Meet a Mate
Gary McMahon By Ayla Manicaros
Nearly two and a half decades of dedicated military service, six postings and multiple trips and exercises overseas saw veteran Gary McMahon leave the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with a wealth of knowledge and a hunger to bring his vast lived experience into the civilian workforce. But like the story of many veterans who exit the ADF, Gary’s expectations of life after service in terms of finding work and beginning a new career, did not follow the path he anticipated.
“For the first twelve months, the frustration of not being able to get a job [was difficult]. I wanted to keep going but I couldn’t find work that allowed me to keep going,” he said. At one point, Gary submitted over 40 resumes for jobs where his service history and skillset would have been advantageous, but didn’t receive a single phone call. Unfortunately, this disconnect between a veteran’s expectations of a career after their service and the reality of finding employment is often a difficult one to come to terms with. For Gary, he experienced a degree of marginalisation across many different jobs and industries post-service, a factor that both exacerbated and smothered his struggles with undiagnosed mental health issues. “It was getting very hard. I thought I was 10-foot-tall and bullet proof and to face [my mental health] was hard. My physical injuries
Left to right: Jack, Gary and Cody McMahon on the Aussie 10 Peaks Trek.
were catching up too, I couldn’t sleep, and it kept biting me,” he said. Gary didn’t find Mates4Mates until some 20 years after leaving the Army. “When I first came here [Mates4Mates] it was like an instant ‘yeah, I think I belong.’” It was the first ex-service organisation he’d come across where he could relax and be himself, whilst still enjoying a strong sense of comradery amongst other members. This sentiment is echoed from a family perspective when speaking with Gary’s eldest son, Cody McMahon who is a registered Mate himself. “[at Mates4Mates] it’s the same group of people with a similar mindset and it comes together really well,” he said.
When he started coming to Mates4Mates it all turned around for him, so I thought I’d support him, join in and do some of the activities” “[Dad] went a really long time with undiagnosed mental health and being really sick. Initially, Cody’s involvement only extended to the occasional PT session however this grew with time and even saw his younger brother Jack became a registered member. “[Mates4Mates has been] huge for us as a family. We’re not constantly feeling like dad is on his own. It takes the pressure off a bit,” Cody said.
In 2016, Gary, Cody and Jack embarked on a 50km hike across the top ten peaks of Australia’s mainland glaciers: a trekking challenge offered by Mates4Mates. Weeks of training preceded the 72-hour slog which ultimately bought the family together in a culmination of exhaustion and elation: a moving experience for an individual but made incredible when done as a family. “It was good to see [Dad] really having a good time again, being happy. For me and Jack to be there as well, it was incredible,” Cody said. Both their individual and family involvement with Mates4Mates has remained important for the McMahon family. Gary is a friendly face at morning PT sessions, affirming the important role that Mates play in each other’s rehabilitation. “Everybody here is at a different point on the same journey… But once they reach a point [where they are comfortable within themselves], they feed back to other guys who are just at the beginning. And you see it all the time,” Gary said. Brisbane Family Recovery Centre Manager, Marc Diplock, sums up the vital contribution Mates like Gary have on the organisation to both staff and fellow Mates. “We recognise the importance of offering social engagement for our Mates and their families. Mates like Gary are the true face of the organisation and play an integral part in shaping the familiar, supportive culture that exists within our Family Recovery Centres,” Marc said.
Mates4Mates Magazine Jun 2018
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