The first week of hearings examining the suicides of military personnel and veterans highlighted the Australian Defence Force’s repeated betrayal of its own people,with toxic elements ingrained in its culture and a lack of mental health assessments and support systems.
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide,which resumes on Monday,has heard harrowing stories from the families of veterans and serving personnel who took their own lives.
It also shone a spotlight on damning.
The events that led to serving personnel and veterans taking their lives and the responses they got from the military were recounted to the royal commission by their heartbroken families.
Alexandra Bailey,whose sister took her own life in December 2020,said when her sister went to a senior officer to report physical and emotional bullying,she was told:“Shut the f--- up,get out of my office or I’ll break your other leg and throw you overboard.”
Teri injured her knee a few months into her service with the navy and was bullied as a result. She also claimed to have been sexually assaulted by another serving female while in a military hospital.
“You don’t understand what it’s like. You can’t report these things. Nobody takes it seriously,” Teri told her sister when urged to report the sexual assault.
Army signalman and driver,24,died by suicide in January 2016 after suffering post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of two experiences while deployed in Afghanistan.
Peter Jenkins said his son was injured in a Bushmaster military transport vehicle accident,and he saw a young girl,believed to be about 16,killed in front of him just off-base.
“Shaun indicated that when he left Afghanistan he,along with everybody else,was asked if they were feeling OK and that after this,there was no follow up. There was no appointment or anything like that. Just a conversation,” Mr Jenkins said.
Shaun Jenkins (left) suffered PTSD after witnessing the death of a 16-year-old girl in Afghanistan.Facebook
“He said that everyone just said they were ‘fine’. They were concerned that if they were to voice anything different,it would adversely affect their career progression and their ability to deploy at another time.”
Nikki Jamieson is a social worker who is now doing a PhD on Australian Defence Force suicides. She is also an expert in the area of “moral injury”. Her son,,21,killed himself at Darwin’s Robertson Barracks in late 2014.
“Moral injury is basically the damage arising from a deep violation of our core moral frameworks,” Ms Jamieson told the royal commission.
Private Daniel Garforth killed himself at the age of 21.Supplied
“When Mr Jenkins was speaking earlier this morning and the Bailey family were speaking yesterday,some of the experiences that were echoed really indicated to me that moral injury was prevalent.
“For instance,when Mr Jenkins’ son’s mental health deteriorated through witnessing the death of a young 16‑year‑old.
“Also,one of the biggest factors was betrayal ... seeing your mates in Defence being bullied and not being able to do anything about it. That’s what we call betrayal blindness. Senior leaders really ostracising and targeting people,that can create moral injuries,and has done.”
Counsel assisting the commission Kevin Connor told the first day of hearings there was great uncertainty around how many ADF personnel and veterans had died by their own hand over the years.
According to the most recent Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report,there were an estimated 1273 deaths by suicide among all service groups between January 1,2001,and December 31,2019. However,this is believed to likely be an underestimation.
In addition,the age‑adjusted rate of suicide for former serving females is 2.27 times higher when compared with the general Australian female population,Mr Connor said.
Throughout the week,experts and the families of those who had taken their lives requested a registry be set up to track veteran suicides,in addition to current records for suicides among serving personnel.
Counsel assisting the commission Peter Gray said 57 previous reviews or inquiries had been undertaken on the issues being investigated by the royal commission,resulting in more than 700 recommendations.
Only 20 of these reports received formal responses from the federal government.
The hearings continue on Monday.
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