'RSL on wheels' a vehicle for support
A 20-year career in the navy took a Rockingham man on many adventures, including transporting soldiers to the Middle East as part of Operation Slipper and protecting Australia's borders.
Now in a world far away from "frantic" foreign mothers, Simon Brown, president of the Rockingham Military Brotherhood Military Motorcycle Club, helps members to enjoy the camaraderie they lost when they left the forces.
Mr Brown said he joined the Royal Australian Navy as quartermaster gunner because it was the family tradition - his grandfather, father and brothers were all in the military.
"It was expected and considered a sign of success to join," he said.
He advanced to the engineering and executive department, where, on board HMAS Canberra, he became a boatswain's mate patrolling for illegal fishing vessels and immigrants.
BMs provide the specialist knowledge of the more advanced seamanship duties such as anchor, berthing, towing, re-fuelling at sea and the use of close-range weapons, including electro-optical remotely fired gun systems and heavy machine guns.
Mr Brown said part of his role was the responsibility to board vessels to conduct investigations of its operations and ensure those on board, such as immigrants, were safe and provide them with food, water and medical supplies.
"I've got vivid images of boarding boats of suspected non-citizens in the middle of the night, with Middle Eastern mothers wailing at me and throwing their babies at us," he said.
"We were trying to stand off the boat and calm them down because they were absolutely frantic."
Mr Brown said it was a challenging job but believed you needed compassion.
"It used to break my heart - people used to say to me that we should send them back or burn the boats, but until you've seen a mother clutching her child, the fear in their faces and the gratefulness of a jug of water and a bar of soap, you will never understand," he said.
"These people have gone through a harrowing journey and we are at the end of it."
Mr Brown left the navy on July 4, 2004, and started a transition into the WA mining and construction industry.
He said it was tough re-entering the civilian world, but focusing on work distracted him from the thing he missed most about the military, the mateship.
Mr Brown said the Military Brotherhood Rockingham chapter, which formed late last year, offered just that. He likened the club to an "RSL on wheels", and encouraged current service personnel and veterans to join.
At present, there are more than 60 members, including some wives, who are committed to looking after each other.
Mr Brown said a third of members had a mental health issue, some battling with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.
"We can be an ear to listen, we are non-judging and understand - we've all been scared or lonely," he said.
He said the MBMMC worked with the Department of Veterans' Affairs and were members of the Rockingham RSL.
