Cassidy Burger’s family advocate for more beds at Ward 17, and safe RSL Victoria spaces

Cassidy Burger always wanted to be a soldier. But now, after serving in Afghanistan, the father-of-two is on the cusp of sinking — and several of his mates have sunk. Now his family is pleading for more mental health support for our veterans.

Cassidy Burger served as a sapper in the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment.

He was just two when he knew he wanted to be a soldier.

The barefoot “hippie kid” — his mother’s description — was fiercely independent and protective.

His family were his world and that didn’t change when he joined the army.

To Cassidy, his mates were his family and became part of that inner circle that needed protecting.

In 2011, the then 21-year-old was deployed to Afghanistan with the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment, returning for a second deployment in 2013.

“We knew Cassidy’s path,” Cassidy’s mother Sam Mackenzie said.

“He always wanted to protect his family and his country.”

“He’s six foot, six (198cm) — like he was built to protect people.”

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Sam Mackenzie with son Cassidy Burger.

But now the 29-year-old father-of-two is on the cusp of sinking and his family and friends are advocating for two things — a dedicated mental health service just for veterans, and for veteran-friendly RSL spaces which are not open to the public.

In 2005 the board of the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital decided to open its dedicated veteran mental health Ward 17 to include emergency services personnel and TAC clients.

The ward does not take acute patients, so people are forced to take their sick family member to the public emergency department.

Ms Mackenzie said it had been a struggle to get Cassidy the help he needed.

“We’d be in ICU with him, and because we had nowhere to put him, we’d have to take him home, live on eggshells that he wasn’t going to go and kill himself, before we could get him somewhere,” she said.

“He’s been in the Melbourne Clinic, because they couldn’t get him into Ward 17.

She said he’s been in the ICU, then back to Ward 17, then into ICU.

Cassidy with sons (right) and sister Lerida with her daughters and son.

“Last time he went in, he was beyond the point they could care for him … he got too bad,” Ms Mackenzie said.

Cassidy’s sister Lerida Burger said having the correct help available for veterans straight away was so critical.

“More beds in Ward 17 was absolutely crucial,” Ms Burger said.

“If Ward 17 wasn’t open to civilians then they may actually have the capacity to treat our struggling vets.

“Right now these men and women have to wait months to get a bed when they need to be taken care of straight away.”

Hawthorn RSL sub-branch president Lucas Moon said it took three months to get Cassidy help.

“Ward 17 taking acute patients would save veteran lives and stop them ending up in the justice system,” he said.

Hawthorn RSL sub-branch members Brendan Dover, Craig Horne, David Petersen, Ricky Bastow, John Torpey and Lucas Moon. Picture: Hamish Blair

Leader previously reported Cassidy was given a 12-month community corrections order after he took a knife into a police station and parked a stolen car loaded with drugs, ammunition and cash out the front on March 23.

Inside the stolen car police found a number of drugs, weapons and $2700 cash.

Mr Burger pleaded guilty to several charges against him.

Right now Cassidy is in rehabilitation at a farm in the country run by a fellow veteran.

Mr Moon said the Hawthorn RSL sub-branch — which is a no pokie venue and not open to the public — had provided Cassidy and his family with legal, financial and emotional support.

But he along with Cassidy’s family is advocating for more support from RSL Victoria.

He said RSL Victoria needs to get its “great voice” back again and advocate for the plight of suffering veterans.

Veteran Jesse Bird with his mother Karen Bird.

“It can’t stand idly by while watching this generation of veterans kill themselves, being over represented in jail while government’s diminish services such as Ward 17,” Mr Moon said.

“The RSL needs a voice again and it needs to hold the Government to account.

“It’s their moral obligation to advocate.”

Mother of army veteran Jesse Bird, who committed suicide and was the centre of a recent Coroners inquiry into the Department of Veterans’ Affairs responsibility into his death, said Cassidy had been “left rudderless”.

“Someone like this young man has been left rudderless,” Mrs Bird said.

“The first mistake was made when he was cast out of the army.

“Cast out for the family and the poor wife to pick up the pieces.”

She said this was the same system failure that her son Jesse lived with as well.

“If you can get a bloke to join an RSL they won’t take their life,” she said.

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Cassidy’s story

In 2014, Cassidy returned from Afghanistan a changed man.

His mother said her son’s time overseas scarred him, leaving him with the long-lasting effects of PTSD and major depressive disorder.

And while he was still functioning, and studying to be a dietitian, things began to change two years ago on a trip overseas with his wife for a wedding, after having an episode.

And then just six months ago, something went wrong. Cassidy went off the rails and took a sharp dive into drug addiction — GHB.

Cassidy Burger was a sapper in the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment.

“Try losing eight mates through suicide. All in horrific ways,” Ms Mackenzie said.

“I watched what number seven did to him. And when eight happened, I lost him.

“The last one got on a bike and drove deliberately into a road train.”

Since then Cassidy has tried several times to take his own life.

“They expect to take their own lives. That’s how they feel,” Ms Mackenzie said.

Cassidy was a sapper, and it was his job to head out first and clear the path of any hidden homemade bombs – Improvised Explosive Devices.

Fellow sapper Ricky Bastow was also an engineer but because of his training was deployed with the Special Operations Task Group.

“You’re looking for searching for IEDs and it takes 100 per cent concentration,” Mr Bastow said.

“This is what Cass would have looked like leading a route search at night”. Picture: Ricky Bastow

“Not only do you need to look for the device but you need to have a situational awareness and an idea of how the enemy is trying to exploit you.

“Also in that situation you have a lot of fear that you need to deal with as well.”

For Cassidy this was reality — he stepped on an IED, but it didn’t detonate.

“A metal detector is your primary resource when looking for IEDs,” Mr Bastow said.

“But things like nonmetallic spoons or prodders are also very handy for a search when on your hands and knees trying to uncover the unknown device. You don’t because some magnetically operated.

“You don’t know what the booby trap is. Everything is on the table and anything can go bang at any time.”

Ricky Bastow, John Torpey and Lucas Moon at Hawthorn RSL sub-branch. Picture: Hamish Blair

Mr Bastow said one of the memories that sticks with his mate was when Cassidy was sent out to a suicide bombing as part of a quick reaction force.

“A lot of the things you get to see first hand can be even more real than in the movies,” he said.

“And they can stick with a person, which can lead to distressing memories and can contribute to some soldiers PTSD.

“Every individual’s reaction is very different; It’s an individual journey.”

Cassidy’s younger sister Lerida Burger said she can’t describe the things her brother saw and experienced in Afghanistan.

“He refused to speak about a lot of it,” Ms Burger said.

“Cassidy came home and was just expected to fit back into the life he left, he couldn’t even look at his own kids he was so traumatised. He couldn’t cook an egg. He couldn’t even sleep in the same room as anyone.”

She said her brother, who many knew as a good man, had resorted to drug abuse to block out his trauma.

“RSLs need to play a better role in veteran welfare and engaging with the veteran community,” Ms Burger said.

“Veterans need a place of purpose, a place to feel safe, a place with support and if RSLs were more involved in veteran welfare instead of pokies and attracting the wrong crowd our veteran’s may then be able to stay connected with the community and they need.

She said if dedicated mental health support and a safe space were readily available to Cassidy from early on it would have greatly helped her brother and others who were suffering.

“The correct help available straight away is so critical,” she said.

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