Mum’s battle after soldier’s ‘living hell’
AFGHANISTAN veteran Bradley Carr would have been 35 today but instead his grieving mother continues to campaign for better recognition of troops lost to suicide.
For Charters Towers mother Glenda Weston, it was no coincidence her son was born on Remembrance Day because of the pride and dedication he had as a soldier.
Equally, it was no coincidence Bradley died by suicide on Anzac Day 2019 after a lengthy battle against a mental enemy that presented after his 2011 deployment with the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Ms Weston said.
“It was seven years of living hell and people need to be aware that the army trains these boys to kill but what are they doing when they get home?” Ms Weston said. “Braddy wasn’t weak – he was a strong man physically and mentally but he had no help to control the demons from war.
“He came back from Afghanistan a different person, his eyes would glaze over... I didn’t know him.”
Ms Weston said she would wear a yellow armband in addition to her red poppy today to draw attention to the men and women who have died by suicide as a result of their service.
Yellow is the colour symbol of post-traumatic stress disorder – the mental health condition suffered by Bradley.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare recorded 419 suicides in serving, reserve and ex-serving Australian Defence Force personnel between 2001 and 2017. Angered by the lack of transparency between the ADF, medical practitioners and support networks, Ms Weston said she was now on her own mission to uncover the torment and morale injuries her son carried to his grave.
Since Bradley’s death Ms Weston discovered medical reports detailing the extent of his torment and now realises she was ill equipped to respond to him appropriately.
A psychiatrist report seen by the Townsville Bulletin stated he couldn’t reconcile the death of an Afghan woman and her daughter he watched being blown up by an improvised explosive device (IED).
The blast also wounded her son, and led to nightmares and an inability to function in everyday life.
“Bradley stated he became very angry and distressed with his chain of command who wouldn’t allow him to attend to this young boy who was screaming for his father.
“Bradley states the boy’s screams and images of the scene still haunt him (and) his peers had to restrain him.”
Bradley experienced six separate blast impacts on deployment, according to the report.
In another incident, Bradley reported driving in a lead vehicle when the one behind him carrying Afghanistan National Army soldiers was hit by an IED.
“The impact of the blast had blown their heads off,” the report read.
Bradley felt useless when he attended to one of the soldiers who had half his head remaining who was begging him in his native language for help.
Ms Weston said she deserved an apology from the government for “what they’ve put her and her son through” claiming the “lack of support” for Bradley was negligent.