Mamamia team writes:
Last week brought the news that five Australian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, and another two have been injured.
As our lost diggers are flown home today, we’re thinking of all the families of our soldiers. Here’s a moving insight into their lives:
Kate Stone-Crouch writes…
Imagine this: your husband is away for work. He has been away for a little while, and sometimes it is hard to keep in touch, so every chance you get to communicate is taken. He sends you a message over Skype – can you talk? Of course! So you turn on the camera, make the call – and he interrupts his greeting to take off his sidearm and body armour. The ‘little while’? Six months. The commute? Downtown Kabul, Afghanistan. Welcome to life as the wife of a serving officer in the Australian Defence Force. Sometimes it really, really sucks.
It is extremely hard to explain defence life at times. For example, my husband is a Commander in the Royal Australian Navy – so why is he in Afghanistan? Only the Army is there, right? Well, no – there are a number of RAN and RAAF personnel on the ground, doing various essential jobs. Over the past 14 years together, there have been a number of separations – 6 months being the longest – and my husband can’t talk much about what he does; not because I won’t understand, but because what he does simply can’t be talked about. This makes ‘how was your day, dear?’ a very short conversation.
It is also difficult when Defence is in the media in a negative light – which sadly is fairly frequently. I don’t excuse the bad behaviour that occurs in the forces in any way, shape or form – it is despicable and usually the work of inadequate bullies. What I do think is that these twerps would behave the way they do in any walk of life, but the profile they have in Defence means it is brought to national attention much more readily. I do know that our personal friends within all three forces are honourable, loyal men and women who just want to serve their country – which is not something that a lot of people have the inclination towards or the stamina and drive to follow through with.