Australian soldier’s suicide after serving in Afghanistan

By James Cogan:

Belated report of Australian soldier’s suicide after serving in Afghanistan

3 May 2007

An article in Time magazine on April 19 revealed that Geoffrey Gregg, a former Australian soldier who served in Afghanistan, committed suicide last September.

He killed himself 16 months after being interviewed for a Time feature that described a disastrous Australian special forces patrol in May 2002 involving a firefight with one Afghan tribe and a massive US aerial bombardment of another.

The media attention surrounding Gregg’s death has led to an official admission that at least one other Australian soldier who served in Afghanistan or Iraq has committed suicide.

Veteran support groups say that as many as five may have taken their own lives due to the mental trauma caused by their military service.

Geoffrey Gregg was discharged from the army in May 2004, suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) provoked by his experiences in Afghanistan.

According to his family, he did not receive adequate treatment. He was clearly deeply troubled by the incident in May 2002.

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