CLUBS LEAD THE WAY IN HONOURING OUR MODERN VETERANS

Each year we pause on Anzac Day and solemnly remember our fallen. But are we forgetting our modern veterans, so many of whom returned home, only to fight never-ending internal battles with depression, PTSD, homelessness and thoughts of suicide.

In our longest war, over 20 years in Afghanistan, we lost 41 men killed in action. Over that same period, more than 1400 veterans took their own lives.

How have we reached this point? In his compelling and urgent feature documentary film, THE HOME FRONT, author and filmmaker Patrick Lindsay delves deep into the world of our modern veterans, uncovers the issues, highlights the problems and explores the solutions.

“This is the most important project I’ve ever undertaken and I’m delighted that we’re partnering once again with the RSL&SCA to screen the film in their clubs, just as we did so successfully a few years back with our film, KOKODA THE SPIRIT LIVES,” Lindsay said.

“All too often our modern veterans live in a world of shadows, doubt, pain and isolation. A world of darkness and depression, of PTSD and unresolved mental issues. A world where homelessness looms, a world where suicide lurks. We excel in training our soldiers to be fine warriors but we are failing to adequately support them as they re-enter their communities.”

THE HOME FRONT club screenings will raise awareness about the plight of our veterans. They’ll show them that they are not alone in facing their many issues and they’ll work to bring them into their communities’ embrace.

“Our club screenings are part of a national Impact Campaign to foster collaboration between veterans, ex-service organisations, government, the corporate world and the broader community,” Lindsay said.

“The campaign will support the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide and we’ll work to ensure the Commission’s recommendations are fully implemented. The film highlights the changes needed to improve our veterans’ lives and futures. It allows our vets to tell their own stories, supplemented by the stories of their families and loved ones. Their problems are examined by experts and illustrated with real examples.”

As veteran Dan Brailsford says in the film: “We have to be a certain type of person to be able to go into a war zone for the enemy to fire a shot and we turn and face the enemy and go towards it. The downside of that is we're not taught how to come down from that. How do we assimilate with civilian life? How do we respect our families and how do we make that transition.”

World-renowned trauma expert, Professor Sandy McFarlane has warned for years of the mental health impact on our veterans: “We now know that if you've got PTSD, you've decreased your life expectancy by four years, you're more likely to get cancer, you're more likely to get autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, you're more likely to get hypertension, you're more likely to get cardiovascular disease, you're more likely to become obese, you're more likely to develop dementia. And so we're talking about a neurobiological state.”

THE HOME FRONT club screenings will show how services clubs are working to connect with our modern veterans.