OUR DEFENCE PERSONNEL NEED MORE SUPPORT

MILLIONS of dollars are spent each year on training our Australian Defence Force personnel. Billions more go towards equipping them with the latest hardware to operate effectively.

Their training is so highly regarded, their skills are often called upon to train armed forces in our region.

As Australia’s largest garrison city, Townsville’s Lavarack Barracks is base for about 3000 soldiers at the frontline of our combat-ready ranks.

When they are deployed to conflict zones, they go in the knowledge they are highly trained and up to meeting an array of challenges. But when their role has ended and it’s time to ship home, you would think the support

surely a much larger investment can be made in their mental health

would continue as the knowledge of post-conflict trauma continues to become better understood.

Yet, as the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide heard in Townsville yesterday, just one parttime psychologist working two days a week was available to ADF personnel at Lavarack.

Commander of the 3rd Brigade Brigadier Kahlil Fegan was questioned about the adequacy of this, which included an up to eight-week wait for a consultation.

He said the set-up was probably “as good as we are able to get” during business as usual at the base but said if the service could not scale up to meet high demand, like when troops return from deployment, it was not adequate.

Given the investment made in training and equipping our personnel, surely a much larger investment can be made in their mental health and wellbeing.