Michaela Gilewicz says the RSL is ‘a lot more open to young veterans’

There used to be a time when if you had served post-Vietnam War, you were shunned by the RSL, but one member says that’s no longer the case.

RSL sub-branch member Michaela Gilewicz. Picture: Toby Zerna

A young Tasmanian veteran is encouraging others like her to join an RSL, something she says helped her adjust to civilian life.

Kingston sub-branch committee member Michaela Gilewicz said the RSL was now more welcoming than it previously was.

“There was definitely a time where if you weren’t from the Vietnam era, it’s not that you weren’t welcome, but you were definitely looked at when you walked in, and people wouldn’t want to know why you were there and what your association was,” she said.

“The RSL is a lot more open to younger veterans, the needs of them, and providing things that younger veterans are interested in.

“Also, the club rooms are more engaged in having younger veterans and their families come in.

The Kingston RSL sub-branch headquarters. Picture: Supplied.

“Broadly, the community and the organisation as a whole is a lot more approachable for someone like me.”

Since the start of 2023, the number of veterans aged between 20 and 40 joining RSL Tasmania has increased by 60 per cent.

Ms Gilewicz joined the army straight out of school when she was 18 but was medically discharged after serving for three and a half years.

“I really struggled getting back into civilian life. The RSL was the first place I was taken to after I was discharged,” she said.

“I was really unwell mental healthwise - very depressed, very anxious - and I wasn’t aware of what resources were available to me, which is interesting because I grew up as a DVA kid; my dad was a war veteran and died when I was young.

“The RSL was the first place that an advocate saw me and spoke to me about what supports are available, were very welcoming and pointed me in the right direction.”

Ms Gilewicz now assists those seeking mental health resources within RSL Tasmania.

She has also participated in the Invictus Games.

RSL Tasmania CEO John Hardy at the Royal Hobart Regatta Grounds. Picture: Chris Kidd

RSL Tasmania president John Hardy said providing good quality veteran services was his aim.

“When I first came into this role, we had to discuss the elephant in the room, and the elephant in the room is the RSL,” Mr Hardy said.

“Those in the First World War had a go at the people in the Second World War. And the Second World War veterans were appalling towards the Vietnam veterans.”

Mr Hardy said it was all about breaking down barriers.

“Whenever I speak to old veterans, as a younger veteran, the actual contact is being a veteran.

“The stories are the same.

“It doesn’t matter if it was the Kokoda Trail or somewhere very hot and dusty in the middle of Afghanistan; it’s the same thing.

“It’s that connection of community that we’ve really got to get right.”