"He was always so happy and jolly, and always thinking about other people and not himself. He was just the happiest and most hilarious person," mother Patricia Fernandez de Viana said. "He was working on top-secret stuff supporting our troops overseas, the electronic warfare. Huge responsibility, very stressful. "He was second in charge of his section, he was groomed to take it over at the end of the year, beginning of next year. "Lots of possibility just ended." Reading back through her son's messages, Ms Fernandez de Viana said the signs were there, but she did not grasp how low his mood was.

In the lead-up to his death, Mr Fernandez de Viana had messaged his mother telling him he had "no self-esteem" and that he felt "disgusted" that he couldn't keep his morals. "There was no grey about it, it was black and white. I just didn't click how low he was," she said. "We didn't know prior to his death that he should have never been alone for 48 hours after a relationship break-up, because that's when they are more likely to take their lives." When struggling becomes a catch-22 In 2015 alone, more serving Australians and veterans took their lives than were killed in Afghanistan during 13 years of war.

Between 2001 and 2016, 373 serving, ex-serving and reserve Australian Defence Force personnel died by suicide, prompting calls for a Royal Commission from grieving family members. A Defence spokeswoman wouldn't comment on whether Mr Fernandez de Viana received counselling, but said they were committed to ensuring personnel had access to the right support. "Defence provides access to primary and specialist mental health care, inpatient care and occupational rehabilitation," she said. "Where clinically appropriate members are referred for treatment through civilian specialist treatment facilities or hospital-based trauma recovery programs to enhance their treatment outcomes." She said most personnel with mental health concerns sought help within the first 12 months, with a considerable number of members doing so within three months.

James Fernandez de Viana. "Around eight Australians a day take their own life and suicide remains the greatest cause of death for men between the ages of 15 and 44 and the Defence community is not immune," she said. "The health and well-being of those who serve has a direct impact on capability and is a key priority for Defence." However, Ms Fernandez de Viana said most Defence personnel postponed seeking help, fearing they would be discharged from the force. Her concerns have been echoed by ex-servicemen and Royal Cameleers founder George Koulakis, who said defence personnel found themselves in a catch-22; too scared to be discharged but swarmed by mental health issues.

"The moment James goes to a hospital and tells them 'I have psychological issues', the Defence Force is very quick and swift in how they deal with it," he said. "They'll make them go and see a bunch of specialists and will absolutely take them out of the job. "So what do they do? They keep it quiet, go home at the end of the day, make bad decisions at work because they still have all those issues bouncing around in their head, no one's fixed them because they haven't called for help because they know exactly what happened to their friend six months ago, they know exactly what's happening and they don't want to go down that road." Since her son's death, Ms Fernandez de Viana has been flooded with hundreds of messages of servicemen, veterans and their family members with similar stories. The mother-of-three has since got behind a petition calling for a Royal Commission into veteran mental health and suicide, and is urging people to support the Royal Cameleers, a veteran support organisation which uses expeditions to remote Australia to help veterans struggling with mental health.

"It was just a perfect storm of events that along the way there could've been an intervention, and all we want is that other people be educated," she said. "We [want to] help prevent other families go through this and just spread the word that we need to de-stigmatise mental health issues." James Fernandez de Viana's funeral was held in Mandurah on Friday last week. On Friday last week, as Michael and Patricia Fernandez de Viana buried their eldest son in a moving service in Mandurah, ministers met in Canberra to discuss mental health and suicide among Defence veterans. In a joint statement, they announced plans for a new veteran mental health and wellbeing strategy and a national action plan on veterans' mental health and suicide prevention set to be delivered at the end of the year.