An officer and a gentleman
An officer and a gentleman - full story
23 September, 2012
Reporter: Mark Ferguson
Producer: Ali Russell
Two years ago, Major General John Cantwell was a battle-hardened soldier in command of 2500 Australian troops across Afghanistan and the Middle East. An inspirational leader with an exemplary 38-year career, Cantwell had served on the front lines of three major wars.
He’d witnessed the horrors of war and the tragic loss of life. In three terrible months in 2010, ten Australian diggers were killed under his command.
Today, he is a damaged man – but a man with extraordinary secrets he is now telling for the first time.
One moment, Cantwell was being considered for the role of the Chief of the Australian Army. Just weeks later he found himself in a psychiatric hospital.
For twenty years he had hidden the crippling post-traumatic stress that had haunted him since the Gulf war, but he could hide it no more.
Now retired, Cantwell is speaking out and revealing the horrors of war to reporter Mark Ferguson. It’s a powerful and emotional interview, and the insights Cantwell reveals will have major political ramifications.
Asked about the decade-long ‘War on terror’, he says, “It’s not worth an Australian life. Show me one thing in Afghanistan that is better because we’ve sacrificed any one of the 38 who have so far died there.”
Major General John Cantwell’s autobiography, Exit Wounds, is available from October 1 in bookstores and online.
SUPPORT SERVICES
The All Hours Support Line is a confidential telephone service for ADF Members and their families that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Phone 1800 628 036.
The Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service offers a 24-hour phone service with specialised, free and confidential Australia-wide crisis support and counselling for veterans and their families. Phone 1800 011 046.
Soldier On help wounded veterans regain confidence and self-esteem through adventurous activities.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT PTSD
Dents in the soul: helping to cope with PTSD.
The Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service (VVCS) website includes information on PTSD and other related problems.
Australian Centre for Post Traumatic Mental Health (ACPMH).
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