Sarah101 wrote Anzac spirit etc is a tool politicians use to whip up nationalism.

We made heroes of the men of Gallipoli. We have made much of the spirit that we say symbolises them. They didn’t develop that spirit at Gallipoli. On the contrary, they carried the ‘Spirit of Australia’ with them to the Anzac Cove because that is who they were and that is who we are.
History has demonstrated and Henry Lawson and Dorethea Mackellar wrote of how this country, with its vastness, furnace- breathed droughts, bush fires and floods, is character building to say the least.
The truth is we are too stubborn for our own good. We know that when we are faced with calamity we need and can rely on each other and we refuse to let any bugger get the best of us.

So let’s not idolise or mythologise these soldiers. They were from and of this place. They were descendants of migrants who came here
over the last 100,000 years from all corners of the earth. Pioneering men and women who carved out a nation from a land so harsh and desolate that only the stubborn and brave dared persevere despite the hindrance of flood, drought, war and governmental interference.

In 1903 we Australians created our national flag and used the Southern Cross to embody Dante’s four moral virtues of justice, prudence, temperance and fortitude, principles that Australians should live up to.

So, what happened in 1915 was that we realised who we are and what we’re made of. We discovered for ourselves the intrinsic goodness of our national character, qualities like decency, manliness, integrity and fairness with a whole lot of larrikin thrown in.

We sure do not get our moral values from our political masters.

Demos, I signed up with the Australian Defence Forces. If we had no defence forces, we would have been speaking Japanese since the 1940's or, if we had no defences more recently, Indonesian.
While I'm not so naive to think that defence forces will never be used to wage war, as long as other nations have them, we need them.
My only gripe was that the government desn't want to know the down side and tries to sweep the damaged defence members under the carpet.

to Sarah101... again...and Demos... military readiness is as simple as the schoolyard, ... its about survival.

It's about alliances and mutual obligations in those alliances for mutual support and again...survival.

Small countries like Australia, cannot survive without what is usually termed 'Great and powerful friends'.... for us it is the USA.

I identity with JSP in his statement about the downside, but I have served in the RAAF, where I went to Vietnam during the war.. have experienced beatings and torture by those in the previous intake, have been thumped mercilessly and dragged to the ablution block with blood streaming down by chest from a nearly broken nose, and none of this has left me with any sense of 'trauma' with the notable exception, that if I ever meet face to face the one bloke who tortured me again, I cannot guarantee that I won't 'deal' with him in a very unfriendly manner.

But I'd certainly ask him if his attitude has changed and how he now feels about that incident prior to anything else.

I saw people during my RAAF time, who would have fitted in perfectly at Auschwitz, they exist in all races. I think many of you live sheltered lives and /or are simply in denial about the realities of life.

During those turbulent and painful years in the RAAF, I learn't the meaning of 'Great and Powerful Friends' as one of the non Apprentices saw our plight and trained us in weightlifting and boxing. He also assured us that if we were ill treated, 'CALL ME'...Its nice to have powerful friends sometimes.

I think some (not all) PTSD comes from lack of true exposure to the philosophical and historical basis for defense. War is indeed hell, but sadly, every peace, including the one we now currently enjoy, is the result of... a war.