VC heroes call on Defence top brass to take responsibility for veteran suicide

Australian Victoria Cross heroes Ben Roberts-Smith and Dan Keighran say Defence top brass need to take responsibility for helping veterans adjust to civilian life.

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Two of our decorated Victoria Cross heroes have called on Australia’s military leaders to take responsibility for the shocking rate of veteran suicides — and to pay more than “lip service” to helping Diggers adjust to civilian life.

Afghanistan veterans Ben Roberts-Smith and Dan Keighran point the finger at Defence top brass for the failure to prepare servicemen and women for difficulties in transitioning from the ADF after traumatic experiences.

Australia’s most decorated former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith will join a panel of military experts at The Daily Telegraph’s Save Our Heroes Summit next week. Picture: Sean Davey

Mr Keighran, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry in Afghanistan in 2010, said: “It’s a real issue and I would hate to see people lose their life because of a lack of help.”

Mr Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated former soldier who was awarded the Victoria Cross and Medal of Gallantry, said: “Anyone who has served who is looking to self-harm or commit suicide, part of the reason for that is because of their service.”

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But he said Defence chiefs took no responsibility for veterans from the moment they left the military.

He will join a panel of military experts at The Daily Telegraph’s Save Our Heroes Summit next week, which will finally give voice to the mothers of five veterans who have taken their own lives.

Afghanistan veteran Daniel Keighran has lost friends to suicide. Picture: Supplied

“One veteran suicide is too many,” Mr Roberts-Smith said.

“This summit is important because we need to understand what is actually happening in this veteran suicide space.”

At the heart of the problem, he believes, is the lack of preparation and training the Australian Defence Force gives its members for civilian life.

“My biggest issue is the transition. Suddenly there is no more contact,” Mr Roberts-Smith said.

It was in total contrast to the months of training a civilian receives on joining the armed forces, he said.

“When you join the military they have to break you down from being a civilian and turn you into being a soldier. They have got to stop your civilian mindset.”

But he said members of the ADF were not given similar help to remove their military mindset and prepare them for civilian life when they left.

“A lot of social issues veterans face when they leave is because of the lack of proper transitioning. If we can get that right then social issues like domestic violence and drug abuse will naturally sort themselves out,” he said.

“When I transitioned I got to see it first-hand. I was a high-profile soldier who, when I left, felt a lot of it was just lip service — stuff like ‘have you got a resume’.”

Victoria Cross recipient and former SAS Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith in Afghanistan in 2010.

Mr Roberts-Smith went on long service leave when he returned from Afghanistan in 2012. Eight months later he decided to discharge and was told to report to a barracks for just one day to fill out some forms and “tick some boxes”.

“If I am a high-profile guy and they can do that to me what happens to the 20-year-old Digger with no life experience who has seen his best mate vaporised by an IED in ­Afghanistan and walks out?” he said.

“That’s why guys disappear. Once you leave, Defence does not count these people and that’s the issue … there is no accountability.”

Daniel Keighran VC after presenting his Victoria Cross to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Mr Roberts-Smith said that for too long the Department of Veterans Affairs had been held accountable for veteran suicide when, in fact, “DVA has come on in leaps and bounds”.

“The problem is the culture of Defence. We have military leaders who should be standing up for their people, not just those serving but those who have served as well,” he said.

Mr Roberts-Smith has strongly denied war crimes allegations levelled against him and has launched a defamation action against Nine-owned Fairfax newspapers. Despite the public scrutiny, he has not been contacted by Defence or offered any support.

Mr Keighran, who has also lost mates to suicide, said: “I would like Defence to acknowledge that more needs to be done in relation to veterans’ mental health when they transition into civilian life.

“I would hate for men and women to lose their lives because they haven’t been given support they need during and after service.”

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Originally published as VC heroes call on Defence top brass to take responsibility for veteran suicide