To Ambulance Victoria (AV) Acting Hepburn/Moorabool Senior Team Manager Tom Cavanagh, ANZAC Day is a time for veterans to be reminded they're not alone and to reflect on the purpose of Australia's Defence Force and remember the fallen.
Tom spent eight years in the military as an infantry solider in the Australian Regular Army (ARA) and deployed on operations to Timor Leste, Iraq and Afghanistan during that time.
"War changes a person, it's very hard for our society to understand that, for the ones that have not experienced it," Tom said.
Tom Cavanagh at AV.
"In Afghanistan, we lost six soldiers, two of them good friends, in combat operations during my nine months there. We lost many more both in operations overseas and while at home during my eight years in the military. We are still losing them today due to veteran suicide.
"ANZAC Day is a day to embrace that you might be different because of your experiences, and you might have suffered and lost but you did it in great company, and your army friends are still there for you. It's a special kind of bond."
Despite the challenges, Tom said if he had his time over, he wouldn't hesitate to do it all again.
"What we achieved and the people I met through it have made me the person I am today," he said.
"The military provided a lot of rapid growing up and a lot of perspective. It very much informed how I see the world now - I've seen how people in other countries can live and it makes you understand how lucky we are and appreciate what we have.
"I very much enjoyed my time in the army and developed a lot. It provided me a lot of things I didn't think I needed like structure, discipline and purpose."
Tom Cavanagh in the Army.
Tom joined the Army at 19, after a short stint as an apprentice chef after finishing high school.
"I saw the Army as an adventure but I also wanted to do something that was greater than just making money, something greater than myself," he said.
"I wanted to do something that could affect change on a larger scale.
"Combat was a byproduct but most of it was about stabilisation, building infrastructure, protecting local inhabitants and internally displaced people. It was about trying to achieve some stability and peace in whichever region we were in."
During a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan, Tom was badly injured, breaking his spine, and two years later was medically discharged from the Army.
He began studying paramedicine while recovering and undergoing surgery, drawn to the field after his medical experiences on deployment.
Tom on deployment to Iraq.
"As a soldier, I had a few sub-specialities including as a combat medic. With the improvised explosive device (IED) warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan, they began to upskill individual soldiers in more advanced medical techniques and I was lucky enough to be one of them," Tom said.
"Through my time in Iraq and Afghanistan particularly, I continued to upskill and it saw me caring for people injured in some multi-casualty incidents.
"But I would also do some primary healthcare for the soldiers and in the villages and towns. For example, in the operations in Timor Leste, this simple care would be lifechanging for them due to the lack of basic healthcare."
This year, Tom will reach 10 years of service at AV.
Lest we forget.
