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If you are in or photographing the ANZAC Day parade this year you will see some orange armbands, this is the reason.

The Sea of Orange campaign is to alert the general public to the appalling treatment of ex service personnel and their families by the various Government departments charged with caring for them.

I will be marching in my first ever ANZAC day parade ( Slouch hat, Orange armband and camera) one because I am proud of my families service to Australia over 4 generations and two, because I am ashamed of how so many of these brave people have been badly treated by petty penny pinching bureaucrats in Canberra.

There is a level of opposition to this protest from the Government and establishment who do not want any shame brought to bear on their treatment of serving and Ex service personnel. I can only wonder what their reasons may be.

If you know of any ex service personnel please pass this on to them they may wish to show their continued support for their comrades in arms.

If anyone need more information please PM or email me, I have more information and contacts.


This is to be a respectful, silent and peaceful protest in support of Australian troops past, present and probably for those in the future.

Ill support ya there Dug and every other Servicemen and Women and Ex Servicemen and Women

My Grandparents met in the war.. sadly they passed away.. but they like all ex service men and women need and diserve respect... those still with us and those that passed on.. and the way the government is treating our hero's is pathetic and shameful

A silent protest is a great idea.. and whoever came up with it, should get a slap on the back and all the support they can get! and while most people will scratch there noggins and go "Whats the orange armband for?" those who do know will spread the word and the voice of many will be heard!

Tim

Dug wrote:The Sea of Orange campaign is to alert the general public to the appalling treatment of ex service personnel and their families by the various Government departments charged with caring for them.

I am the general public.

What is so appalling about the treatment of ex service personnel? Can you be a bit more specific?

oli wrote:

Dug wrote:The Sea of Orange campaign is to alert the general public to the appalling treatment of ex service personnel and their families by the various Government departments charged with caring for them.

I am the general public.

What is so appalling about the treatment of ex service personnel? Can you be a bit more specific?

For over three decades War Veterans, Currently Serving Military Members, Former Service Personnel Reserve and Full Time and even Cadets and the families of al of there members have been systematically abused by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Government of Australia.

Applications for help, assistance, medical treatment and rehabilitation to the Department of Veterans Affairs are totally ignored or disallowed! They are only ever followed up by the Department with the assistance of either an Advocate or a Solicitor paid for out of our own pockets.

Even then, only 60% of all applications made to the DVA, are ever accepted Nationwide. These accepted Applications are only obtained after traumatic applications to the Veterans Review Board, the Appeals Tribunal and even the Federal Court. Appeals which aggravate disabilities and injuries because of the great stressors involved.

Our children suffer with disabilities and even deformities because of their parents' dedication and Oath to Honour their Country in Service both in War and in Peace Time. Their family’s cries for help are ignored or rejected in many, many cases. The children are the innocent victims of their parents’ service to this nation.

Many of our former servicemen and women suffer horribly from chemical poisoning, from such chemicals and toxins as Agent Orange, radiation from Atomic Testing, beryllium poisoning and chemicals used to clean the tanks of aircraft and now from exposure to Depleted Uranium in Iraq and Afghanistan, to name just a few examples.

Suicide is becoming rampant amongst our East Timor Veterans and is still occurring with our Vietnam Veterans, Atomic Veterans and many others and we now have to face the horrors of the Wars of the Sandpits of Iraq and Afghanistan. Even so called Peacekeeping duties in Rwanda and Somalia have caused severe PTSD ignored or denyed by the government. This all has to be faced with disgusting and unacceptable support and lack of understanding from the politicians who sent our countrymen away to fight their political wars in the first place.

Governments are good at flag waving for political reasons when troops are sent to War but sadly they are also good at denying full and proper compensation and health care when the troops return home. Wars do not end when that last shot is fired.

Because of these reasons and many more, we will unite as one and speak with one wholly united National Voice.

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This is the statement from the sea of orange, I have my own examples to tell but it's way too late and this really makes me way to angry. Both my Grandfathers died in relative poverty after being wounded in WW1 both had a hard time getting the TPI pension in their older days. and it is still happening today.


cheers doug


Re cleaning the F-111 tanks I used to go into them to take the photos of the cracks. We never worried about the chemicals because our cameras flash units were not suppressed. So we and a fitter would crawl into the tank, the fitter would point out the area to be photographed and leave, someone would be standing by with a huge fire extinguisher incase our flashes set off an explosion in the residual fuel vapor in the tank!

Talk about young and stupid!

Sadly Doug whilst I agree with you about our treatment of many returned servicemen and women, in particular those returning from Vietnam and Timor, there is also another side to the story. As you know both my wife and I work in allied health services and we see first hand some of the results of handing out Gold Cards to all and sundry.

All returned service personnell deserve to be treated with understanding and compassion and supported in their rehabilitation, that is this countrys responsibility to them, and in should not be shirked whatever the cost.

In return it is the responsibility of those who are being helped not to abuse the health system which is helping them. I am not wishing to stir up a debate on this issue, just pointing out one of the reasons why the genuinely needy might be having problems getting the help they need.

Dug,

I sympathise with the cause being pursued by Sea of Orange and understand there have been some serious cases of neglect by the Department for many years, spanning changes of government, I might add.

I have had limited involvement in this arena: my great uncle, uncle and father-in-law were all veterans of WWII and continue to be treated very well.

My brother was the pilot of the F-111 that crashed at Tenterfield in 1987, killing he and his navigator. We, the family, have never received anything bu the best of treatment from the RAAF and, to this day, almost 20 years on, we are still included and remembered when it comes to events and activities relating to the aircraft or other happenings around the base. My parents are regularly contacted by the previous Head of the Air Force, now Head of the ADF, Angus Houston, just to keep in touch and see how they are going.

I dare say, however, that this level of support is most likely driven by the RAAF, not the ADF or DVA. Had Mark survived and required ongoing rehabilitation, it may well have been a different story and I would hate anyone to have to go through that. In that vein, I fully support your push to get these imbalances rectified.

I am glad to hear your family was treated well my sympathy for your loss too The RAAF was always better at taking care of it's own.

Oneputt wrote:Sadly Doug whilst I agree with you about our treatment of many returned servicemen and women, in particular those returning from Vietnam and Timor, there is also another side to the story. As you know both my wife and I work in allied health services and we see first hand some of the results of handing out Gold Cards to all and sundry.

All returned service personnel deserve to be treated with understanding and compassion and supported in their rehabilitation, that is this countrys responsibility to them, and in should not be shirked whatever the cost.

In return it is the responsibility of those who are being helped not to abuse the health system which is helping them. I am not wishing to stir up a debate on this issue, just pointing out one of the reasons why the genuinely needy might be having problems getting the help they need.

This is one of the sadder facts, those healthy and able to fight for their rights get the best services. Those who are ill or damaged by their service are the most vulnerable and the least likely to receive help by the system.

I did not want to start a debate here Just to give people a heads up as to what was happening. If they photograph the ANZAC day march what the armbands are for.


The original ANZAC March started as a protest rally calling for Government assistance for WW1 diggers and their families and was called "The Sea of Blue".

Point well taken Doug.