START HERE: Welcome!

[tyme]

Hello and Welcome to the new SANE Forums Veteran Space!

We are very excited to be able to build a community for Veterans to connect with their peers and explore the similarities and differences in each member’s military experience.

This is YOUR space, and we sincerely hope that it can be a welcoming, supportive and safe space to both give and receive peer support, and to lift each other up.

We are excited to get to know each of you, and to kick this off, we would love to invite you to introduce yourself here by clicking the “Reply” button on this post.

Or, you might be ready to jump right in and introduce yourself by creating your own discussion thread!

How to do I do that you ask? Follow the below steps to create your first post.

1) Click the ‘Start new discussion’ button at the top of the page:

2) Type in a Subject title

3) Select the Location (pick which section from the drop menu works best for your post)

4) Enter your post

5) Then click Post!

If you get stuck, we recommend having a look at this how-to guide made by forums members, for forums members.

If you haven’t engaged in an anonymous space before it can be easy to make some slip-ups here and there, if you do don’t worry, that’s what our moderators are here for! Some helpful reminders of things to steer clear from in order to remain Anonymous: Your name, location, specific location of work (past or present), contact information including social media, essentially anything that could be used to identify you in real life! You can read more about this here: https://saneforums.org/t5/Welcome-and-getting-started/Staying-Anonymous-and-Maintaining-Your-Privacy...

You might spot some peer support workers/Community Builders welcoming people here and around the forums, who are always to answer any forum questions and provide support and guidance to navigating the space. You can also reach out to us via email on team@saneforums.org

Thank you for being here, we look forward to chatting soon!

@goatlatte @Azalea @Magpie22 @yggdrasil @Ocean11 @ajp @Breakfast68 @Faz22 @Toowrite @MamiyaFan @Sir @NikooJalilvand @OA_24 @Ron64 @TM71 @RJ97 @Croix @Veronica6 @Reed @EvR @JenGee @AstroB @TipToe @Radder @AlexAble @PeppyPatti @Harmonee @AloneBroken @01_Humblebee @RahulSANECCO @RugbyAFL @SouthsNo1 @Greentothebone @Oaktree @TAB @JJSmith @AllAboutMissy 

[Oaktree]

Hi guys,

I am excited for this new space. It is helpful to tag members that you are replying to by using the @ symbol and starting to type the name, then just select the name from the drop down box. Like this @tyme, do that!

I will make a new discussion to introduce myself.

[tyme]

Definitely @Oaktree !

A introductory space will be ace!

[Oaktree]

@tyme 

Like this, do that is an Army training thing…

[RiverSeal]

Hey Veterans!

I'm RiverSeal, a Senior Peer Support Worker with SANE and Moderator on the Forums. So lovely to be in this space for Veterans!

My father was in the Navy for 16.5 years from the 50's through to the 70's and had a lot of postings. Dad was a Chief Petty Officer and an Electrical Technician who worked both at sea and on base with aircraft. He trained with the US Navy on their systems and brought his skills and knowledge back to the RAN.

Dad always spoke very fondly of his time in the Navy, his time at sea, and in the US. He was a proud Navy man with RAN tattoos on his arms, which came with some interesting stories of time ashore in foreign countries. His time in the Navy shaped our lives growing up and also instilled the values he learned in the Navy in our lives.

Dad had left the Navy and met my mum overseas, which comes with other interesting stories, as he carried on his adventurous life after his service. Dad continued to work with the ADF as a civilian, and my sister and I were born into a life of visiting Dad on bases he worked at and moving around Australia for his work.

Not being in the ADF myself, I don’t share that lived experience, but through my father and his service and work as a civilian, the ADF has had a big influence on my life. My father was an amazing teacher, and he taught me and my sister life skills as he had learned them in the Navy.

The Navy also provided Dad with a community of people to reminisce and share stories after his service through the RSL and the Fleet Air Arm Association. I always enjoyed seeing his face light up when he told his stories with his fellow servicemen.

It’s amazing that we now have this space on the SANE Forums for Veterans too!

Welcome everyone, I look forward to you sharing your stories, challenges and experiences with the community.

Take care

RiverSeal

[Sleeper]

Hi everyone ..im trying.

[Pateam1000]

Hello Brothers and Sisters,

I'm Pateam1000. I served for 10 years, 5 years in the Army and 5 Years in the RAAF. I was an Advanced Medic in both organisations.

I was medically discharged at the age of 40 after an pretty horrific experience. I am now 49 years old.

I have had many ups and downs since my discharge, sometimes more downs than ups to be honest, however over the years I have formulated a system that now sees me enjoying life far more than I have in the past.

My mission now is to share my experiences with as many Veterans as possible, most importantly how I recovered from the horrible conditions I listed before.

I will be honest, some days are not great, especially after intrusive dreams but I am in a far better place than I ever have been.

I feel it is my duty to share my story and recovery techniques with as many Veterans as possible so together, through honest dialogue other Veterans can begin to feel better and again enjoy life as they did in their preservice life.

If anyone out there is struggling and interested in having a chat I encourage you to message me.

My time and training as a Medic taught me many valuable skills but one in particular stands out to this day, listening without judgement.

Sometimes all someone wants is for someone to listen, without interruption, without giving advice, (the advice part comes later and only if the Veteran wants it).

So if anyone wants any of the aforementioned feel free to send me a message. I am here to help you in any way I can.

I hope you are doing OK my brothers and sisters.

By for now.

Stay safe.

Pateam1000