By Jo Kennett
ANZAC DAY is over for another year but for many veterans, like Pottsville resident Reece Maloney the struggle to recover from the horrors of the front line and find peace remains.
Reece laid a wreath at the Pottsville Anzac service for eight of his fallen comrades all from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR), who he served with in Afghanistan and said: “it was an emotionally draining day”.
“I had to mentally prepare myself but my support network of family and friends were a big help, though some of my mates that I fought with don’t have that, which makes it hard for them,” Reece told The Weekly.
“When you’re in the army you are part of a big family. You fight together, you work together, you do everything together to ensure each other’s survival,” Reece said.
“When you come out you forget that you’re still part of that family. It’s really easy to isolate yourself and cut yourself off from the help and support you need.”
Reece grew up on a farm at Parkes, fishing, riding motorbikes and shooting. Both his grandfathers and his grandmother had served in the military and Reece continued the family tradition when he joined the army in 2006.
“The army seemed like a good way to utilise the skills I had learned in the country. I was passionate about shooting and very good at it,” he said.
As an infantryman with the 6RAR, Reece served on the frontl ine in Afghanistan and Iraq and his fellow soldiers became his surrogate family.
“When you are relying on each other every day for survival you develop bonds that are stronger than you have with friends and even family back home,” he said.
“You are in a conflict zone with casualties mounting around you and then your boss might say, ‘now’s not the time for grieving, we’ve got a mission to focus on’.
“That’s because we are stuck over there and it’s best not to let emotion cloud your judgement because that could get someone killed.
“So you’re suppressing all that grief and trauma and it’s a horrible thing to see some people who haven’t been able to suppress it because it’s been more traumatic for them than anyone else, like losing a best mate which happened to a member of my section.
“So many things happen in such a short space of time, so many of us were injured, that it can break you.”
It is fortunate that the majority of army personnel are provided with a trauma kit in case they experience severe injuries during an ambush. This is one of the reasons why there were fewer deaths and many soldiers escaped life-threatening conditions.
After a tour of Afghanistan and one of Iraq, Reece said he had reached breaking point and received a medical discharge in 2013.
“I didn’t want to get out but I needed to,” he said.
“I felt like I was leaving my family, leaving my brothers.”
Reece said that back home he found he had no tools to adapt and survive and that support networks became vital.
“You lose a part of our identity, a part of who you are, and you have to realise that your position in the army doesn’t define who you are,” he said.
“There are guys you worked with and you second guess things like how they were injured, constantly reassessing the situation and what went wrong. If I’d walked this way instead of that…
“No one can walk that path for you as an individual, you have to walk it yourself because if you don’t you will struggle and struggle.”
Reece said that anyone serving on the front line was trained to suppress their feelings and to believe that emotions are weak.
“In the army, you are trained to handle everything by yourself so when you get out you think it’s wrong to have all the emotions that you’re having and you think you’re weak and you become depressed but that’s just psychological programming,” he said.
“All that suppressed emotion comes out at some point and you have to deal with it and that’s why so many of us fall apart.
“Eventually you learn that it takes a man to be able to confront and embrace emotions.”
When he returned home Reece, like many veterans, was shocked by the lack of support from the Department of Veteran Affairs.
“We don’t expect to come back and have to fight our own government.
“If we don’t get that treatment we will die, we will suicide.
“They (the DVA) were like insurance companies. They made things so bad that people just gave up trying to get help.
“You put a claim in and they deny that claim almost as a matter of course but if you keep fighting it they will suddenly approve it.
“You come home exhausted from war and then they put things in place that exacerbate those conditions.
“It’s like they play on those conditions so you will give up. It kills a lot of veterans.
“They need to change from being like insurance companies to actually caring about veterans.”
Reece said that his parents felt helpless watching him struggling to adjust to civilian life and battle with the DVA.
“So I gave them stuff to do, which lessens the psychological effect on them because you’re making them a part of it,” he said.
“I got them to help with the Veteran Affairs and to get me physical and psychological help.
Reece said that PTSD victims needed to create their own ‘survival teams’, support networks that could include neighbours, mates or anyone.
“Since I’ve been out, I’ve found that the people that will fight for you are the ones you love the most. They are your support network like family and friends and if I didn’t have that support, to be honest I would have been dead a long time ago.
“I don’t think I would have had the strength to endure what’s come my way since I got back without them.”
He also found that many medical workers like doctors and psychiatrists didn’t know what to do with PTSD victims, so they just give veterans medication which led to addiction.
“Dependency then becomes your sole focus so the battle with the DVA turns into a battle with addiction,” he said.
Addiction to antidepressant and other medications eventually caused Reece to be admitted to hospital.
“It really disables you,” he said. “Sometimes medication can help but they are often just a band-aid.”
Reece said that often those who had served in frontline positions, like the military, police and medical workers, found it hard to find the right help with continuity in medical services, especially in regional areas where doctors come and go.
He said the isolation in the country was a real problem and eventually moved from his hometown and family at Parkes in country NSW to Pottsville to get better access to support services.
“I’ve been really lucky to find a psychiatrist who is great with vets and understands. His care has shed new light on my situation,” he said. “It lets you know there is help out there.”
Of the eight servicemen killed in action in Afghanistan during Reece’s time, Pte Bruce Poate, Pte Nathan Bewes, Pte Grant Kirby, Pte Thomas Dale and Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney were from Reece’s 6RAR unit, and Sapper Jacob Moerland and Sapper Darren Smith belonged to the Combat Engineer Unit and Captain Brian Duffey was from the 4th Field Regiment.
Reece said that the emotional trauma made him really question everything.
“Was it worth one of our lives? Was it worth me enduring all this pain and hardship to society? Those are some of the things you ask yourself,” he said.
Reece said he had been out of the house a lot more and that the RSL had been great, with a lot of newer veterans going there.
“A sergeant’s role is to look after his men so when they come home a lot of them will put themselves in places like the RSL where they can help their men,” Reece said.
“We’re not alone and we need to remember that. There are groups like Mates for Mates, Soldier On, the Surfing Veterans Association, the Men’s Shed and the RSL that all provide support.
“Pottsville Beach Sports Club has an RSL sub-branch and a lot of Vietnam veterans come here, and they have been a great support to me since I moved up as have the staff.
Reece said that things were starting to change with the Department of Veteran Affairs.
“I had a mate who went through it recently and it was pretty quick, which was good.”
The 30-year-old veteran said that it’s the simple things in life that bring him the most happiness now.
“It’s family and friends, hot showers, food, having a roof over your head, love, support, kindness, simple activities with people who support you,” he said.
Reece also received Buddy, a former rescue dog trained as an Assistance Dog through the Young Diggers program – they are also available through Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service (VVCS) – to help with PTSD symptoms like hyper-vigilance.
“If I start looking behind me and worrying what’s there, Buddy will get behind me and watch my back just like a mate would on the front line,” he said.
“He goes everywhere with me and helps me cope with my emotions, reducing things like anxiety and depression.”
Reece’s motivation these days is helping others.
“If I had one thing to say to anyone who is going through similar issues it’s this, ‘Get up and fight for your life. Don’t lie down and die,” he said.
For support contact Lifeline on 131114, Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service (VVCS) 1800 011046 or talk to your local GP.
