Rosie Skene:

G'day,
g'day, and welcome to the first episode for the spring. And what an absolute
banger I have lined up for you today.

Before I get started, I just wanted to acknowledge the New
South Wales police force members who are doing it a little bit tough right now
with the changes involving their TPD. The changes are incredibly significant
and will affect thousands of staff.

I actually can't believe what is happening here. And I just
wanted to send my love and support to all, whether you were already in the
process of leaving, have very recently left, or if you're someone who's decided
to stay, I see you all, I know how difficult this entire process is no matter
where you fall within it,

please, if you haven't already sought help, please do so again,
no matter if you've left or if you're staying, it's never, ever a bad time to
check in with a GP or a psychologist

Emerge & See. The charity have been working incredibly hard
over the last couple of weeks to support those who are leaving. So please reach
out to them for guidance.

If you're not already a member, head over to join it's
completely free. I know that Alana and Pia will welcome you with the widest of
arms as will the rest of the Emerge & See community. It's strictly a no
judgment zone, which is amazing. You can check out the show notes. I'll link to
their website and you can also download the app from the stores wherever you
get your apps from.

Today, I have a Jye Martyn who has come to share his journey
after nearly 12 years in the Royal Australian Air Force and being medically
discharged in 2019 with a life changing back injury. Jye started volunteering
in the veteran community. Since then, he's volunteered for several ex service
organizations and worked part time for Soldier On as a programs officer in the
Newcastle and Hunter area.

Jye has first hand experience in how sport can positively
impact lives and improve health and well being. After his spinal surgery, Jye
thought he wouldn't be able to play sport ever again. He's currently back in
the gym, playing golf and coaches junior football, all of which have had a
positive impact on his life.

A sport fanatic, he enjoys football, golf, cricket, and rugby
league, just to name a few. And in his spare time, you will find him coaching
his kids football team or cooking for his family on one of his many barbecues.
This conversation with Jye left me feeling incredibly inspired, and I hope that
it does the same for you.

The conversation does come with a content warning. Within our
conversation, Jye and I will talk briefly about his suicide attempt. So if this
is something that you need to be mindful of, please look after yourself and do
what you need to do to feel safe.

Welcome to Triumph
Beyond Trauma, the podcast that explores journeys of resilience and hope. I'm
Rosie Skene, a yoga and breathwork teacher and founder of Tactical Yoga
Australia. As a former soldier's wife, mum to three beautiful kids and a
medically retired NSW police officer with PTSD, I understand the challenges of
navigating mental health in the first responder and veteran community.

Join us for incredible stories from individuals who've
confronted the depths of mental illness and discovered their path to happiness
and purpose, as well as solo episodes and expert discussions. Together, we'll
uncover the tools to help you navigate your journey toward a brighter future.
Whether you're looking for helpful insights, practical tips, or just a friendly
reminder that you're not alone, Triumph Beyond Trauma has got your back.

You matter, and your journey to a happier, more meaningful life
starts right here.

welcome to the podcast. Jye it's such a pleasure to have you
on. , usually I just start with, you know, a bit about your background and how
you came to join the air force. So if you'd like to walk us through that,
that'd be great.

Jye Martyn:

Yeah. So
my journey to now kind of starts, you know, obviously as a young child and my,
my dad is ex military.

, he served in the Royal Australian Air Force for 20, 30 years
or so. I've done a lot of time with reserves as well. And, um, as a young
child, he worked on F 18 Hornets. And as a young child, I used to go to, uh, to
work to pick him up of an afternoon after school. And, and he'd take me around
the aircraft every now and again, and I'd get to have a look at these amazing.

Kind of just machines really these amazing aircraft and so as a
young kid, when, when kids are out there looking at police truck, police, ,
cars and, , fire trucks and all that, I was looking at F18 Hornets. So, uh,
from a very young age, that's all I ever wanted to do is to work on those. , I
didn't care what I did.

I just, I just knew my, my, my goal and my career path was
always going to lead to working on. , F18s and I was lucky enough to achieve
that goal at the age of, well, at the age of 18, I joined straight out of
school, um, was accepted. My time from calling up Defence recruiting to being
in Wagga recruit training was about three and a half weeks to four weeks.

, I just got lucky with the course of the trade that I chose
and. There was an intake and they needed a few extra people and I was accepted
into the military before I even done my fitness test. , so yeah, it was very
quick turnaround and quick goodbyes to the family and everybody back home. But
yeah, I took straight off to Wagga and my journey started there.

Rosie Skene:

Yeah.
Wow. That's such a quick turnaround. How did your parents deal with that?

Jye Martyn:

The
parents were fine. I was in a relationship as well. And that I think me going
away at that time actually saved the relationship. , and because of that, I
have two beautiful daughters now. , I ended up marrying, , my now ex wife, but
marrying Danielle and having two children when I, , a few years later.

, but yeah. So family was very supportive. I was the oldest of
three and just, yeah, dad was really proud of. You know, one of his children
following his footsteps and, , and mum, obviously a little bit. I think she
would have been sad to see me go, but the interesting thing about the whole,
all that was, as a young child, I wasn't actually allowed to, , play with
weapons.

My mum had a real weird thing about guns and even water
pistols. Like I was, I felt deprived, to be honest. And, um, all my, you know,
I remember one Christmas, for example, we got water pistols off my auntie and,
um, being summer, we wanted to use them and mum got rid of them on Christmas
day. So, um, There's a little bit of early trauma for you, I guess, but, um, So
when I joined, I think it was much to her disgust that I actually joined as an
armoured technician.

So my job in the military was evolved around weapons, um, and
weapons on the F 18 itself. So, uh, I don't know if it was payback to my mum
for not letting me play with them or, , I used to send her pictures later in my
career when I got back, when I actually finished my training, I sent her
pictures of me sitting on 2, 000 pound bombs and , holding a missile and all
that kind of stuff.

And he said, send them home to, I just, uh, I don't know, maybe
they're up a bit. Wow.

So how was training for
you?

Jye Martyn:

Uh,
training was a little bit difficult. , I wasn't the smartest in the room, , and
we, we were on the first course for, , armament technician in 17 years.

So when we got to Wagga, , when, after I finished my recruit
training, , which, you know, I look back on with, with fond memories, it wasn't
a horrible time. We did, it was challenging and then we, we got tested and, ,
We learned pretty quick that the recruits phase was a bit of a game, um, and
you're always going to lose.

So, once you kind of realise that, the pressure of it, or the,
um, Well, I guess the pressure of trying to impress the recruit instructors, it
almost went out the window a little bit because you knew you were never going
to do it, , but you just had to do your best. And if you did your best, that's,
you know, you, you just carried on.

So, um, I really enjoyed the kind of recruit training as
challenging as it was. And then, , the, the training itself to become an
armoured technician at Wagga was about 16 months.

Yeah, so the, I struggled academically during the course, ,
over the 16 months at Wagga. , I did get through it and, , I had a lot of
support there and some great people around me. , and yeah, I enjoyed my time.
It was, you know, back when the, the boozer on base had 2 beers. I think I
spent more time up there than I did studying.

So, um, there's a little bit of a distraction, but it, you
know, that, that potentially led to, um. You know, some problems a little bit
around the alcohol, maybe a little bit later in life as well. That that
drinking culture that was in the on the base back then. Um, you know, the fact
that alcohol is so cheap and readily available.

To the, the, the trainees, I guess, um, and we had no
responsibilities, you know, we, we lived. A couple of 100 meters away from the
boozer and, um, I had the pressure of, you know, we're sitting in a classroom
all day and just looking forward to getting to the boozer at night and. You
know, it was, it was a great experience and I was really glad to actually leave
there because I got posted back home.

So, my first posting was back to Ruff Bay, Williamtown and got
to. Get straight onto the aircraft that I that I dreamt of working on.

Rosie Skene:

Yeah,
that's so good. I, yeah, I know, , that culture in within the Defence Force and
even policing as well. I mean, , for New South Wales, they got rid of the
boozer at the academy and I think probably for good reason, but, um, there is
definitely.

The culture within the Defence force, um, around drinking, I
think, it something to look forward to at the end of the day, especially if
you're living on or training, like you said,

Jye Martyn:

But the
drinking culture, I've been out for a few years now, but it was still very
prominent when I was in, um, back in 2000. And, um, you know, I got out in
2019.

I think it's changed a little bit now. , You know, people I
talk to, the serving personnel, you know, it's, it's, it doesn't seem to be
what it used to be, um, but I can't really speak for the, you know, the
trainees and the recruit, , phase that people go through when they get in.

Rosie Skene:

Yeah,
yeah. , so you went to Williamstown first, is that where you stayed for your
career or did you move around?

Jye Martyn:

No, I did
four years on, on the Hornets and worked at a place called two operational
conversion unit. Um, and yeah, got my trade there and went through. And then in
2000 and, uh, the end of 2013 or through 2013, I had an opportunity to, to
apply for a posting into bomb disposal. So I actually moved to Sydney with my
family and, Went down to Penrith and got off aircraft and, , went onto the
green side of the trade, they call it, and started to learn how to blow bombs
up instead of putting them on aircraft.

Rosie Skene:

Oh,
okay. So what do they mean about the green side?

Jye Martyn:

Well,
there was the blue and the green side. So the green side was on the ground, ,
working on explosives on the ground, and the blue side was working on, ,
munitions that would go up into the sky. Okay, that was just, you know, it was
just our kind of lingo for differentiating the two different sides of our
trade.

, you have the blue side and the green side, and, I spent four
years in bomb disposal, , from, , 2014 through to the end of 2018. , which then
at the end of my posting there, I, I served on two operations. , and the last
one was at the end of my posting and at the end of the deployment I was
actually posting back to Newcastle to, to go back work on aircraft again.

Rosie Skene:

So you
spent 12 years. In the air force. , do you have any significant events that you
wanted to talk about within those 12 years?

Jye Martyn:

Yeah, it

was a career, had plenty of highlights, plenty of, um, things
that, that happened by time in bomb disposal was probably more adventurous and,
um, more kind of fulfilling for me in the work that I did there. I, um, as I
said earlier, I went on two different deployments, um, one over to
Bougainville, where I was, .

Part of a team that got, we would send over to Bougainville to
get rid of or to, of clear remnants of war from World War II. And so we'd
actually went kind of trekking through the, the island, over the island of
Bougainville and looked for different munitions that were left there from the
Americans.

And, um, yeah, got, got rid of them. So we'd blow them up or
we'd get them out to the ocean and the Navy divers would go down and blow them
up under the water. , And it was, the whole job there was to kind of make the
area a bit more safer than it was, so we, you know, there was reports of people
dying over there with, either just touching the explosives or doing, you know,
playing silly buggers with them, , as the kids do, but they pick up, see a
grenade, think it's a ball and they'll throw it, .

So, yeah, we, we went over there and that was probably the, out
of everything I did in the military, that was probably the proudest thing, or
the thing I'm most proud of, of my service was being on that island and
clearing stuff from World War II. And then, and yeah, at the end of my
deployment, at the end of my posting at Bomb Disposal, I deployed over to the
Middle East and went over into a system based armament manager role.

So, uh, yeah. Was a part of a two man team that looked after
the explosives on the base in Dubai and we were also the IED response to that
base. Um, luckily, you know, we, we had no, no, no, no real jobs. No, we
weren't busy at all, which was great. Um, and yeah, so I spent six months over
in the Middle East, in that part of the world.

, away from the kids and yeah, I got to experience like, I
guess the deployment side of the military. , and yeah, so I spent six months
there, but that's when my, my life kind of went into a different direction. So
I ended up, , injuring my back when I was in, , in Dubai. So while I was over
there, I found a love for weightlifting and there's something about lifting
heavy things.

And then, the next day lifting heavier things. , Was quite
addictive. So being away from the family, that was a way I kind of, um, I kind
of dealt with my mental health and helped me through that deployment. And then
one morning, I did my normal warm up. , I was lifting weights that were well in
my, you know, my range and I wasn't doing anything silly and all the protective
equipment on and, uh.

So if I don't reason my L5 S1 disc decided to herniate, um, and
to, I guess, rupture or, , spread across my back a little bit and, and yeah, I
thought in that moment, I thought I'd broken my back. So I was to kind of paint
the picture a little bit. I was in the gym, in the squat rack. There was only
one other person in the gym and he was in the back corner with noise cancelling
headphones on mopping the floor.

And I was in a really weird position where I'd thrown the bar
off my back after it happened. I was laying, , with one arm over the barbell
and one arm over the, , safety rail on the squat rack. And I was in a really
weird position that people aren't in when they're in a squat rack. And I was
screaming.

Again, I thought I'd broken my back. The pain was very, it's
very, very hard to describe. The only thing I think that in that moment that
stopped me from actually going into shock or trying to create a little bit of
relief for me was I could wiggle my toes. And I kind of talked myself through
it. If I can wiggle my toes, I haven't snapped my spine.

Um, I was lifting, I was squatting obviously in the squat rack
and I had about 142 kilos on my back. And as I said earlier, like I, it wasn't
anything that I couldn't do. A couple of weeks earlier, I'd done 180. Um, so I
was strong enough to do that weight. It was just something went wrong. And, um,
yeah, eventually the, the cleaner, , saw me in a really weird position that I,
, and in a lot of obviously saying I was in a lot of pain.

So he came running over and then, , Got the medical team to
come out and, , yeah, they assessed, they gave me the green whistle and I got
all, I went into the medical centre. I, , I still kept my humour a little bit in
that moment when I was in the medical centre though, because, because of my job
over there, I was IED response, , I thought it'd be fun to send my now ex wife
a, , a picture of my hand with an IV drip in it.

with no explanation, just the photo. Um, she didn't appreciate
it very much, obviously really worried about, you know, her husband over in the
Middle East and with an IV drip in, but yeah, , I thought it was funny. Maybe
it was the morphine or whatever they were giving me, but, um, they, they, Kind
of tried to patch me up a little bit.

I spent a night in the medical centre and then the next day,
once I was walking around a fair bit, , they put me back to my room and a week
later I had a scan, , went into the, into Dubai and had a full scan done and, ,
assessment. And yeah, when I got back to the medical center, they had the
results and it was, , clear to say that my L5 S1 disc had indeed erupted.

I got originally told that it was going to be a six month kind
of recovery. , When I got home, I, I got home a week later, so the scan the
week after the injury and then a week after the scan results, I was on the next
plane and I got sent back to Australia and which was hard. I wanted to, you
know, finish that deployment with everybody that was over there with the unit
that I went with.

, I realise since that, with my back, I thought, you know, this
is maybe something I'll never get to do again. Um, so it was really hard to
kind of leave and the friendships that we formed over there all become quite a
close group and, , yeah, it was really hard to kind of leave, but I was also
coming home to see my kids and that, so, uh, that was exciting, , to do that.

But yeah, that's where my rehab kind of journey started was
when I got home and my life from there kind of took a, a bit of a toll where it
just, I was in medical waiting rooms. So I felt like 6 to 12 months. I
remember. Almost every, if not every day, every second day, seeing a different
specialist or a different medical professional, , whether I had a psychiatrist,
a psychologist, a , spinal surgeon.

I had a pain specialist. I exercise physiologist. I had a gp. ,
I was doing hydrotherapy. It was just every second day I felt like I was
supposed to be somewhere, waiting in a waiting room waiting. To get told
different stuff and, and get help, I guess. , So that, that became really, and
I even struggle with it now.

Like, it's something that I, I remember only recently I went
and saw a, , Uh, just a physiotherapist, sorry, and , I remember coming out of
that appointment and I just was Just struggling a little bit going. I just
don't want to keep going. Like I can't, , it just brought everything back from
that's that period in my life.

And I, it's something I know I'd love to go and I feel like I
need to go and do more like physio and stuff like that, like that, but the, the
commitment part of it is quite challenging because of. It brings back a lot of
stuff from that time in my life. But, um, yeah, I had about 12 months of rehab.
I was doing as much as I could do.

And then I eventually decided on spinal fusion surgery after
the sciatic pain that I was experiencing got a lot worse than what it was. So I
felt like I wasn't getting any better. Um, and the surgeon said, I can get rid
of your back. I can get rid of your sciatic pain, but I can't guarantee I'll
get rid of your back pain.

And in that moment, I. I'd come to learn the difference between
the two. , And I told him that I can live with back pain, but I can't live with
sciatic. And, , if he can guarantee that he'll get rid of the sciatic pain,
that's enough for me. And yeah, I, then in 2019, I committed and I went into
have L5 S1 spinal fusion surgery, which I'm really glad to say, I feel like has
been a success.

Rosie Skene:

Wow. I
can't even imagine that journey that you would have been on. I mean, to, to
wait in waiting rooms for any, just a GP visit is exhausting. Um, so to have
one, you know, every day or every other day would have taken an emotional toll
on anyone, I reckon. So , just what you were saying there, though, with going
to say, even just a physio now and bringing back, , those feelings. Okay. What,
what was going on for you then, um, with your mindset and having to go to all
those appointments all the time and also having a family?

Jye Martyn:

, well,
when I got home, , from my deployment, I kind of took on the. Even though I was
injured and my mobility wasn't great and I was in pain, , I was on strong
painkillers, I kind of took on the stay at home dad role. So I had my now,
Danielle, my now ex wife, she was working full time. , And usually it happens
when, when partners, Deploy for six months, they, the people who stay at home,
they create a routine, they create a life without their partner who's overseas.

So, when I came home, I found it quite hard to actually adjust
into that routine, , especially because I wasn't going to work. So, I became,
you know, the stay at home dad, I'd done the cooking, the cleaning, the, I, I,
I actually grew an appreciation for what someone who's a stay at home parent
does, , because I had to live it for a significant amount of time, so, you
know, that helped me appreciate what she was doing and, , the, it gave me a
different look on, I actually, I learned how to keep a house, you know, when
eventually our marriage broke down and I moved into my own place, I feel like I
had probably the cleanest and nicest I'm The house for a single dad that was
around, right?

So, going to those appointments was I had to fit them in around
school, pick up and drop off. And so it, it, it provided me somewhere to be
instead of sitting at home. But it wasn't where I wanted to be. Yeah. And I
kept getting told. I wasn't feel like I was getting any better either. So. We
were, you know, the pain specialist, I had different procedures done that just
flared things up that didn't actually help.

So then, , I was supposed to be going somewhere to get better
and I was getting made worse. So I just, , it was just hard to kind of continue
to show up to these things. And then I was going to hydrotherapy and I was in a
pool with. You know, 80 year old ladies and men and I was by far the youngest
person in that area in that pool.

And even just being in there was, was really hard because it
was like, is this my life now? You know, am I? Is that going to be me still
when I'm in, when I'm in my 80s, um, having to do this and the fact that I have
to do it now, there's not many, I was only 29, I think 28, 29, when this was
happening, I'm like, there's not many people in their 20s had to do
hydrotherapy for a back injury.

Um, so what's that, what does that mean for my future? So, and
again, it wasn't getting any better. So, one, it was provided me somewhere to
be. But again, it wasn't where I wanted, but it was just again, when you, when
you go see a health professional, all your hope is in that. They're going to
make you better.

That wasn't happening for me. , I did get great. , I had a
great psychiatrist, a great psychologist that was helping me process my new
life and, and try to process the injury. And so that was helping, , but in
saying that I did eventually go down, I had a real challenge with mental health
a little bit later.

2019 was not a good year for me, , with the surgery. So that
actually led to me. Going into hospital for having stay for 4 weeks. , but I
had a great team around me. , had a great support. So I was lucky with that.
And the fact that I had been productive as soon as I got off the plane from
from Dubai, I think it was on a Thursday, but on the Monday morning, I was in
medical at the RAF base and they were like, right, we're booking you
psychologist appointments.

Here's a psychiatrist. Here's everything like you need this. It
was. , You might not even realize you need it now, but you, you, you need to
have it. So they were very productive and, , proactive , and got me the help
that I needed because I knew that I was going to need it and I did.

Rosie Skene:

Yeah.
From being so active and lifting weights, like doing that to, you know, get you
through your deployment and obviously being without your family and then having
this injury where I guess everything like that has stopped.

Yeah,

Jye Martyn:

well,
what happened was I didn't say this earlier, but the night before my injury, I
was actually looking up strongman competitions in Newcastle and Sydney to see
what was around because again, I'd found a love for this and it's like, I want
to keep doing this at home and a way for me to do it at home was to actually
have something to work towards.

So I was Googling. You know strongman competitions and I'm like
looking at these photos and these competitions going I'm never going to win and
but it wasn't about winning it was about doing the work to compete in it and
actually being able to go. , and so I think we remembered that feeling the next
day going like, There's no point to that now.

, even the next day when I was laying in the hospital bed, I'm
like, well, I think that's over. Like, that was a very short lived dream of
maybe I could get into, , strongman comps. And so, but then another thing that
was taken away straight away was the fact that, because I was supposed to come
home in March, right to April is around that time, maybe the end of March.

I'd actually already registered for a soccer, , football, ,
team. , so when I came home from my deployment, I was, , it was a team that I
grew up playing for and a bunch of guys I played with, , before I went to
Sydney in 2014. , so they were playing again in 2018 and I had registered and
then injured my back.

So again, straight away when I got off the plane, it was just
another thing that was taken away. Immediately. So sport was such a huge part
of my life and, , to have it taken away, you know, in such a, in such a way. It
was, , it was really hard to, to really handle that and accept it. But I think
it is almost the driving force to why I do what I do now.

Rosie Skene:

Yeah. So
2019, that's the year that you did have your surgery. What happened after that?

Jye Martyn:

Well, in
2018, my marriage broke down. , so I got home from my deployment. I wasn't the
same man, right? I, I was broken both physically and mentally when I returned.
And. My marriage struggled with that.

And I, my marriage kind of, it really suffered and it ended. ,
and I have no harsh feelings or, , words or anything to say, , of my ex wife
and I, I got to a point where I understood why she left. So the resentment and
the hate and all of that negative type of stuff that happens with divorces was
gone.

Uh, so I think it was quite a, What's the word?

It was such a, the weight was lifted off. Yeah. Once that
negative stuff's gone, it's like, we can just move on, I guess. So, it broke
down in 2018. And to add a little bit of context. You know, funny, I guess to
this is it actually broke down four weeks prior to my brother marrying her
sister.

Rosie Skene:

Wow.
Okay.

Jye Martyn:

Yeah. So
four weeks after my marriage broke down, I had to watch then my ex wife walk
back down the aisle. So, uh, it was hard.

Rosie Skene:

Yeah.

Jye Martyn:

So, but
that that wedding actually led to a bit of a. Reconnection almost and we tried
again after the wedding and we came together and we tried to get things back on
track for our, , our two kids and then for us.

And so. That's, that's when into that. So that was over the
Christmas of 2019, it was early in the year when I committed to doing the
surgery. So, I had surgery, I think, in February of 2019. And then by Easter,
the marriage was over again. And, but this time for good, that was pretty much
it was done. So, that led to a, I was in a really dark place.

And it actually led to a situation where I did try to take my
own life. , I did have, , what I call, I call it an attempt. I, , it was
obviously not successful, , or, you know, I, I, I didn't, I didn't get as far
as, as what I was trying to get to. But I remember. You know, very
distinctively my, my father and his partner, who's a nurse picking me up, um,
in, in that really dark moment and taking me back to their house and then I
think two days later I was in hospital for four weeks.

And, and that's where my life really started to turn around a
little bit. , I struggled with it. I knew I needed to be there. I felt like I
hit rock bottom to be honest. , I had only recently, you know, someone tried to
explain that there isn't, there's no such thing as a rock bottom. There's only
as far as you think you could go.

Speaker:

Yeah.

J

ye Martyn:

Um, that
was my. Bottom, I guess. I mean,

Rosie Skene:

I don't
think you'd want to go any further. No, I don't think,

Jye Martyn:

yeah, it
was, it was pretty horrible. And, and looking back on it, it was, It's, you
know, I feel like it's almost like I realised that there was nowhere else for
me to go. Like it was either people tried to tell me, right.

You've, you've hit the bottom back then you've hit the bottom.
So the only way places to go up. All right. Um, so I went into hospital, in
Toronto, um, out of the private hospital there. And yeah, I started my journey
on, uh, on my, I guess my mental journey or my, my, my recovery, really, , my
mental recovery, I was already.

, I already had the surgery, my sciatic pain was gone, , the
surgery was quite successful, I was back moving around, you know, relatively
well after the surgery, and again, the sciatic pain was gone, so I saw it as a
success, and, , but then, yeah, the marriage broke down, I went into hospital,
and while I was in hospital, so, again, I was an arm and technician, and we
were known, Throughout the Air Force as having, you know, being the party kind
of trade, you know, we, we, we, we were the guys that would, would lead the
party, lead the charge into, you know, going into town , and really doing all
that.

So, when I stood in front of a, sat in front of a psychiatrist
and they said to me, you're, you need to stop drinking and I laughed and I'm
like, what do you mean? And she's like, you need to stop drinking for 12
months. I'm And I laughed again and I was like, I, my marriage is broken down.
This is when men really drink like I need alcohol to get through this and she's
like, no, and she actually threatened me.

So back then that she people, some people might think it's,
it's not a good thing, but it worked for me. So she actually said to me, um, if
you don't stop drinking for 12 months. I am potentially going to diagnose you
with bipolar, and if I diagnose you with bipolar, you'll be medically
discharged from the military, and they won't take responsibility for your
mental condition.

And, but if you do stop drinking for 12 months, I will, and you
prove to me that your mood swings that you're experiencing are from alcohol,
not, , bipolar, because you couldn't, you couldn't work it out. She couldn't
work out whether it was alcohol induced mood swings, or if it was, , Bipolar.
So she's like, you need to prove to me that it is alcohol.

And if you do, Oh, you'll be diagnosed with others or something
else. And, , you'll be medically discharged for your back and you'll receive
the benefits of a medical discharge for your back injury. And I was like, wow.
, Took a bit to sink in and people might think it's harsh. , just the
threatened me to diagnose with a mental condition like that.

But, , It worked. So I was given a drug called, called Antabuse
and what that, I don't know if you're familiar with it, but what it is, it
doesn't do anything to you. , it's not a mood stabilizer or anything like that
from what I understand. You just take it every day. And what happens is it sits
in your system.

And if you drink. It then creates a, a, a feeling of nausea,
you can throw up, you can actually, it makes you sick.

Rosie Skene:

Yeah,
okay.

Jye Martyn:

So people
who are struggling with addiction are given this drug to take. It's, and again,
voluntarily, you don't have to take it. People aren't going to know if you do
or not. , the psychiatrists aren't going to know.

But if you really want to do the work, this is a, it helps you.
So I took that for a period of time, never tested it. Some people do. , But I
realised, I had come to realize through my time in hospital that if I wanted to
be one, if I wanted to have the relationship with my kids that I wanted, if I
wanted to turn, become the man that they deserve to call their father, , if I
ever had, if I wanted any chance of having them on my own or having them 50 50,
which is what I wanted, , I had to prove to my ex wife as well that I was, Not
drinking.

So I was, I was fairly committed. Um, I, I was, I'm proud to
say that from the time of Just after Easter of 2019, I did not drink for 18
months.

Rosie Skene:

Wow.

Jye Martyn:

, I got
to the 12 month mark, and I didn't feel ready. So, I felt like if I drank, it
would have almost, uh, undone all the work that I had done. So I eventually was
18 months, and I felt comfortable that it actually changed.

And the reason for 12 months, I asked him, I was like, why 12?
Like, why not 6? Give me a break. Yeah, please. 12 months was because I had to
experience every major event in the calendar year, , and not drink through it.
So that's Anzac Day, Christmas, Easter, birthdays, anything, you know, that,
that as Australians we celebrate and, , you know, usually alcohol is involved.

So I had to do all that sober. , Again, I'm really glad I did
because over that 18 months that I did, I actually proved to myself I didn't
need alcohol to have fun and that was my addiction. It wasn't that I drank
every day or, , that I drank too much in my opinion. It was the fact that I was
reliant on it.

that I didn't feel like I could unwind. I didn't feel like I
could relax

or, um, have fun at social gatherings or anything like that.
And I couldn't, once I started, it was really hard for me to stop. Um, so I
didn't know where that point was of, you know, no return when you have, , if
you just, if you stop, you're generally good.

If you have one more, you're just going to keep going. And I
didn't know where that point was. So. Over the 18 months, I actually learned I
didn't need it to my, , I still experienced a bit of social anxiety, but I
learned to, to, to deal with it without alcohol and in another healthier ways.
So, , as much as that psychiatrist was, was pretty harsh and, and she.

I think she saved my life in a way because I, I, if I didn't
stop drinking, if I didn't make a commitment like that to stop drinking, I
don't know where I'd be today because I would have kept going and it would have
got worse.

Rosie Skene:

Yeah.
And obviously she knew, like, she, she knew that that was the case with your
alcohol consumption.

So that's why she did make such a, a threat to you, I guess.
Um, and I guess she had to know as well that she was making the right
diagnosis. Yeah.

Jye Martyn:

100%. And
the, , really positive thing that I love, um, I feel, you know, even a little
bit proud of, and I don't, she doesn't even know that she's still working in
the Newcastle area.

And she has started now referring her clients to my groups that
I run, um, for the veteran community. So it's, , for me personally, I know she
doesn't, I don't know if she knows that they're mine, , but she knows that
they're Invictus Australia's, but yeah, to to know that my old psychiatrist
who, , helped me through so much is now actually referring to come to me and to
our, to, to, to get support through my organisation, which is pretty special.

Rosie Skene:

Yeah,
absolutely. It's such a, yeah, I was going to say,

Jye Martyn:

it is a
full circle. Yeah. So

Rosie Skene:

beautiful. You, , described to me, , before we had this chat that you, you
don't hate your back injury. , and it's not a disability. , do you want to talk
a little bit about that? Sure.

Jye Martyn:

Yeah, so,
, when I, , because I did my injury in Defence and, , I was, you know, even
though I was in the gym, I was, , technically working, , I had to be fit.

I had to be strong to wear a bomb suit and all that. So, I had
to be in the gym. , I technically classed it as work and, , I, , I was
obviously, I was compensated, I guess, and, and, , because of my, , medical
discharge, you know, I was, I was compensated , with that as well and got some
entitlement.

So, what happened was, is, I guess. Because again, what
happened at the end of 2019 is actually medically discharged. So that was the
everything happens in threes, right? So I was divorced. I had spinal surgery. I
was divorced and then I got medically discharged all in 2019. What happened was
is because I was.

It was in that order, so it was, yes, spinal injury, spinal
surgery, divorce and hospital and then, , discharge at the end of 2019 because
I was sober at the end, , to, like, from the whole second half, I guess, of, ,
no, 2019 and then into 2020, I was, , I was at a point where I had to make a
lot of decisions, right, because I was medically discharging and there was a
lot of stuff happening around that.

Speaker:

Yeah,

Jye Martyn:

a lot of
different decisions had to be made and compensation was getting received and
money was coming in and all of that kind of stuff. So being sober actually
allowed me to make some really smart decisions around planning for my future in
a way that, that. I don't know if I would have made if I was drinking.

So, and then COVID hit. Yeah. But, , the medical discharge, I
was at a fork in the road, right? So I was like, all right, I could hate my
situation. I could hate what's happened to me, or I could try to make it, , be
productive in it and actually use it, uh, for using the benefits and
entitlements and, , and actually try to do something positive.

All right. And. So, I actually went to psychology, went to
university and studied first year psychology. I wanted to, I guess, use my
experience to help others. And I thought, I was always interested still about
why people do what they do.

Rosie Skene:

Yeah,
same. And what's

Jye Martyn:

the
driving force behind it. And, , so I thought psychology would be perfect.

So I went and I started studying at university prior to
actually getting out of the military. So I was at uni at the end of 2019 doing
a foundations course, which then got me enrolled. I was able to enroll into
psychology at the start of 2020. And so I was really proud of that. I never
thought I'd go to getting, , And it was probably one of the first positive
directions or positive choices I made after my back injury.

And what, what I've been able to do since my injury is, is.
Almost turn it into a positive. So, um, you're going to start going to
university. What it did for me was allow me to enter another big organisation.
I was surrounded by people. I was, , and like minded people too. We were
studying psychology.

I went from one big
organisation to another. So, it's one of the things people struggle with when
they discharge is leaving a big organisation or a big family, big support
group. And then, um, Actually, what they got nothing after that, right? So I
submerged myself into uni, surrounded myself with some,, some really amazing
people that I'm still friends with now.

I actually met my fiance through a friend I made at uni. , my
fiance is her auntie.

So, , it all, it's all worked out. There's another positive. ,
but the, I've just been able to make positive choices with it. I haven't,, what
it's done is it's actually made to a point where I don't, I said, I don't hate
it.

I don't look back and go, I wish I didn't have it. Um, or I, ,
I hate what happened to me because, , I live in a beautiful house. I have a
beautiful family. I have an amazing job. I have all these positive things
around me because of my back injury. And if I didn't have it, I wouldn't be
here talking to you.

I wouldn't be doing the work that I do. I'd be, , I'd probably
still be happy. I'd probably,, I'd be probably still in the Air Force, probably
be a sergeant by now and, and, and doing, traveling around doing other stuff.
But I really enjoy what I do and the life that I have. The work that I do.

And so I, it's almost like being a little bit, but just
practicing a bit of gratitude almost where instead of hating what happened to
me, I sit back and go, all right, it, it was a door closed, but one opened on
the other side. And when people dive into, I think it's one thing Defence does
is, you know, they're not Defence aren't great at.

preparing people for transition. And again, to be honest, it
might not, I don't know, people might not, people might disagree with me, but
at the end of the day, Defence's job is to train people for war. It's to
upskill them and get them ready to defend the country. And their job isn't to
then pull people back to, , their prior state, , of what they were before they
went in because at the end of the day, their focus is.

Protecting the country. So I, in saying that, I, I think a lot
more needs to be done in regards to supporting Transitioned members. If people
really dive into it, there is so many entitlements and benefits that people can
claim when they medically discharge to help support them in that. , and some
people, you know, they use it.

They, they, they get everything that they're entitled to. And
some people don't. Because at the time of medical discharge, they might resent
Defence, they might hate it, they might hate what's happening to them, which is
fair enough. Some people don't want to get out. Um, and I experienced this, I
talk to people all the time that, that someone else has made a decision on
their career and are kicking them out for some reason.

. Yeah. It's unfair. Some people want to be lifers. You know, I
wanted to be a lifer. I wanted to stay in forever, but some people, they
struggle with it. , and again, it's just, which leads to the veteran suicide
rate, you know, to be what it is. And now we've got the Royal commission
findings coming out very soon.

Speaker:

Yeah.

Jye Martyn:

So, , for
me, it was, it was just about turning a shitty situation into a positive,, and
trying to find the positive in it. , and I did. And, , and only recently, I, I
just got back from Kokoda, I was able to go over with an amazing group of
people and go and, and complete the trek and in, in eight days.

And when I was over there, the only thing that didn't hurt was
my back, my lower back held strong and everything else hurt, my legs,
shoulders, everything. But, um, that was the only thing that didn't. And. I
come away from there going, if I can do that, if I can carry a pack and if I
can walk, , that distance and do that terrain and, , that our soldiers did back
in World War Two, I, I can do anything.

It's not a disability. I'm not actually, , There's no barrier
really, it's just, it's just something that happened to me and now I can live
without that. Obviously there's still stuff I can't do. Um, you know, I'd love
to go and run on a soccer field again and go and play. , I'll turn 35 next
year.

So I was even talking to a guy last night about, , playing over
35s, which is crazy for me. But, , I don't know if I can because of the running
and the contact, but that's okay. But then, you know, there's, there's plenty I
can do. And it was about finding that.

Rosie Skene:

It's so
powerful that what you're saying there, because it's all mindset, right?

Like it's a, it's actually, I find it's a bit of a game within
the mind that you have to. play when you're going through something. , I, I
feel, I know my injury, , got me out of policing and I was definitely before I
was ready to do so like you, , I thought I would have promoted and, and been a,
I, I didn't join to get out at 33, , or, 35, whatever it was.

, I joined to be in there until I retired and, and to walk out
on my own terms, but that didn't happen for me. So of course there's that
little bit of, I guess, bitterness, and it left a little bit of a bad taste in
my mouth. And so I, sometimes I struggle with that still after, you know, seven
years, , I did my last shift.

And. I still think, , I could have done so much more in that
role, but I constantly play that game with myself going, yeah, but where would
look at where you are now? , I've come through, , almost come through the other
side and I get to talk to people like yourself and others that have done the
same thing, , and come through and, have a good life.

I don't know where I would be, , if I didn't have my injury.
It's different to yours because it's not a physical injury. So physically I can
do the things that I could do before, but mentally I struggle. So I can't,
know, read a lot of text all at once or I can't, my memory's really bad. , so I
have to constantly write things down and sometimes I forget, , I think I did it
with you, .

Did I, was I supposed to send you an email? I forgot. I didn't
write that down. Where, where are we up to? You know, so I do struggle daily,
but I know that, , I'm better for it. , I would never have seen a psychologist
and I'm so much better for having that support because it helps me navigate not
only that injury, but other parts of my life where I might be struggling.

so I can really
empathise with that. And I think a lot of people might see it, you know, as a
weakness, but if you can, if you can have that mindset where. , this is a
positive thing, , and it's hard when you're in those dark times to be able to
see that for sure. , but you just got to stick with yourself, I think, , and
move through it and do what the professionals tell you to do and, and trust
that they've got your back.

And I think a lot of people, I know when I talked to my
psychiatrist, he says, you're going to, you're going to be all right because
you have a good mindset , and you can see that it's working. It's a positive
thing. Uh, people that get stuck in that embitterment or blaming someone else
or blaming an organisation really struggle to come out the other side. ,
because of that, it holds them back a lot.

Jye Martyn:

Yeah, I
see it all the time in my work, , with veterans who have been, , poorly treated
by DVA or poorly treated by Defence. , and it, it is sad and , it is about, and
it's why I do what I do. It's why, , , I contacted you and, and want to, I
enjoy sharing my story.

And, , because at the end of the day, It's, it is about
mindset. And if, if someone hears this and goes, all right, you know, I'm in a
pretty shitty spot right now, but, someone else in a very similar situation was
able to shift their mindset, , look at it in a, in a different light and, and
then move in that, in that direction.

It's not, doesn't mean it's going to be easy and it doesn't
mean it's always going to be, , always going to be positive. You know, I still
have my dark days. I still have moments where I really struggle and with my
mental health, but it's really about using the support that's around you and
yeah, try to shift your mindset to look at things maybe just a little bit
differently.

Rosie Skene:

Yeah,
absolutely. Before we move on to what you are doing now, I've got one question
in relation to veterans transitioning out. , and what do you think are the most
significant challenges they face in relation to discharge at the moment?

Jye Martyn:

Well,
when you sign up, you, you sign up to serve your country and , you sign up to a
new identity, you know, you either become an airman or a sailor or a soldier,
You go through recruits and recruits, , what recruit, and I'm not sure what the
police ones like, but when you go through recruits in the military, it's very
much, , they break you down psychologically.

And which is again, you're never going to win something and
then they build you back up to become the respective service that you're in to
build you back up to an airman and the qualities that they want in an airman or
a soldier or a seaman. So, you, you change, you know, you, you, you really, ,
you change the way you look at the world, you change the way you, you walk down
the street, .

, You change your appearance and all of that. So, , when you
serve and people get ingrained in it, whether you do a year or you do 20, , you
identify as, as that service, right? As that person within the service. So,
when you discharge, it's really hard because , you've got to let that go.

Right? And, and. all of a sudden, , you've been, when you meet
someone new, when you're in service, , you're like, Hey, I'm, I'm Jye I'm, I, I
work, I'm in the air force, right. You know, and I'm sure it's, it's very
similar. Maybe, I don't know, policemen do it as well. Um, you know, the people
don't want people to know that , they're a copper off duty.

, but for guys in the military, it's pretty, pretty dominant
when they meet someone new that that's how they identify themselves. Right. Um,
so when you discharge, you, All of a sudden, it's like, hey, I'm Jye I'm, you
used to be in the military, like, all of a sudden, it's You don't know how,
because all of a sudden that's stripped away from you, and especially if you're
medically discharged and you go out fighting, it's stripped out, , away from
you, away from your control, right?

People, and when we talk about discharging, not everybody
struggles, right?

There's a lot of successful discharges out there, and there's a
lot of successful, , transitions, and people, some people handle it a lot
better than others, right? But the Medical ones are a little bit harder
sometimes when the person doesn't want to go and they're being forced out.

So the one of the, , the real struggles are around that
identity, around how do I now identify, I, I might, I might be a lifer, I might
be in for 30 years and all of a sudden I'm being kicked out. I might be in for
three years wanting a 30 year career. And I am, you know, young I'm, I, I don't
know how to identify now.

So, . That's why when I talk about my discharge, I, before I
was even at that stage of, , saying or not, I was still in service when I was
at university. So that day that I was no longer in the military, I just became
a student.

So I'm like, Hey, I'm John, I'm a student, , studying
psychology. And I, and I, I in great, I pushed myself into that.

All right. But when someone doesn't have that, I really
struggled to identify. Not, not everybody Identifies as a veteran either, you
know, I work in an office with, , with two, , amazing women in here that served
in the military, but don't identify as veterans, , for their own reasons. And
we've talked about it, but they're happy, you know, like, we did our time.

We were doing this now and we're not. You know, we don't see
because we didn't go overseas or we didn't do it, this type of stuff. We don't
actually see ourselves as veterans. So, um, the other thing that people
identify as purpose, I struggle with is purpose, right?

So, you know, it's just like the police, you've got a time and
place to be somewhere and you report to duty and then you're on your shift and
same as the military, you'd be there every morning or, , depending on what
shift you're on and, and you, you've got somewhere to be, you've got.

You know, um, a purpose, you've got a mission, , for me, it
was, all right, we've got to get the aircraft in the sky, we rock out to work
every morning and our, our thing was, all right, the aircraft is flying at 10
o'clock, we need to get them ready, , for the soldiers, it's, they're going out
field for six weeks, or they've got to get their, going to do weapon stuff or
whatever, they're training constantly, , for deployment, so that's their
purpose, and, and again, when you take that away, it's, They don't have one.

They, they, they might have had one for 10 plus years and ,
they just, , they Get on the other side and they're like, what do I do now? Um,
and they really struggle in it. They, they're like, well, okay, I, I don't need
to get dressed today. So, um, and that's one thing that happened to me, right
when I was, , when I came home from, , from my deployment and I became a stay
at home dad.

You know, I, I had a reason to get up outta bed in the morning.
'cause I had the two young kids there. But then when they went to school,
there'd be days there where I'd be sitting there at lunchtime and there'd be
beer in the fridge and I'd be like, I want a drink. And I, the only reason I
didn't is because I had to pick the kids up at three o'clock.

Then I would have a drink. Right. But purpose is, if there's
people who, , who don't have kids or, , whether marriages are broken down,
which is quite common in the military, , their purpose is, is gone and they
struggle to find a new one, you know? Right. Right. For me, it was going to
university, re educate myself, re train.

That was my purpose, you know, so I My transition was a little
bit different and I see it as a successful one because I, I feel like, and I
tell people now, like if you have the capacity, you know, whether it's the
mental capacity, the work capacity, all of that to go to university or go to
TAFE, go to an education department and go somewhere to retrain and to just
focus on something.

Because when you go to uni or TAFE or somewhere, you're
actually working something towards the future.

Rosie Skene:

Yeah.

Jye Martyn:

So, for
me, going to, going to university was like, all right, I've got to get up out
of bed because I want to be a psychologist, , and I'm going to work towards
that. So, , yeah, it's really around the 2 main, 2 common ones is, , identity,
purpose, .

But then, , you've got camaraderie and that social connection
kind of element that follows it, , and the, the brotherhood and, , the
connection you get with people in the military. And I'm sure it's very similar
with the police force. It's, it's very unique. Um, it's something that isn't
really experienced, I think, on the outside, , in, in big corporate, ,
settings.

, but the, the camaraderie is real, you know, and, , because
everything inside is done as a team. And I'm sure that very similar in the
police force, , you probably very rarely ever alone. Um, and in, in the
military, it's, you generally working as a team of some sort. You've got
supervisors, you've got, , corporal sergeants, all that kind of supervising and
a bunch of guys working or, guys and girls and, , working to do a job.

And very rarely are you doing anything on your own? And so all
of a sudden you might find yourself discharged. No, you don't have your mates
right there. Right. But you have social media. And all of a sudden you see all
the boys and the girls getting together on the weekend, having a barbecue, but
you're no longer invited because you're not there.

So that, that, that social connection and that, , that
camaraderie is really. Um, is again, it's another really key thing that people
really struggle with after they get out, which is again why I guess there's so
many organisations just like mine that are looking at trying to create that and
create purpose and create identity and create, you know, social connection just
through sports.

Rosie Skene:

Yeah.
That was going to be my next thing. How does sport, , help with all of those
things? Because it really does, doesn't it?

Jye Martyn:

Yeah.
Yeah, it does. And there's research that backs all this up. And, , we did
research only recently, , around, , sport , and, , the mental, the benefits,
the mental wellbeing, , on it.

But it just goes to what I was just saying about teamwork,
right?

Speaker:

Yeah.

Jye Martyn:

Sport
provides, not all sport does, there's some sports, , a lot of different sports
that are solo, um, but team sports especially create that kind of camaraderie
and that sense of belonging and that thing, that teamwork element, , back.

That someone might have lost if they've taken the uniform off.
So, whether it's playing sport or volunteering, right? Volunteering, I, I
volunteer, I, I'm a, a coach. , I don't, no longer play football, but I, I
coach my daughter's team. So for me, that creates, that creates purpose, right?
, I identify as well as a coach.

I, I, I coach in this league and, , with these kids. And so
again, it provides me an opportunity to, to identify as that, , identify and, ,
provides me purpose of, , I've got to, , I've got to get home. I'm going to
pick the kids up. I'm going to get back out to training. And I've got to, my
purpose now is to train And try to develop these football is these young girls
as football is the best I can.

, so volunteering in sport provides so many positive benefits
to, , that it's almost replaces some stuff that you lose in the military. And.
, I was talking to a guy last night at my daughter's football training, and he
was saying he plays over 35s football, and he goes, I absolutely love it.

We play every Friday
night, and then we rotate on whose house we go to afterwards for a barbecue,
and we put the fire out the back, and we have a few beers, and I'm like, mate,
that's why I do what I do. Like, that's, he was, he literally explained to me
the benefits of sport, benefits for him as an individual, to someone who
doesn't.

Try to create this for other people. And I said, mate, again,
why I do what I do because I try to get veterans into that.

Speaker:

Yeah,

Jye Martyn:

and
because it's so beneficial. , we work with people who, just like myself, the
doctor told me I'd never play golf again. And, and I sit there and I talk to
people all the time who go, the doctor told me I can't run.

The doctor told me I can't do this. I can't do that. Okay. I
met a guy, , here in the office that I'm working in and he said, I've got four
ankle surgeries and he was like, my doctor said, I can't run and I can't play
rugby union anymore. It's like, okay, well, let's, let's look at a wheelchair
rugby union for you.

We'll, you know, um, and next, , he's going out and trying
wheelchair union and he's getting. That the camaraderie back is getting that
sense of enjoyment that he has that he thought he had lost because he can't
play regular rugby union anymore, but he's now doing it in a wheelchair and
he's having a great time.

So, it's sport is such a powerful tool. And there's something
about sport in the military too, right? So, it provides that competitive
element that is kind of drummed into people that serve. So, there's a, ,
there's a common, , a common banner that air force is better than maybe, I
don't say air force is better, I say air force is smarter.

The smart people join the air force. Is

Rosie Skene:

it
because you get to stay in hotels and not have to sleep in tents? Yeah, it's

Jye Martyn:

always
that, , people say you pick your hotel by the stars. I just say well, We're
just the smart ones, you guys, you guys can bag on us all you like, so
everyone, everyone bags on the Air Force until they call in an airstrike and
then they need us.

Um, there's that friendly banner and competitive kind of side
to it. And it's Trump, the ADF sport, you know, they, they have all, they
always have, Air Force, maybe first army kind of competitions in sport while
you're serving. It's a sport. So it's such a. You know, important element. It's
such a big element in Defence.

And then again, you get out, it's gone. So we try to create
opportunities, um, for people to find that in the civilian community. So it's
another important part of sport is. Veterans connect with other veterans
because they have shared lived experience and they have a shared interest,
right? You know, whether it's serving or they, they both joined in the Air
Force or served in the Air Force, so , they can talk about something like that.

When a civilian, so when a veteran, let's say he or she goes to
a barbecue, that has no other veterans there. They, some of them will really
struggle to make conversation with people or just connect with other people
because they, they don't have, there's nothing there that's like a common
interest or a common lived experience, right?

All of a sudden, let's say you get that same veteran and you
put them on a football field or like, well, this is football, for example, all
of a sudden you have that common interest already. because they love football,
they love football. So they come together and that's the icebreaker that
connects them together.

It's not service.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Jye Martyn:

But it's,
it's the sport, right? And what happens there is it, it allows that, helps that
veteran actually connect to their local community. And again, it's something
that people really struggle with. I live in a street, you know, that has, I
didn't move far. I live about eight minutes from the ref base.

Um, I love it that much, but, , the street I live in has like
five Defence families, if not six, live on it, right? Um, I don't, I don't any,
any of them know that, that I'm former serving, but the rest of the houses, we
all socialize at the front of my house or someone else's house. We all have a
drink and play yard games and just socialize, cook up a barbecue and that.

What we see is, and I was talking to a mate of mine, , we saw
it one day where, Literally the three raffies that all live next to each other.
They drove home, they pulled into their driveways, into their garages, shut the
garage, walk inside, you never saw them, right? We're all out there having a
beer, so there's every, they could have come over, but none of them did, right?

And they all just kind of secluded themselves in their houses,
and I was looking at it going, what's that mean? Like, did I used to do that?
Um, and I was, I saw, I just thought it was quite weird that. No one in the
street that is military is actually socializing with anyone else in the street,
but everybody else is.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Jye Martyn:

And, um,
it's, it's a, it's just a weird kind of thing. But then sport, as I said, it
helps you connect with the civilian community, right? And what we're trying to
do in my work is I go out to the RAF base, go to the army base, go to different
places around the state and promote across the serving community that if you If
you make Defence your everything, which they will ask of you, um, they, they
will one day, it might be next, it might be 20 years, it might be next year,
you know, like we don't know five years from now, but they, they, they will
kick you out.

It's just a matter of time, right? Whether you, you end with a,
hopefully it's when you want, um, you know, whether that's at retirement or
whether it's after 20 years or whenever you're ready, right? But you don't know
what's going to happen. I didn't know that my back was going to. You know, blow
out. So, I, I try to tell people who are serving, don't let defence mate, don't
have defence as your everything.

Go out, join a local rugby league team, football team, squash
competition, whatever it is, right? Parkrun on a Sunday morning. Whatever,
whatever it is, go and join something in your community which will allow you to
connect with them. Because at the end of the day, Defence will one day spit you
out, but the football club won't, or parkrun won't, or, you know, you'll still
be accepted into that club, whatever sport you love, it doesn't have to be
football, , whatever it is, right?

So. Go and connect in with that sport or that recreational
group could be a hiking group. It could be whatever you enjoy, whatever your,
uh, what brings you, um, joy. So just connecting with them, connecting with
your community around you, because again, when Defence no longer need you, um,
your community will still be there to support you.

Rosie Skene:

Yeah,
that's so true because I know, my husband was in Defence and a lot of them just
wrap up everything into that. So, you know, they work and socially, , , they've
got families and the wives and partners and kids all play together and they
have their social groups and it's all tied into that one thing.

Um, and even for the serving member when they leave. But the
family as well, like, it feels like everyone loses that community. So you're
right 100 percent in what you're saying. If you have that as well outside, that
transition will be so much, I guess, easier and less brutal because you have, ,
another community that you can put yourself into.

Jye Martyn:

Yeah,
well, sporting clubs are, , what we try to describe to people is, yeah, and I'm
sure everyone's kind of seen it. You know, you've got a young family who
there's a sickness in the family or someone's house burns down or, , there's a
tragedy that kind of happens within the club. Um, it happened more and more
where clubs then rallied, , all of their members and players or whatever they
are , and trust and support that family, right.

Whether it's fundraising, whether it's meals, whether it's
whatever, right. Um, the sporting clubs provide a level of support, very
similar to what. , ex service organisations do and I meet people all the time
that actually want nothing to do with ex, ex service organisation and that's
perfectly fine.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Jye Martyn:

Um, but
you know, everyone, you know, we're, we're kind of designed to, to live in, ,
to be surrounded by people, right? We're not designed to live on our own. So if
you don't want to be surrounded by, by veterans or an ex service organisation
who wants to support you, a local sporting club will do exactly the same thing.

Yeah. They probably don't have DVA advocates to help you with
DVA paperwork, but , they will help you if you need it.

Rosie Skene:

Yeah.

Jye Martyn:

Yeah.

Rosie Skene:

So I
think we should start talking about, , your work right now, like even though
we've, we've touched on it a bit, but I would love to know how you became
involved with Invictus Australia , and how that came about.

Jye Martyn:

Yeah.
Well, it all kind of started, , when I was, I don't even discharge again, 2019
was a big year. Um, Yeah. I looked around in the Newcastle area and it kind of
was like, there wasn't a whole lot for younger veterans. There was a lot of RSL
sub branches around here, not many of them doing anything. And, , I kind of was
looking for a young veterans group to kind of, I guess, more join myself
really.

, I, I knew I needed support. I knew I was, , I was a single
dad, I was discharging. I was, I knew I was going to struggle. And, um, I just
wanted to be proactive and go and find a group. of people to help them support
me. Well, there wasn't many, if any. So I actually rang a charity that was
prominent in other areas, but, and targeted young, younger veterans.

And, and I said to him like, why aren't you guys in Newcastle?
There's such a huge Defence community here. There's a huge operational, ,
fighters, like RAF bases and army barracks. There's heaps of, , people that
retire here. Why are you, why are people, why is there not? Why isn't your
charity here?

And I go, we've got no one to run it. And I'm like, we need a
volunteer. And I'm like, I'm your man. So I just started. I actually created
what I needed.

Speaker 2:

Yeah,

Jye Martyn:

that's
great. Which I think a lot of people do. , but. I started just a simple coffee
group and, , advertised it out, people come in, they get a free coffee and just
sit down and chat.

And I remember the first guy that sat across from me, , I'm
still mates with him to this day. And, they've actually just gone through and,
, uh, him and his partner have got a, uh, they've adopted a, a young, young
girl. And, and they've asked me to be , the godfather. Father of , of Lila and
it's, it all stemmed from, from this right from building this friendship with
this guy for his volunteering and it was, it's, it's really cool and, , but I
started there and, , just started showing up every once a week or once a
fortnight I was and just.

Welcome to people in and just started chatting away and and
then, , I eventually stopped volunteering there because I was studying full
time kids. I just burnt out a little bit. So, I stopped volunteering, I had to
take something off and I stopped that. It was still running, but I stopped
running it and then, another organisation saying the work I was doing over
here, they needed volunteers.

So, they approached me and I was like, No, I've just given up a
volunteering opportunity. Yes. And you want me to do another one? That this one
that I was going to work, I was going to volunteer for, , they were a lot more.
They were better set up. They had more support. So I wasn't actually going to
run stuff on my own.

I'd have people on the ground in Newcastle supporting me and it
wasn't a big commitment. So I agreed because it was a bit of an in really to
the organisation. So I started volunteering with them and I guess the
organisation was soldier on that. I started volunteering with and then that led
to a job. So they started advertising for, uh.

Paid role in the work that I was doing as a volunteer. So I
applied, got given a job, started working for soldier on. And , my work there
was literally around creating opportunities with a social connection throughout
the veteran community. So it was running family friendly events, , going to the
movies, going quad bike riding, going, my first day of work was literally quad
bike riding.

And I'm like, this is amazing. How did I learn this? Um, but I
had this amazing kind of job where I'd, I'd get to plan fun events for families
to go and enjoy. And, , but they were meeting other veterans and it was
creating a veteran community. Well, yeah, we're just creating a veteran
exclusive community really.

And there's benefits and there's negatives to that. Right. So I
remember expressing to my boss, , back then that, can we work with a community
group? Can we try to get veterans, we run an event with them, but actually have
their members there as well and we bring them over and we try to get them. To
mingle, I guess, and they said, no, they're like, no, we're creating that,
like, their members wouldn't be allowed to be there.

We can go to that venue, but it'd be veterans only. It's not
what I'm, when I explained to her, that veterans really struggle to adapt into
the civilian community. So we could try to help with that. And they're like,
oh, no, no, we're, we're doing this right. And I get it. It might've been only
a week or two later.

I ended up having a conversation with the CEO of Invictus. And
he goes, he literally told me about this opportunity with the organisation that
they were hiring in the Newcastle area for a regional manager for Northern New
South Wales to try to connect veterans in with the civilian community. And I'm
like, I was literally talking to my boss two weeks ago about trying to do that
at Soldier On and she said, no, and now you're telling me I can do it with you.

And they're like, yep. So I spent about 45 minutes on the phone
to Michael Hartung, the CEO of Invictus, and I, um, I wasn't aware at the time,
but that was actually my job interview.

Speaker 2:

Yeah,
right.

Jye Martyn:

So it's
really cool to do a job interview when you don't know what it is.

Rosie Skene:

Yeah,
it'd be much more relaxing, I

Jye Martyn:

think,
yeah.

Yeah, yeah. Um, I, I was kind of waiting on an email from that
for a job interview and the next email I got was actually an offer. So I, it
was, it's an amazing opportunity and my passion. I'm very passionate about
sport. I love it. , and then to provide, to work in sport and to work in a
veteran community and try to link them together was.

Was perfect for me. So, um, yeah, that's how I, that was kind
of my road into, into this role. And I started at the start of last year and
yeah, , the work is, it's been amazing. Some of the stuff I've been able to, to
achieve and to do. To date has been remarkable. Um, you know, we've, I've done,
I was on Kokoda only recently, which was with

Invictus. Yeah.

Yeah. So we, we organized, helped organize that event. , I, I
put my hand up to, to go and was successful in that. And, and we, Yeah, I got
to kind of support 13, 12 other people, , to achieve that as well. And, and
then, you know, I've, I've had the, I've had some really cool opportunities
where, and it's part of the reason I do what I do, because I get, there's some
days which are amazing where I get to make phone calls to people for amazing
opportunities.

And I made one last year, we, we got approached by the New
South Wales government, , with an opportunity to find a veteran in a wheelchair
to send on the first flight, a hot air balloon flight. Um, for, like,
accessible hot air balloon flight. So, because it was in the Hunter Valley, it
got handed down to me.

So, Michael rang me and he's like, do you know anyone in the
Hunter Valley that's in a wheelchair? A veteran. And I'm like, yeah, I know a
couple. And he's like, okay, well, we need to find someone for this. And can
you make it happen? And I thought, this is amazing. I get to ring someone and
go, Hey, do you want a free hot air balloon flight?

And I did, I found someone and then we worked on, we worked
with him and it took about six months. Um, cause I had to build the basket and
do everything. But once the day was finally selected about two weeks out, I've
got a phone call from them going, , how much do you weigh? And I'm like, what?
And they go, well, um.

We need your weight. And I'm like, why? They go, because we're
going to invite you to actually be a part of the flight. So next thing you
know, a couple of weeks later, I'm up with him in the flight, going hot air
ballooning through the Hunter Valley on such a special occasion where two
people in wheelchairs got to go on a hot air balloon flight where they never
thought they'd ever get to do it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Jye Martyn:

So, you
know, that was one real highlight. Kokoda was another. , yeah. Anzac round this
year, I got to ring, , amazing individual in Sydney, , and see whether he
wanted to read the ode at the manly game, you know, and stand in front of 19,
000 people , and read the ode in uniform. And, , hearing the people's voices on
the other end of the phone, when I get to kind of do this is real, it makes me.

look for more opportunities for it, you know, and, , cause I
love creating these opportunities for people to connect with sport, but to have
lasting memories with their family.

Rosie Skene:

It's
something pretty powerful and making other people happy, I think. And obviously
you're getting that from, from your job, which like, what a dream to be able to
do that for work.

Jye Martyn:

It is.
And I'm a, it was quite hard with the manly thing because I'm a manly supporter
and I wanted to read the to give

Rosie Skene:

it to
someone else

Jye Martyn:

to give
it to someone else was a little bit tricky. I love the guy. I think he's
amazing. And he was a very, very worthy recipient. And I stood with his wife on
the field as he did that.

And I had my arm around her because she was like in tears and
it was a real special occasion. So I was still there still kind of on the
field, which, again, was a remarkable experience for me. But, um, yeah. Those,
those opportunities, , it's, they're very special and it's, I'm just grateful
that I'm in a job where I get to, you know, I get to make those phone calls.

Rosie Skene:

How, so
special. Do you have anything else that you want to talk about with Invictus

Jye Martyn:

no, it's
more, I've got my, I've got my work life. I've got, um, , one thing that's a
great support for me is, is my family now, , I, touched on earlier, like I
have, I have five children. , I have two to my ex wife, , my partner and my
fiance now, she had two to a previous relationship.

We've come together , and had little Leo, , together. ,
Navigating life as a blended family with five children is, is quite difficult,
but it's, , it's amazing and challenging all at the same time, , and keeps me
on my toes. We have, , we're getting close to the end of the season where we've
had, , football for seven days a week.

, So I literally drive home from work, grab one of the kids or
two of the kids and put them in the car and drive to soccer training most days.
, Which, you know, it's great because I'm watching them develop. They play at a
pretty high level here in Newcastle. So they train multiple times a week. Um,
so, you know, we're a very sporty family, , but, , I'm just grateful that the,
again, we're able to help provide provide that for my family and, , everything
that because of everything I sit back sometimes and look at all the work that
I've done and, you know, It's been, it's been hard, but it's, you know, there's
days where I sit back and go, it was all, it was so worth it, , and it's, it's
kind of, it drives me to, to, to want to, again, again, you know, share it with
others to go, you know, yes, there's going to be hard days.

Yes. You know, the work is hard, but on the other side, it's so
worth it, , and, um, there's so many different people in different situations,
not everyone's, As fortunate as, as I am, or they've been in, you know, they've
got, they've got worse situations, but, , with the support that's around them,
there are people out there that generally care and generally want to support
them.

And I just encourage people to, , if they, if they're
struggling with, with, you know, anything post, you know, whether it's
discharging from the military or from, you know, being, you know, being on the
front line, you know, um, with police and, and ambulance and, and fireys and
all of that, whether they're, if they're struggling with, with something, ,
they need to reach out, they need to go and have a beer with a mate, , or a
coffee, , don't, obviously if alcohol's a problem, don't go and have a beer, but
talk to someone that can actually understand and, um, don't be afraid of it.

I think, you know, we've come to a place now where Mental
health is, it's not a shaboo kind of topic where, , we, it's not one of those
things that we kind of don't want to talk about anymore. And I encourage
people, , if someone does come to you to talk about their mental health, then,
, Don't, don't treat it as a, oh, it's a, , , don't see it as a small thing,
you know, someone's able to reach out to you and actually express something to
you about their mental health.

It takes courage, right?

Yeah, that kind of needs to be respected, , and treated with
care. And so, yeah, it's highly encourage people if, if, if they do have
someone willing enough to, to reach out to them and ask them for help, please,
you know, offer that, , in some way. Okay. Whether it's just lending an ear,
whether it's just checking in on them the next day, whether it's steering them
in the right direction or encouraging them to see professional help, you know,
it's, um, it's all important.

So, but no, it's been an amazing opportunity and, you know,
loved having a chat with you and thank you for the work you do, , and providing
this podcast for people to, , to hear and to, , hopefully maybe get something
out of and it can help them. And, , it wouldn't be, wouldn't be possible
without.

, people like yourself. So yeah, thanks very much for the
opportunity.

Rosie Skene:

No,
you're so welcome. , thank you so much for reaching out and wanting to come on.
I. I feel so blessed. And I think what I wanted to say to that, when you said,
if someone comes to you with a mental health issue or they want to have a chat,
they should feel good about themselves because they are seen as a safe person
for someone who's going through that.

And, and they should, , like you said, just do the right thing
and not feel like it's a burden, but actually feel blessed that someone's come
to you with their problems because it takes a lot of courage and it takes a lot
to, to voice any concerns, especially mental health. , so I completely agree
with you and thank you for coming on and sharing your story because I know that
so many people will get so much out of it.

And , the whole reason I started this was because of veteran
and first responder suicide and no one, I couldn't hear any voices of people
that had gone through it, . To help others that might be having a tough time
and might be out there, you know, rock bottom. Um, so I really appreciate you
coming on and giving that perspective, especially you're my first Rafi.

So I'm so excited that you could come on. Yeah. So thank you so
much. People want to get involved with Invictus. How can they do that in any
capacity?

Jye Martyn:

Yeah. So
we, we have regional managers across the country. , where at the moment we are
not in Tasmania and Northern territory, but we are in every other state.

Um, so the, the best way to connect in and finding out what's
going on, we have a website,, but each respective kind of state has their own
Facebook group. So, um, for mine, you know, it's, , just in Invictus Australia,
Hunter and Northern New South Wales, we have the Southern New South Wales one,
and then there's, you know, there's Victor's Australia, Queensland, um, Western
Australia, South Australia and Victoria.

So looking up those, , Facebook groups. They keep that's where
we kind of put all of our relevant information for that area. And then there's
also a Sydney one. Sorry. , but, you know, connecting in there. So, , Each once
you want to go into those groups, you'll see who the respective manager is by
the post.

, you can reach out by messenger. , we're pretty active on that
web. there's our email addresses on most of the flyers that are around that. We
have a support inbox. That you can email that will go to our, , one of our
staff members, and then it'll get directed to the right person. So, if someone
in Coffs Harbour you know, sends an email, it'll, it'll come through to me,
, someone in, um, South Australia, it'll go down south.

So, the respective person gets it, and then they'll get in
contact with you. , and then we've got a monthly kind of email, , newsletter, I
guess it goes out. So, out on our website, you can sign up to that. It just
keeps you up to date with everything happening across, you know, the Invictus
Games and the adaptive sports program that happens that everyone kind of knows
about with Prince Harry and all of that.

And then it also keeps you up to date with all the community
work that the regional managers are looking after for the rest of the veterans
who, you know, don't get to go to the games.

Rosie Skene:

Yeah,
amazing. And I'll get, um, I'll get those Facebook, uh, links and we'll chuck
them on, uh, the podcast as well. So people can find it nice and easy, but, ,
thank you so, so much for coming on.

It's been a joy and I really appreciate you sharing your story
because I know that people are going to get something out of it.

Jye Martyn:

Yeah, no
worries at all. And, um, it's been a pleasure and to be the first Rafi. It's,
um, you know, it's great. So, yeah, thanks Rosie.

Rosie Skene:

I hope
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Your support means the world. My name is Rosie Skeen, join me
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Trauma. Until then, be kind to your mind and trust in the magic of your
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