“Every battle is different. But we all come back with the same scars.”
These are the words of former digger Tim Bolstad, who served multiple tours in East Timor and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
He joined the military in 1994 and served for 16 years.
Now, he works by day as a truck driver. In his spare time he volunteers as the treasurer of the Springwood RSL, juggling the club’s books and advocating for the city’s youngest veterans.
“I am a proud supporter of veterans,” he said.
“Young ones aren’t really recognised, and that’s a stigma we’re trying to break.
“We’ve all served. We’ve all done our time. A veteran is a veteran, no matter what.
“The biggest frustration vets have is there is no recognition and no support.”
The local RSL recently launched a program to support homeless veterans, which the club said was finding great success.
Mr Bolstad said many of his peers continued to face severe physical and mental consequences of their military service, but struggled to receive the help they needed.
“I came back with PTSD from the tsunami and the first part of Timor,” he said.
“This is the thing that upsets us all. When you transition from the military, there’s not much awareness of what’s involved and what’s out there.
“It took me four years to know there about a White Card from the [Department of Veterans’ Affairs], and that was only because I got onto the RSLs.”
The club’s next plan to boost awareness of the plights of modern veterans will come in the form of a memorial day, to be held from 4pm on 12 July, at Springwood Park on Cinderella Drive, Springwood.
RSL club president Jamie McLellan said young veterans were “virtually neglected” by the community when they returned home from peace keeping duties, and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“They have been left out by the government and everybody else, and what we’re trying to do at the Springwood RSL Sub-Branch is recognise these veterans for what they did and make them feel part of not only the RSL community, but the whole community,” he said.
