New study into needs of Middle East veterans and families
The Returned & Services League of Australia (RSLA) has launched a major initiative to research the impacts on veterans and their families of ADF service since 2002, particularly in conflicts in the Middle East.
RSLA National President Greg Melick said the ground-breaking project aims to identify and better understand the needs and concerns of contemporary veterans and their families, and ensure that they are provided with the support and services they deserve.
‘There have been several studies undertaken but no follow up of these veterans for more than a decade,’ he said. ‘It is clear that a significant piece of research is needed to better understand how we can support today’s veterans and their families.
‘The first phase of the project is the Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO) Scoping Study, which will lead into a much broader and ongoing study to examine and assess the issues and concerns identified in much greater detail. This broader study will recommend enhancements and national strategies to improve the range and level of services provided to today’s veterans and their families.
‘It will look at the uniqueness of conflicts since 2002, review previous studies, and identify the specific physical and mental costs on the veteran community, including Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. It will also look at the impact on families, noting the difference to previous conflicts as there was never a sense that the nation was at war, as well as the legacy of the outcomes of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.’
The study is being fully funded and led by the RSL and is independent of government, but is being supported by DVA, the Department of Defence and the Repatriation Commission.
Andrew Kefford, Deputy Secretary Policy and Programs at DVA, said: ‘The outcomes from this important initiative will address the growing concerns of veterans from the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflicts since 2002, and particularly the uniqueness of the Iraq and Afghanistan experiences. This is nothing less than our veterans and their families deserve.’
Repatriation Commissioner Kahlil Fegan said that the study is an exciting project that will help us to better understand the unique effects of operational service on those veterans who, like him, served in the Middle East.
‘I, like many of my fellow Afghanistan and Iraq veterans, believe there needs to be a closer examination of the impact of these conflicts, to help us avoid the ‘Long Shadow’ cast by the Vietnam War, where decades went by before anyone began seriously investigating what effect the war had had, and what it meant for meeting the needs of those veteran and their families.’
The scoping study will be undertaken by an experienced, multidisciplinary consortium led by Gallipoli Medical Research, with Griffith University and the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research.
Image:
Front L to R: RSL Australia National President Greg Melick and Gallipoli Consortium’s Justin Greenwell.
Back L to R: Major General Wade Stothart, Veteran Family Advocate Commissioner Gwen Cherne, DVA Secretary Alison Frame, Repatriation Commissioner Kahlil Fegan, Gallipoli Medical Research CEO Miriam Kent, RSL Chief Executive Officer Phil Winter, DVA Deputy Secretary Andrew Kefford, Group Captain Darren Dolan, Sub Lieutenant Elise Fisher.