A new social group aimed at supporting and socialising young veterans in the South West is being set up by Bunbury man Nathan Buswell.
Spending 15 years with the Australian army, returned soldier Nathan Buswell served in the infantry and later moved to logistics, completing tours in Solomon Islands, Iraq and in Dubai.
When he returned home to Bunbury, Mr Buswell said there was a void in awareness surrounding the needs of young veterans and felt the urge to initiate the South West Young Veterans group.
"Coming back to a community like Bunbury where we are so withdrawn from defence, I think there is a difficulty in integrating back into "normal" society as I call it," he said.
"As you can understand, it is a totally different world in the military.
“My aim for this group is for young veterans in the South West to be able to socialise and be around each other who have gone through the same experiences and to learn, get directions and build networks.
"Especially for young men and women who live regionally after coming out of active service - transitioning back is hard and not being around people who are familiar with their experiences makes it a bit harder."
Mr Buswell said there was great scope for the group to evolve and grow, with many young veterans residing in the South West.
"On Anzac Day, they come out of the woodwork and sort of disappear from whereever they're from," he said.
"I know there are many of them out there and it's up to them whether they want to be a part of the group but I want to let them know we are here. Essentially, it's quite early days with the group but the initial aim is to provide a social network for young veterans where they can come together and just talk about life in general."
Relying on social media and local media outlets, Mr Buswell said the group who operates primarily on Facebook currently has gained a lot of traction from young veterans in the region.
“I’ve had guys contact me who have been looking for something like this for a couple of years,” he said.
“I get asked what the age bracket for the group is and I tell them there is none.
“I’m certainly not going to define what is and what is not young.”
