Interview with Damien Thomlinson, Afghanistan veteran
Damien Thomlinson served in the 2nd Commando Regiment. In 2009 he lost both of his legs in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast. Damien had a chat to DVA TV about life after service and the importance of finding a community.
Damien joined the Australian Army in 2005 through the Special Forces Direct Recruiting Scheme and served in the 2nd Commando Regiment.
In April 2009, while on night patrol in the Tarin Kowt District of South Afghanistan, the vehicle Damien was travelling in ran over an IED planted by the Taliban.
Damien lost both of his legs in the incident, and broke his hands, wrists, nose, dislocated his shoulder and tore open his lips.
The war in Afghanistan ended on that night for Damien, but his real battle began as he learned to walk again with the aid of his prosthetic legs.
‘I think for the transition phase I was a bit more self-destructive,’ he said.
‘I genuinely don’t think mentally I was healthy as I thought I was. I was showing every sign of someone who was in a fair bit of distress.’
Since leaving the Australian Defence Force, Damien has starred as Ralph Morgan in Hacksaw Ridge, competed at the 2014 and 2016 Invictus Games, and is the author of his autobiography Without Warning.
His advice for fellow veterans is to ‘be proud of what you were involved in’.
‘You’ve stepped up, you’ve signed the line and you’ve put the time down into something that is widely respected around Australia,’ he said.
‘You’ll always have that’.
Damien’s perseverance in the face of adversity embodies the spirit our diggers are renowned for.