Royal Commission into ADF personnel suicide released

a royal commission into veteran suicide has demanded urgent sweeping changes to prevent more service men and women from taking their own lives defense leaders have promised to change the culture that's let personnel and their families down more than three years in the making today we are announcing a raw commission into defense and Veteran suicide that commission delivers a damning assessment of Defense leadership and successive governments many people simply turned the Blind Eye over many years and felt it was too hard more than 1,600 ADF Personnel took their own lives in the 14 years prior to this latest inquiry among them Navy officer David finny his mother Julianne who fought to establish the Royal commission shedding a tear as its work is delivered to Parliament this report is for David and the many others like him who have worn our nation's unform the report is scathing of the Department of Veterans Affairs calling for a new agency to be established to help Personnel transition into civilian life both sides of politics over a long period of time despite the best of intent have let these diggers down the more than 120 recommendations include proactive Outreach to every veteran within 12 months of their discharge and a special inquiry into sexual violence following nearly 800 reported incidents in the ADF over the past 5 years alone the government will thoroughly consider every recommendation the commission found that more than 80% of those who took their own lives had never been on the battlefield meaning cultures and practices need to change in the barracks and in defense leadership shut down the Australian Defense Force Academy cuz we're only getting a lot of little rich kids there with no life experience and they're the ones that end up in in charge the new chief of Defense David Johnston says he has been listening to the stories told at the Royal commission and is promising to change its culture for the better Cameron Ren Sky new