Veteran suicide front and centre
ACTION on veteran suicide prevention will be formally endorsed today with the launch of Operation Compass.
That is the commitment from the former commander of 3rd Brigade, Lieutenant General John Caligari AO, DSC.
Mr Caligari said he was determined Operation Compass – a pilot suicide prevention project in Townsville which targets ex- serving Australian Defence Force members and their families – would reduce the “horrifyingly high” statistics on veteran suicide.
The Turnbull Government announced the suicide prevention trial in Townsville last year as part of a $ 34 million commitment to fund and evaluate 12 suicide prevention trial sites nationally.
Mr Caligari said the aim of the project, which will be launched today at the Veterans Off the Streets Community Sleep- out event at Strand Park, was to reduce the rates of suicide within our ex- ADF community and their families through transition, connection, and adapting to life in Townsville.
“I see myself as having an obligation as a former commander of 3rd Brigade to do something for my men and women, the people who served with me and their families,” he said.
“Veterans are hurting, families are hurting and it needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. Operation Compass will do that.”
Mr Caligari said the project’s steering committee and advisory groups included exADF members, families, carers and service providers.
“The committee is not a bunch of bureaucrats, they are people at the coalface of the veteran community,” he said.
Mr Caligari said Operation Compass brought together the best evidence- based strategies and models to better target people at risk of suicide and ensured a more integrated regionally based approach to suicide prevention.
“Operation Compass is using the Black Dog Institute Lifespan Model to target the needs of the ex- ADF community,” he said.
Mr Caligari said it was a “frightful reality” that veterans needed support.
“Reports have shown us the grim statistics of the problem we have in the veteran community,” he said.
“But of course these people are not just statistics, not just numbers. They are the men and women who served our country.”
A report released in June by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that between 2001 and 2015, there were 325 certified suicide deaths among people with at least one day of ADF service since 2001.
Men made up the vast majority of these suicide deaths ( 93 per cent or 303 deaths) and 84 per cent of the ADF populations examined. Women made up the remaining 7 per cent ( 22 deaths). If you or someone you know needs help, support is available at Lifeline on If you are an Australian veteran or family of a veteran, you can also call the Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service on