Defence force veterans soldier on
Some veterans fight their toughest battles when the war is over.
Thankfully, there are those in the community waiting to help them soldier on.
Nigel Huckstep, a former Royal Australian Air Force wing commander, still has nightmares about his time in East Timor and he is not comfortable with crowds.
When deployed in 1999 as part of an Australian-led peacekeeping force, he had more than a decade of experience in the RAAF.
"That was the first big deployment since Vietnam and we were mentally unprepared for what we saw," Mr Huckstep said.
He left the Defence Force in 2002, struggling with anxiety.
Five years later, his wife convinced him to seek help and he's been managing his post-traumatic stress disorder ever since.
Mr Huckstep, 48, and former Royal Australian Navy communicator Sue Kingsley are involved in Saturday's Great Western Sand Storm, a day of running on the soft sands of Swanbourne beach next to Campbell Barracks. The event raises money for the Red Cross and Soldier On, a nationwide charity that supports veterans facing physical or psychological challenges.
Ms Kingsley, who served during the Gulf War, was told in 2013 she had between two and five years to live.
The mother of one, from Beechboro, is getting chemotherapy treatment for cancer that has spread to her blood, bones and liver.
The 50-year-old will attempt the 5km run.
Visit greatwesternsandstorm.com
