Praise as Waitara RSA celebrates 100 years
The Defence Minister has commended a Taranaki Returned Services Association for its work in supporting the needs of contemporary veterans.
‘‘You’ve taken it upon yourself, and I really appreciate it, to keep a particular eye on our young veterans,’’ Ron Mark told the Waitara RSA at its centenary celebration on Saturday.
‘‘Your connectivity with contemporary vets stands out to me.’’
The minister, a former army officer who served 20 years in the military, was one of about 80 people, including present and former service people and their families, who gathered at the Waitara District Services & Citizens Club to mark the anniversary.
During the ceremony, the youngest veteran present, Jake Dagger, 34, and the oldest, Roy Holloway, 94, were invited to cut the commemorative cake.
Roberta Milne, Bruce Mabey and Barry Woodward were presented with Defence Service Medals.
Congratulating the RSA on 100 years, Mark described it as an outstanding, thriving branch of the association with a diverse mix of members.
‘‘You truly are exemplars. You are a model to every other RSA that thinks that it can’t achieve, that it can’t succeed, that it can’t continue,’’ he said.
‘‘I take my hat off to you.’’ A common thread in Mark’s address was the mental wellbeing of young veterans.
While some support services grapple to understand the experiences and needs of younger service people, Mark said the Waitara RSA was setting a benchmark in its engagement with contemporary veterans.
‘‘You take a deep personal interest in the wellbeing of your veterans and you are well connected, better connected than most RSAs that I have walked into in my humble experience.’’
Due to them now operating from within a ‘‘fishbowl’’, he said young service people have to deal with a different level of scrutiny than older veterans ever had to face.
‘‘And that fishbowl is surrounded by the lenses and the microphones of the world,’’ Mark said.
They are faced with splitsecond decisions which, if they get wrong, will be torn apart and analysed for years to come.
The mental pressure for current service people is huge, Mark said.
‘‘They need to be far more astute, far more aware and far more diligent about the rules of engagement.’’
Waitara RSA president Paul Gundesen said the association was keeping its younger members supported by linking in with other veteran support services.
Of the nearly 170 current members, a number were contemporary veterans to whom the association provided free memberships.
In the past year they had come to the aid of at least five service people in need, Gundesen said.
The association responded to charitable trust No Duff, which works to identify the vulnerable.
‘‘We basically react immediately.
‘‘Rather than going through the process of committee meetings, we’ve got a group that make the decision and deal with it immediately,’’ he said.
‘‘A lot of these people who need help need to be dealt with within a couple of hours. Usually when they reach out for help it is at crisis point.’’