FORUMS

Connect with people who understand what you are going through, seek advice and surround yourself with support. We're free, anonymous, and professionally moderated 24/7.

  • 47,612Members
  • 1,358,869Posts
  • 1,400,000Visitors
Shoulder to Shoulder: Veteran Families

Welcome to the Shoulder to Shoulder: Veteran Families Space!

Welcome to the Shoulder to Shoulder: Veteran Families Space!

Hello and welcome to the new SANE Forums Veteran Family and Carer’s Space!

We are very excited to be able to build a community for the family, friends, and carers of current and ex-serving ADF members to connect with their peers and explore the similarities and differences in each member’s 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. Please remember to follow our Community Guidelines and be mindful of not sharing information that might identify you.

You might be ready to jump right in and introduce yourself by creating your own discussion thread! How to do that you ask? Follow the below steps to create your first post.

  1. Click the ‘New Discussion’ Button at the top of the page
  2. Select the space where you’d like to share your post
  3. Type in a subject title
  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.

You might spot some peer support workers and moderators 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!

6 replies

1 - 6 of 6

In response to: Welcome to the Shoulder to Shoulder: Veteran Families Space!

Re: Welcome to the Shoulder to Shoulder: Veteran Families Space!

Wonderful @0ddsidian

In response to: Welcome to the Shoulder to Shoulder: Veteran Families Space!

Re: Welcome to the Shoulder to Shoulder: Veteran Families Space!

Hi, I am really glad I found this forum- especially with Anzac Day coming up. It’s often hard to find other families, so this is great 😀

In response to: Re: Welcome to the Shoulder to Shoulder: Veteran Families Space!

Re: Welcome to the Shoulder to Shoulder: Veteran Families Space!

Hello @0ddsidian , @Rylee13 , @RiverSeal 😊

In response to: Welcome to the Shoulder to Shoulder: Veteran Families Space!

Re: Welcome to the Shoulder to Shoulder: Veteran Families Space!

Hey family members, friends and carers of 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 Families!

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 family members, friends and carers too!

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

Take care

RiverSeal

In response to: Re: Welcome to the Shoulder to Shoulder: Veteran Families Space!

Re: Welcome to the Shoulder to Shoulder: Veteran Families Space!

@0ddsidian , @RiverSeal , @Rylee13, @tyme

My grandfather was in the Navy for the 2nd world war

He was born in NSW Australia in 1904

And was enlisted for the 2nd world war

Also my cousin who was in the navy is now 65 and is retired

In response to: Re: Welcome to the Shoulder to Shoulder: Veteran Families Space!

Re: Welcome to the Shoulder to Shoulder: Veteran Families Space!

Thanks for sharing @Shaz51!

We have similarities with our family members in the ADF. Great to see you in the space!

RiverSeal

1 - 6 of 6