‘I served my country, but I never felt so discarded in my life’: how the ADF pushed its own witness to the brink of suicide

The key witness in the royal commission into defence and veteran suicide was left dangerously suicidal by the experience, they say. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

A former Royal Australian Navy officer who alleges a colleague’s bullying led to them feeling suicidal was further traumatised – and pushed to the brink of suicide again – after appearing as a special “key witness” in the royal commission into defence and veteran suicide.

Speaking exclusively to Guardian Australia, the former officer, who can’t be identified, explained how their harrowing experiences in the navy led them to be selected as the sole key witness in an in-depth inquiry within the commission, designed to highlight systemic institutional failure by the Australian Defence Force.