com.au
regards Kev Lunny, Sunray 32
As you may know, I have been mounting medals professionally for about 16 years, and because of that I thought I might offer my services to those affected by the floods.
I am offering all veterans the following:
If service medals were damaged as a result of the floods, I will
polish, re-ribbon and mount all damaged medals FREE of charge;
If Service medals were lost I can replace with high grade Replicas at
cost price(normally about $10.00 ea). I will ribbon and mount any replica medal purchased, FREE of charge.
The turn-around time would be about 7-10 days after either receiving original medals or notification of Replicas required.
From my understanding, lost medals will take about 4-6 months to replace.
The only cost to the Veteran will be return postage via Yellow Express Bag ($10.00 approx) and cost price of any Replicas required.
Should anyone want to avail themselves of my offer, I can be contacted in any of the following ways:
Phone: 02 9938 3572
Mobile: 0410 519968
e-mail: kayel@iprimus.com.au
regards Kev Lunny, Sunray 32
Sunday 16 January 2011
FLOOD DISASTER PHONE NUMBERS
SES 132 500
ROAD CLOSURES 131 940 or www.131940.qld.gov.au
DISASTER RECOVERY HOTLINE 1800 173 349
POLICE (EMERGENCY) 000
CENTRELINK 180 22 66 or www.centrelink.gov.au
INSURANCE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA 1300 728 228
GENERAL ENQUIRIES & ASSISTANCE 13 QGOV (13 74 68)
COMMUNITY RECOVERY LINE 1800 173 349
LEGAL AID QUEENSLAND 1300 65 11 88
FINANCIAL OMBUDSMAN SERVICE 1800 337 444
SALVATION ARMY 1300 363 622
LIFELINE 13 11 14
RED CROSS 1300 554 419
REPLACEMENT OF DOCUMENTS
Land titles
Natural Resources and Water
13 13 04
Driver’s Licence
Queensland Transport
13 23 80
Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates
Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
1300 366 430
Business Registration
Office of Fair Trading
13 13 04
ROAD CLOSURES 131 940 or www.131940.qld.gov.au
DISASTER RECOVERY HOTLINE 1800 173 349
POLICE (EMERGENCY) 000
CENTRELINK 180 22 66 or www.centrelink.gov.au
INSURANCE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA 1300 728 228
GENERAL ENQUIRIES & ASSISTANCE 13 QGOV (13 74 68)
COMMUNITY RECOVERY LINE 1800 173 349
LEGAL AID QUEENSLAND 1300 65 11 88
FINANCIAL OMBUDSMAN SERVICE 1800 337 444
SALVATION ARMY 1300 363 622
LIFELINE 13 11 14
RED CROSS 1300 554 419
REPLACEMENT OF DOCUMENTS
Land titles
Natural Resources and Water
13 13 04
Driver’s Licence
Queensland Transport
13 23 80
Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates
Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
1300 366 430
Business Registration
Office of Fair Trading
13 13 04
Thursday 13 January 2011
Letter to ESO National President
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
Mr John Ryan OAM
National President
Australian Federation of Totally and Permanently Incapacitated Ex-Servicemen and Women
tpifedhq@bigpond.com
Dear Mr Ryan
With the escalating flooding crisis in Queensland and northern NSW, I am writing to let you know that
the Department is doing all it can to ensure the veteran community can continue to access our services
and that additional assistance is provided to ease hardship where required.
We have been monitoring the situation very closely for the past couple of weeks, with special
arrangements put in place between the Deputy Commissioners in Queensland and New South Wales.
With the temporary closure of our main Brisbane office, our Brisbane VVCS office and our
Toowoomba VAN, the Department has re-routed telephone enquiries through the Veterans’ Services
Centre to interstate offices.
If required, the veteran community can continue to access information on insurance, payments and
counselling by telephoning the usual numbers. Veterans who have their property insured with Defence
Service Homes Insurance and whose property has been affected by the floods are encouraged to contact
their local customer service officer on 1300 552 662. The VVCS (Veterans and Veterans Families
Counselling Service) may be contacted on 1800 011 046, 24 hours a day.
The Department is working with other Commonwealth agencies, State Governments and charitable and
community organisations to ensure a range of support services offering personal, emotional,
psychological and financial help is available.
Additional services will be required well into the future as the floods peak, dissipate and the clean-up
phase gets underway. In the meantime, I seek your assistance in letting us know of any member of the
veteran community that you feel needs urgent departmental assistance. Referrals can be made by
contacting the Deputy Commissioner’s office in each State.
Yours sincerely
Ian Campbell
Secretary
13 January 2011
Wednesday 12 January 2011
Thursday 6 January 2011
RAAOC VIETNAM MELBOURNE 2012
Expression of intent
Reunion will be held on:
· Friday, 2 March – Saturday, 3 March & Sunday, 4 March 2012
Please fill in your details on the attached proforma and return it to us to advise your intent of attending.
We will keep you informed via regular updates as arrangements and costs are finalised.
Preliminary Details:
| Date | Time | Event |
| Friday, 2 March | 6:30 pm | Meet and Greet |
| Saturday, 3 March | Morning and afternoon | Free time |
| Saturday, 3 March | 7:00 pm | Mixed dinner with candles |
| Sunday, 4 March | 9:00 am | Service at The Shrine of Remembrance |
| Sunday, 4 March | 11:00 am | Depart for Bay Cruise with lunch |
We propose to negotiate competitive rates with all of the above.
Costs: TBA
Transport: Pick up and return to and from the airport, will be via Airport Shuttle Bus and will be arranged personally by the attendee. The following internet addresses of Airport Shuttle Buses are provided to facilitate your timings and costs.:
Transport to the Shrine of Remembrance and to the boarding point for the Bay Cruise and back to the hotel at the conclusion of the Cruise will be arranged by the Committee.
All enquiries are to Ted, Mick, Wayne and George
Committee:
| Ted Beard (President) | 03 9761 9379 |
| 0429 052 848 | |
| | |
| Mick Fidler (advisor and advertising) | 03 9870 2111 |
| | |
| | |
| Wayne Wright (hotel, meet & greet) | 03 9748 2172 |
| batarang666@bigpond.com | 0417 589 676 |
| | |
| George Soumilas (treasurer, cruise person) | 03 9598 0090 |
| 0409 220 378 | |
| | |
| Rick De Pasquale (secretary & dog’s body) | |
| |
RAAOC VIETNAM
MELBOURNE 2012
REUNION
Expression of intent
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Partners First Name: ……………………..
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Please return to:
Rick De Pasquale: PO Box 214, Greensborough Vic 3088
Wednesday 5 January 2011
War memorial
Australian War Memorial in grip of cash crisis
- Phillip Hudson
- January 05, 2011
Confidential advice to the Gillard Government has revealed the memorial is considering severe job losses and cuts that will deliver a savage blow to its reputation if it does not get a budget boost.
The Canberra landmark is one of the nation's most popular tourist attractions and is visited by thousands of Victorian school children every year.
Opposition veterans' affairs spokesman Michael Ronaldson called on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to urgently fix the problem after it was revealed the Rudd government had knocked back a $5 million financial injection.
Departmental advice to Veterans Affairs Minister Warren Snowdon after the election, known as the "Red Book", revealed the memorial was facing a crisis.
Tuesday 4 January 2011
Surviving a Taliban grenade only to be cast aside
by Paul Toohey
Sergeant Andrew Cave of the SAS pictured in Adelaide near the Torrens River. Picture: Matt Turner Source: AdelaideNow
SERGEANT Andrew Cave was in the lawless Chora Valley, north of Tarin Kowt, patrolling with members of the Special Air Service Regiment. They came across a surreal scene - remnants of Afghan security forces leaving the valley, ragged, vanquished and battle-shocked.
The SAS went searching for the cause of this rout.
They encountered a sizeable Taliban force and heavy combat took place.
The Diggers used everything they had - .50 calibre machine guns, 40mm grenades, 7.62mm machine guns and 84mm rockets - but the Taliban were relentless.
They began "whaling", battle-talk for swarming.
Cave thought the troop's right flank was exposed and they were in danger of being over-run.
He led two long-range patrol vehicles to the flank and held position under Taliban fire.
Apache gunships moved in providing cover when an insurgent's rocket-propelled grenade, designed to stop a tank, exploded just metres over Cave's head.
"It felt like I had been hit by a sledgehammer. The blast sent shockwaves through my body. I collapsed to the ground, rose, recommenced firing, however I succumbed to the strike and collapsed to the ground bleeding, very dazed, ears ringing. The world was spinning," he said.
It was 2006. The South Australian soldier's troubles were just beginning.
Cave was one of our most experienced serving SAS soldiers.
He still is. He has had 25 years at the elite level of soldiering. But that blast had a profound effect on him and his regiment. He developed PTSD - post-traumatic stress disorder.
Cave was the first serving soldier in this most exclusive and secretive regiment with the courage to put his hand up and admit he had a problem.
He did the right thing. Now, at 43, he is about to be medically discharged. This is not his choice. His anger is controlled.
He believed that Defence meant a job for life, but there was no job for him. He had given his loyalty and almost gave his life.
The day of his wounding remains close. His carotid artery was exposed in his neck. His head and neck were peppered with shrapnel.
He was deaf from the blast. He wasn't wearing a helmet but his body armour - now laced with metal - had saved him. Ballistic goggles saved his sight.
He staggered back to his vehicle where two of his patrol members were still returning fire. Cave's mates rendered first aid and drove him out of the contact area.
He remembers being loaded on to a quad bike, then a US helicopter, escorted by Apaches, airlifted him to the Tarin Kowt trauma station in the Oruzgan province.
He was attended to by an American surgeon, stabilised, then evacuated further north to a combat surgical hospital at Bagram air field.
Two of Cave's colleagues were awarded Medals of Gallantry that day, and the assisting medic who drove him out under fire was awarded the Commendation of Gallantry.
Cave wishes he was still with the regiment. He's not an ex-army axe-grinder. He wishes he hadn't stayed those extra five minutes on the right flank and instead made a tactical withdrawal.
But the same tenacity that led to his wounding while holding the flank also explains why he is so well regarded in the SAS.
A psychiatrist who has treated Cave said the sense of grief elite troops felt when removed from their band of brothers was intense.
"I tell them they can't do this job until they're 65," he said.
"There's only so much horror any one person can tolerate in their life. You can only reach into the well of courage so many times before the well runs dry."
Cave must now try to find some contentment being, as he calls it, a "warrior diplomat" for veterans suffering blast trauma and PTSD.
It is the SAS Association and the regiment in Perth which have encouraged him to tell his story. They know he's not a spent force. He has the charisma to make difference.
PTSD is not supposed to happen to SAS troopers. They are meant to prevail over mental trauma.
But science now knows that PTSD does not only come about from experiencing difficult events.
It is medically accepted by US and British experts that waves of concussive force from improvised explosive devices and rocket propelled grenades can cause traumatic brain injury.
This can lead to PTSD, which can result in anxiousness, disconnection, hyper-arousal, a constant sense of danger and self-harmful behaviour which can lead to suicide.
Cave outed himself as having PTSD three years ago. The regiment was fiercely protective.
Despite knowledge of PTSD stretching back to WWI, when it was called shell shock, the Defence Department had no procedures to help Cave. He hit the ropes.
CAVE is not talking to attack the SAS, to which he remains devoutly loyal. But, with Afghanistan now an IED war, mental damage from blast trauma is a growing problem. He wonders if Defence is ready.
There are some signs that Defence is finally catching up with mental health issues, but it came too late for Cave. His problems started in Bagram, at the combat army surgical hospital. Australians with serious wounds are now flown directly to West Germany, but not Cave.
"Unfortunately I went from priority one to priority two and I was not airlifted to Germany," he said.
"I stayed in that hospital for seven, eight days. There were dozens of Afghan nationals coming in with IED blasts, bullet wounds, amputations, and children so deformed with burns you could barely make out their features. They were screaming day and night. A Taliban fighter was under armed guard and the lights were on 24 hours a day. I truly to this day am in painful awe of the level of trauma in that ward and my sympathy is with those victims."
SAS commanders wanted him out of Afghanistan, in proper care.
The Australians organised a C-130 Hercules to airlift him to Dubai, to an American civilian hospital. He flew on a commercial flight to Perth, in the care of a doctor. Nine or 10 days after being wounded Cave had neurosurgery, an inexplicable delay.
His wounds were so significant he required subsequent facial surgery and neurosurgery. Aside from head trauma he had sensory-neural loss, which caused loss of balance, hearing loss, an upper cervical condition - commonly called whiplash - and shrapnel wounds.
He spent the next two to three months stabilising and rehabilitating.
"I started to feel significant post-trauma symptoms," he said. "Severe anxiety, anger, nightly hyper-arousal and nightmares - stacking furniture up against your door in the middle of the night is hardly normal," he said.
His memory was poor. A trusted medical officer persuaded him to become an outpatient of a Perth mental health clinic, where he stayed for three weeks.
"I probably was released too early. I was diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder," he said.
I met Cave in one of those old suburban Adelaide pubs which every other city seems to have killed off.
When he walked in he was not hard to spot. SAS really are a little different, in style and approach. He could have been a senior AFL player, the same fitness but with very different game-day experience.
His hair is sharp rockabilly. He wears boots, jeans, T-shirt - an intelligent, highly evolved Australian soldier.
A former SAS officer describes Cave's place in the regiment: "He's reliable. He's a true warhorse, with immense experience across a broad spectrum of operations - desert, jungle, open savannah, urban, Iraq, Afghanistan. And he's the king of the counter-terrorist environment. You've met him. He's somebody."
The surgeons did a good job. There's no obvious evidence of his facial surgery. He's a little emotional, at times, leaning back to pause and correct himself. On one occasion during the evening his face is gripped by a palsy which freezes the area under his mouth. It passes.
It was the SAS old-boys network - which has fought so hard for better treatment for wounded Diggers and widows - which encouraged him to talk. But a speech given in Townsville earlier this month by Chief of Army, Lieutenant-General Ken Gillespie, has also given Cave hope that Defence might finally be getting real about PTSD.
Gillespie said PTSD had long been under-recognised, under-reported and marginalised. He could have been talking about Cave when he said: "We would be badly mistaken to view those suffering from PTSD as being somewhat less robust, less masculine, less tough - less of a soldier than the rest of us. I would strongly encourage you to confront PTSD where you see these early signs, to call it out and to seek help."
Cave believes Gillespie is sincere. But he wishes Defence had acted earlier on his behalf. After all, Gillespie said PTSD had been around "as long as armies have gathered and wars have been fought".
Cave would become a spokesman for PTSD but first he took himself on a self-destructive journey.
"I believe the SAS Regiment treated me brilliantly, but I don't believe anyone was ready for my descent into post-trauma," he said.
"I did almost an authorised runner. I shot through to Brisbane and lived in a near-empty house for three months. I was heavily sedated. I was living a very Spartan life."
He said he was lucky to come across Dr Michael Norton in Brisbane, who had established a fledgling ADF mental health unit. Norton viewed Cave as one of the four worst cases of PTSD he had ever seen. Cave believes sessions with Norton saved his life.
"I was probably lucky to survive that 12 months. There was a lot of self-harm, a lot of drinking through 2007-08, a lot of waking up in people's frontyards, gardens, parks, sides of roads. I was arrested for fighting. I had every classic sign of severe PTSD. The mental health unit was very good but they gave me enough rope."
He went to Melbourne, to one of his best friends - a commanding officer.
The SAS network came into play and he started getting stability. In Brisbane, another infantry battalion commander took him under his wing.
"I slowly started to piece together my life. This was where the old boys' network helped. I'd become almost catastrophic," he said.
"I am not able to thank them enough. They cut me some slack but the biggest thing was being welcomed back and absorbed. I was getting better.
"Eventually I went back to the SAS Regiment in Perth and I was posted back into a squadron for 18 months. This was a massive morale-boosting moment but not without its troubles. PTSD unfortunately can affect you so you'll never really get over it, and on occasions it came back to bite hard."
Cave's whole mindset was geared towards getting back to Afghanistan. He did a dance between Veterans Affairs, seeking medical assistance for his condition but trying to conceal the fact he was on medication from the Defence Department, because it would deny him a return to active service.
"I kept on trying to get back to the regiment," he said.
"If I didn't have them, I would have necked myself. I was in such a state I needed to get my pride back, my respect, especially when I was combusting. They allowed me to do that. But I was not well."
The SAS encouraged Cave to meet then defence minister John Faulkner, along with senior Defence and DVA personnel, in order to get the message out that PTSD was reality even in Australia's most elite force.
Gillespie said in his recent speech that there was a misconception that diagnosis of PTSD need not result in discharge. Still, that's what happened to Cave. The womb-to-the-tomb Defence philosophy did not come true for Cave.
"I wish it was there for me but it's not. If you destroy that belief by not delivering, it's almost like a benevolent father has discarded you," he said.
"I was treated really well by individuals but I will say Defence didn't have suitable policies in place to better handle my career."
The moment, when it came, was crushing. The decision was made to discharge him on medical grounds.
"Believe me, the regiment were brilliant, they would have kept me. But once the medical officer says a person should be discharged, it's a death sentence. It's the plague, a mark against your door. You're gone. That's the way it was," he said.
Cave said there were not too many jobs out there for an ex-SAS soldier. He spent last year studying at Monash University and will go to Adelaide University next year.
He hopes to get an arts degree and maybe become a school teacher, or perhaps work with people suffering PTSD.
Cave gives you confidence he will be a highly valued member of society. The question is why Defence does not see him that way
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