WAR left its mark on Corporal Mollie Gray.

The 28-year-old, who grew up at Maroubra and is based at Randwick Barracks, signed up with the Australian Army as a teenage rookie 10 years ago, following her older brother into the defence forces.

She was deployed to the Middle East in 2012 where she worked in a operational role for six months supporting the Artillery Mobile Training Team who trained the Afghan National Army.

media_camera Australian Army Corporal Mollie Gray, ambassador for DefenceCare and Robyn Collins, General Manager DefenceCare want to raise awareness of the challenges facing veterans returning from modern day conflicts. Picture: Daniel Aarons

“Culturally it was nothing like I had ever experienced before,” Corporal Gray said.

“It was hard being away from my family and friends and everything I knew.

“I experienced a lot of bullying while I was over there. When I got home, I was not the same.

“It was tough. Everyone has a different war ‒ mine was very different. I have a lot of friends who were affected by different things.

“Some people seek support and other people don’t.”

Corporal Gray said she accessed the support services provided by RSL DefenceCare and fell back on her love of sport, taking up rugby league with the army after being encouraged by her mother who joined a team aged 40.

“After the first game I said that it was so awesome and I would love to play for Australia one day,” she said.

In 2013, Corporal Gray was picked for the Australian women’s national rugby team, the Wallaroos, played in the Tri-Nations series against New Zealand and Canada in 2014 and at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in France where she suffered a serious knee injury.

Moving to the Australian Women’s Sevens Team after her recovery, she made her debut at the Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea and in January signed up with the Cronulla Sharks for the first women’s NRL season.

media_camera Mollie Gray, of the Wallaroos, is tackled during the international women’s Test match between the New Zealand Black Ferns and the Australian Wallaroos at Eden Park, Auckland Picture: Phil Walter/Getty Images

Her personal experiences in the army and those of her colleagues also exposed Corporal Gray, who is DefenceCare’s 2017 ambassador, to the first-hand effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

“I know a lot of people who have suffered with it,” she said. “It’s quite prevalent.

“The worst thing someone can do is to deal with it themselves. But there is still a bit of a pride thing, people do not like to admit that something is wrong.

“It’s always going to be difficult but the more we talk about it and the more awareness we raise the easier that will be for people.”

Robyn Collins, general manager of RSL DefenceCare, said the service had experienced a huge jump in the number of calls for help from 4735 in 2015 to 6016 in 2016 ‒ a 27 per cent increase.

“Most of the services we provide are financial assistance to veterans and their families in need,” the Kensington resident said. “We provide counselling and general support and referrals.

“The other specialist area is claims and advice for veterans who need to claim for an injury or illness they have incurred as a result of their service.

“Compensation claims are quite complex and the process is quite daunting.

media_camera Mollie Gray of the Wallaroos takes the ball in the lineout at last year’s international women’s Test match against New Zealand. Picture: Phil Walter/Getty Images media_camera Australian Army Corporal Mollie Gray is the face of this year’s Anzac Appeal to raise money to help veterans, serving military personnel and their families. Picture: Daniel Aarons

“Medical discharge is often down to a combination of physical and mental illnesses, PTSD, also anxiety and depression.”

Ms Collins said DefenceCare hoped to raise $1.5 million through the 2017 Anzac Appeal to help

provide extensive grassroots services to veterans, serving military personnel and their families.

Volunteers will be out in force across the south east to raise money for the campaign which will also celebrate the courage and personal battles of veterans when they returned home.

New research by the National Mental Health Commission showed that veterans and serving defence force personnel ‒ particularly those under 30 ‒ were 13 per cent more likely to commit suicide than the general population.

“It does not surprise me given their training,” said Ms Collins, whose military-trained sister committed suicide aged 37.

“Given the fact they are so adept at carrying on in such horrendous circumstances.

“Many people who are medically discharged are people who had their hearts set on a defence career. An injury or illness has taken away their career.

“For some people it’s a hard thing (to seek help).

media_camera RSL DefenceCare claims and advocacy manager James Dallas at the Martin Place's Cenotaph in Sydney. Picture: AAP Image/RSL DefenceCare

“They can no longer take care of their families, they might have young children.

“Sometimes we see cases where they felt it was best for their families if they were no longer here and that’s not the case at all.”

Ms Collins said cases of attempted suicide and self-harm combined with figures of veteran homelessness, showed a great need to individually support veterans following their discharge.

“We see the human face of these statistics play out on a daily basis, with the mental health issues faced by many veterans exacerbated by chronic physical pain as a result of their service to our country,” she said.

Veteran Garry Robinson shares his story Veteran Garry Robinson shares his story

“We work at the coalface, trying to provide compassionate, caring support to each individual in need of help.”

DefenceCare’s claims and advocacy manager James Dallas, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, said he felt the organisation was “still scratching the surface” of how big the issue of providing support and advocacy to veterans really was.

“Such services are crucial in supporting veterans as early as possible – the message we want to give is one of hope and that help is available to those veterans who might be struggling,” he said.

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