After giving evidence to Australia’s Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, Flinders University researcher and academic Associate Professor Ben Wadham has been invited to join a Canadian think tank to change military culture.
Associate Professor Wadham, who is director of the Open Door: Veteran Transition Integration and Wellbeing program at Flinders University, has been asked to join the Collaborative Research Network on Transforming Military Cultures, an initiative supported by the Canadian Department of National Defence.
This collaborative network brings together the voices of critical scholars, practitioners and those with lived experience, both in Canada and around the world, to address the challenges facing military culture, such as the prevention of systematic racism and sexual misconduct.
The project aims to provide an integrated and innovative framework to understand and tackle the root causes of military culture problems to come up with enduring mechanisms for change.
Associate Professor Wadham is leading research at the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work into understanding and supporting service personnel and their families.
On ANZAC Day, he called for better supports for military personnel as they transition back into civilian life.
“After service, military personnel require support to find develop a new sense of identity, purpose and belonging,” says Associate Professor Wadham.
“The Australian Defence Force and Department of Veterans’ Affairs are key institutions in this process and while it is a key responsibility, they also require the engagement of civilian organisations, employers, agencies and the wider community.
“It is a national obligation for every Australian. While not every Australian serves, every Australian benefits from those who do.”
Veteran entry pathways into university, including the Flinders University’s Open Door program and four-week foundation course, the Military Academic Pathway Program, are important programs that are easing the transition for some veterans.