Joanna alerted the army about her husband. The ADF ‘vilified’ her. He later took his own life

Joanna Turner watched her husband fall apart. Ian, the “intelligent, kind” person she met in high school, had changed into a troubled, violent man after a series of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as a sniper in an elite commando unit.

Turner had been repeatedly sent back to war zones by the Australian Defence Force, even after he was hospitalised with post-traumatic stress disorder, reported for excessive drinking and charged with domestic violence offences.

Joanna Turner with a picture of her late husband Ian.Credit: Rhett Wyman

He took his own life in a Waterloo apartment in 2017.

After a four-year inquest, NSW Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame this week called for a major overhaul of the Australian Defence Force’s approach to PTSD, issuing 27 recommendations.

Grahame found the army had failed to adequately treat Turner and still harboured “harmful” attitudes toward mental illness. This included evidence by a major who said Turner “failed the organisation” by taking his own life.

The coroner also lashed the ADF’s conduct throughout the inquest, saying she had “no confidence” it had handed over all relevant information and that it had suggested Turner’s role in recovering a soldier’s body was a “figment” of his imagination.

But some of the strongest findings concerned the treatment of Joanna Turner, who had repeatedly sought to warn the army about her husband’s dangerous behaviour.

Corporal Ian Turner served in Timor-Leste, Afghanistan and Iraq.

“In my view, she was treated appallingly,” Grahame said.

“Again and again the violence that Corporal Turner was inflicting was described as ‘marital difficulties’. Euphemisms were used to excuse and disguise what was really going on as Corporal Turner’s mental health deteriorated.

“Joanna Turner was ignored and at times vilified.”

The couple, who separated in 2016, had known each other since high school.

“Early on in his life, he was very driven, focused, motivated, knew what he wanted,” Joanna told the Herald. “He was highly intelligent, kind.”

But army service changed him. In the late 2000s, after a tour of Afghanistan, he started to become violent toward Joanna, who serves in the army as a psychologist.

Turner took his own life in 2017.

“As he deteriorated over time, he just became more and more chaotic,” Joanna said.

Turner enlisted in the army as an 18-year-old in 2000, joining the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment and deployed twice to Timor-Leste in the following two years, before seeking new challenges in the 4th Battalion, Australia’s only full-time commando unit.

After his first deployment to Afghanistan with the commandos in 2007, he told a doctor he started “experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder like … frequent flashbacks, intrusive memories of nightmares and panic attacks”.

He was troubled by the death in combat of a close friend, Luke Worsley, and started drinking heavily.

The symptoms intensified as Turner was sent back into combat repeatedly in the next few years. He was present when a colleague, Damien Thomlinson, was severely injured by an improvised explosive device. Thomlinson, now an author and sportsman who competed in the Australian Survivor TV series, had both legs torn off and Turner said he had been struck by one of his mate’s severed feet.

During a psychological screening test in 2012, Turner reported re-experiencing symptoms relating to providing first aid to Thomlinson, stating that the “visual intensity of this scene still intrudes today with vivid images” and “monthly disturbing weird dreams”, as well as drinking “4-6 stubbies of beer most nights”. The assessing staff thought he would not cooperate with further support, so no follow-up was planned.

A padre with Turner’s unit in Iraq told the coroner he had seen Turner with a trophy allegedly taken from the corpse of the 100th person he had killed. The padre said the pair had a “big argument” over the banned practice of taking trophies from the dead. The padre told the inquiry Turner had a “moral injury from killing too many people … he was a sniper, so I think he killed a lot of people”.

Joanna Turner provided evidence that her husband had confided to her that he had committed atrocities, including stabbing a man to death, executing someone who he had to kneel “to see what it was like” and that he had shot a child. In a separate incident, a “baby had been killed by mistake”, she said.

While being treated in hospital in 2017, he told a doctor: “I have killed so many people and I cannot live with myself. I have killed innocents.”

Turner’s mental health had deteriorated significantly by 2014. Colleagues reported concerns that he was drinking excessively on a training course. He was charged by NSW Police with domestic violence offences including stalking, intimidation and threatening to kill, and was placed on a 12-month court order. From April to May, he was hospitalised with acute post-traumatic stress disorder.

But in 2015, he was redeployed to Iraq. The court heard that Turner was adept at minimising his symptoms when he was assessed and that a psychiatrist had found he was “well and stable” after “remarkable” improvements.

In 2016, Turner was deployed for another six months after a medical decision finding him unfit to serve was overturned.

The court heard an officer identified only as Major AF had lobbied for the reversal.

“What the f---? [Corporal Turner] … must deploy with us. No one can replace him,” another officer recalled Major AF saying.

The coroner found Major AF had given “partial and misleading” evidence about Turner’s role in the recovery of a soldier’s decomposed body, which was found to have been a trigger for his PTSD relapse.

Major AF also told the court Turner’s decision to kill himself was “unacceptable”.

“He had every opportunity to turn it around. He had every opportunity thrown at him, given to him. There’s a point where, I think, the organisation didn’t fail him but, for lack of a better term, and this is harsh, he failed the organisation”.

The coroner called the major’s remarks a “shocking pronouncement” and evidence of harmful attitudes within the ADF toward mental illness.

“This evidence from a senior officer indicates the size of the task ahead,” Grahame said. “It was clear to me that there was intransigent thinking at all levels of the organisation.”

The ADF argued in court that it had failed to “connect the dots” and realise the severity of Turner’s illness.

A copy of the findings was to be sent to Defence Minister Richard Marles, whose office said he was unavailable for comment.

In a statement, Chief of Army Simon Stuart said the ADF would carefully consider the recommendations before responding in detail.

“The conclusion of the Coronial Inquest into Corporal Ian Turner’s death is a significant and important step for his loved ones and friends,” Lieutenant-General Stuart said. “His loss is still deeply felt across the Army community.”

Joanna Turner said that “in order to look after his career, they just absolutely disregarded mine and the kids’ welfare”.

But she said she was not looking for “vengeance”. “At the end of the day, I just want Ian’s death to have some level of purpose,” she said.

“If that purpose is the system adjusts to better support members and families, that means some good came from a really awful situation my family experienced. That’s healing for me.”

If you are a current or former ADF member, or a relative, and need counselling or support, you can contact the Defence All-Hours Support Line on 1800 628 036 or Open Arms on 1800 011 046. Help is also available from the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 and Lifeline on 13 11 14.