Service and Beyond

Stefan and Evelyn Huss tell their story of Stefan's service with the German armed forces and the powerful and beneficial impact that the Invictus Games and sports recovery has had on them and their family. Stefan Huss is a still serving Sergeant in the Bundeswehr. After his second Afghanistan mission in 2013 he developed post-traumatic stress disorder. His treatment in recovery for this condition...

Francine Dudfield served 7 years as an Australian Army medic and trained to support special forces operations, going on to obtaining advanced rescue qualifications with New South Wales emergency services and deploying on operations within the Asia Pacific. After suffering a series of deteriorating medical conditions Francine was discharged from Army, dealing at the time with chronic pian, family b...

As an engineer with the Royal Australian Air Force Rachel Kerrigan saw active service with the International Coalition Against Terrorism in 2002, five years later a series of life changing events triggered trauma from her deployment and she was medically discharged. In 2010 she was diagnosed with PTSD and suffered a stress induced stroke. The turning point to recovery was the ever present support...

Kionte Joined the United States Marine Corps to meet a call for adventure and to go beyond his home town of Compton California. On completing infantry training Kionte saw service in Iraq and later in Afghanistan, where he was struck by an IED blast resulting in the loss of his leg, traumatic brain injury and PTSD. Soon after his repatriation to the US Kionte turned to the track, trying his hand at...

David is a former British Army infantry officer who suffered a near fatal wound in a combat exchange in Afghanistan in 2009. Following his injury and after his military career, David has been instrumental in the Invictus Games movement playing key roles in the organising committee of the inaugural games, as UK team captain and as a competitor where he was won 14 medals across 3 games. David's rema...

How do you approach building credibility in a new professional role, or choosing where to invest time and effort to get ahead? What is the most important trait to have, to get through setbacks and hurdles when undergoing your career transition? How to you grow the abilities of your team, while engendering trust and investing in your team's performance not just now but for the future? We address th...

Today's Remembrance Day special features Pete Rudland veteran of SASR and Commando service and RSL Ambassador. After a highly decorated 28 year Defence career and after surviving a 2010 Blackhawk helicopter crash while deployed in Afghanistan, Pete shaped his transition from service and built a new career around assisting other veterans and emergency service personnel through counselling, coaching...

This is Part 3. of the Boeing Veterans series and features Dr Brendan Nelson AO - President Boeing Australia New Zealand and South Pacific. Dr Nelson commenced his career as a medical doctor in Tasmania and was elected President of the Australian Medical Association before moving onto senior roles in government and public life. These included Leader of the Opposition, Minister for Defence, and Amb...

Amy List is director sustainment operations at Boeing Defence Australia and the Executive Sponsor of the Boeing Veterans Working Group.   Joining the Royal Australian Air Force and training as an aeronautical engineer Amy served across Asia Pacific and Middle Eastern theatres, starting her career on the P-3 Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft. Amy transitioned from service into a role in defence indust...

Service and Beyond stars anew in 2022 with a 3 part series on Boeing veterans.   Episode 1 of the series features Krishell Ennis, former Navy Communications Sailor. Krishell served for 9 years in the Navy before finding her way through numerous jobs and onto Boeing working on the Wakulda Air Battlespace Management program.   In this episode Krishell discusses the challenges of raising a young fami...

This is part 3 in a 3 part series on Australian veteran owned company WithYouWithMe   In this episode we speak with Javiera Soto WithYouWithMe account executive responsible for directing much of the business growth beyond the company's initial veteran focus, and onto other under represented groups and other countries.   As a military spouse of over 20 years, a registered nurse and having worked in...

This is part 2 in a 3 part series on veteran owned company WithYouWithMe   Be fierce, Be curious, Be transparent, Be the customer   These are the values that guide WithYouWithMe on their mission to transform the way companies approach hiring, globally.   Starting with veteran underemployment WithYouWithMe has expanded into programs for spouses, indigenous and neurodiverse and they're not only empl...

This is part 1 in a 3 part series on veteran owned company With You With Me   WithYouWithMe began with the idea that those leaving Defence ought to be hired based on potential rather than on experience. Armed with this hypothesis WYWM set out and succeeded to disrupt conventional hiring practices, and has laid a new path for ADF veterans into tech careers.   From this starting point WYWM quickly e...

Dane Christison is an Army veteran and founder and CEO of Survive to Thrive Nation, Australia's premier online mental health, transition and personal development program for ADF personnel and veterans.   Experiencing family tragedy growing up in Sth East Queensland, Dane found direction in service to the nation with the Australian Army and deployed to East Timor and Iraq. After leaving the militar...

With the end of the year approaching and new jobs and opportunities on the horizon for many this episode focuses on mindsets tools and tips that only a transition coach can bring to your transition journey.   Gillian Kelly is an award winning career coach, resume writer, and self proclaimed future of work nerd. She understands what employers are looking for when hiring veterans, and she's worked w...

This special episode is to mark RUOkay Day. Catch the abbreviated video version at https://youtu.be/aVvgA4w11Hw On RUOkay Day we're reminded of the power of a simple conversation to help save a life. Our guest for this episode is Dane Christison, Army veteran and founder of Survive to Thrive Nation - a proven and remarkably successful program for helping transitioning veterans find inspiration, mo...

Kristen Hansen is trusted by business leaders and executives to advise and coach them through periods of major transformation. Kristen's philosophy is that by understanding the mechanics of the brain you can engineer your own change and lead yourself through any personal or career transition.   As a business coach leadership expert and international keynote speaker with over 20 years of sales and...

Miriam Dwyer is the CEO of Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation one of the country's premier institutions for the advancing health outcomes of ADF veterans and their families.   Located at Greenslopes hospital in Brisbane, Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation (GMRF) undertakes clinical trials research and patient treatment targeting diseases and health concerns that disproportionately affect ADF...

Robert Skoda is a former Air Force Ground Defence Officer and now General Manager Veteran Affairs and Policy at RSL Queensland.   During Rob's career he served in various command, leadership and training roles deploying to East Timor and numerous Middle East theatre rotations. On leaving Defence Rob pivoted into overseas remote site resource and mining work, before moving into commercial managemen...

Tim Thomas joined the Army at the age of 29, where he was fast tracked into special forces service seeing action in East Timor and Afghanistan. Enjoying his career in Army Tim was set on serving the remainder of his career in uniform until a personal commitment he had made was called into question.   Tim stood firm on his belief in the face of pressure from his fellow soldiers and chain of command...

John served 5 years in the Australian Army as an infantry soldier amassing a range of skills, weapon and vehicle qualifications with ultimate aim of deploying to Afghanistan.  Despite his continual efforts John's posting trajectory and a later leg injury meant he was overlooked for deployment, leaving him dealing with shame and feelings of inadequacy of a solider trained but not deployed to the ba...

Jason Dunn served 9 years full time in the Australian Army in transport roles across numerous operational deployments, and was attached to both Australian and British Special Forces units.   On initially discharging from service Jason experienced difficulties obtaining employment and finding meaning in civilian life. Defining himself as an Australian soldier from age 17, leaving service he struggl...

This is the introduction to Season 2 where Matt discusses the theme of season 2; The Identity shift and Adjustment to life after service careers.   Matt reveals his own adjustment experience in his early Defence career and how his identity struggles upon discharge from service following academic training failures have shaped his thoughts on the challenges many face in their ADF transition.   He al...

This ANZAC Day special episode was recorded in Canberra on 25 April 2021, marking the return of the public commemoration of ANZAC Day following last year's cancellation of official events around that nation due to COVID19.   In this episode I speak with a number of fellow veterans about their experiences of ANZAC Day under lockdown in 2020, and the special meaning the day has to them now they're r...

In this the final episode of season 1, I host an open discussion with my fellow veteran, advocate and podcaster Heston Russell. Heston's remarkable story of special forces service, his openness over his mental health battles, and his public stand for those without a voice is changing the face of the veteran's discussion in Australia.   We talk about our own mental health journeys, emotional compar...