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The Year So Far

2023 was a fantastic year and saw our TJF Community grow significantly.2024 has been a cracker so far and we have some great things coming for our members.We recently had a day out with the Peninsula Dragonflys Dragon Boat Sports Club at Carrum and what a day it was. Kerrie and the wonderful community from Peninsula Dragonflys made us feel very welcome and after the initial safety briefing and on-land component, we hit the water for some tuition on how to get that big boat moving. It was gr...

Great Things Happening at The Journey Forward

The Journey Forward has been growing beautifully and we are really proud of our community. This month has seen many new and exciting things happening including The Journey Forward: Extending Support and lending a helping hand to Exford Primary SchoolIn response to the recent tragic incident at Exford Primary School, The Journey Forward, inspired by Robbie Campo (ESSS CEO) call to action on Linkedin, had the honour and privilege of being part of the incredible team of people supporting students. ...

As The Journey Forward Continues.

The last fortnight has been really busy and I am happy to report that it has also been really productive. I have been undergoing therapy with life coach and hypnotherapist Karim Boktor since January this year. He uses Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques to reduce the effects of trauma in my everyday life and it’s a so far so good feeling at this point.I’ve found that my anxiety has reduced greatly and I definitely feel an overall improvement in my well being. Together with Karim, w...

New Guest Speakers Coming!

With the overwhelming response to our last guest speaker Sarah Lux, We’d like to welcome Kosta Nikolaidis and Girish Shanker to our group on the 28th of April. Check the attached flyer for more information and please join us for what will be an informative day with great people. ...

Things are coming along at The Journey Forward

At The Journey Forward we have been fortunate to have landed on our feet with the Peer Activity Groups that we have been running at the Beach Bar @ Carrum. A massive thank you to Kylie and Marinette for providing a suitable and safe venue to conduct our meet ups and work towards our journey forward. We have had three fortnightly catch ups since launching this initiative and have been fortunate enough to have some great frontline veterans and members attend. We have covered topics inclu...

The Journey Forward

We have been really busy at Tango Juliet Foxtrot (TJF) and are excited to be launching our new peer discussion and activity group program called ‘The Journey Forward’ in conjunction with mate and fellow VicPol veteran Dave Evans. Dave served 23 years in the job performing various roles before being pensioned out with PTSD. Dave then went on to get his Degree in psychology and a Masters of social work. I cannot think of a better bloke to join the team as Dave is passionate about police mental...

Christmas and New Year Message

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The problem with PTSD and a first hand account from those dealing with the fallout.

Here is a very real article written by someone who has experience PTSD and the issues associated with dealing with it. There are many things that need to be done to address this injury and the purpose of this article is to let others know that they are not alone. Please stay in the fight! Please don’t ever give up even when you’re at your worst, reach out to those that you trust and remember that whilst it may seem sometimes that things will never get better. They will. Look after your mate...

Trojan’s Trek - Veterans helping veterans

I recently had the fortune to secure a spot on Trojan’s Trek Queensland trip. I had researched Trojan’s Trek extensively and spoke to a number of people that had previously participated in one of their treks. The overwhelming consensus was that it was worthwhile with some even describing it as life changing. Life changing is a fairly big stick to wield and with a thirst for knowledge, I packed up my kit and jumped on a plane to Brisbane.  I had suffered fairly severe anxiety t...

Well Beyond Pilot Program - Helping members successfully transition into retirement. Another perspective.

Sometime ago I was fortunate enough to be accepted to participate in a pilot program being run by the Emergency Services Foundation that was launched to help retiring members transition from the job successfully with the assistance of a trained well beyond coach.  My initial interest in this program was driven by the lack of services in place to support our members whilst transitioning from a life long career to set them up for success with the appropriate resources and support. Leaving a j...

The perspective of a beautiful friend.

Here is an honest piece from my beautiful friend Emmy, that she wrote in 2019. I found it the other day whilst going through my notes and think it’s well worth a read. Emmy has seen me at my best and worst. At the moment I’m somewhere in between and I’m still working on repairing myself. I am extremely lucky to have some wonderful people in my corner. Surround yourself with good people who will lift you up and avoid drama.  I’m open to different treatments and my latest has taken me...

Raw Perspective on PTSD And its Effects

18 Years… and then? When I was encouraged to write a few blog posts for TJF it took me a while to be able to sit down and write things. How do you explain how it feels to spend 18 years doing a job that you thought was your forever job? A career where you got to help people and try and make the world a little safer and brighter for everyone?  Sounds like a fairy tale doesn’t it? Well, my friends, that’s because it is. A fairy tale. Not real. Far more horrific and confro...

Sometimes the job is f*%$#ed!

Hey everyone, I hope you’re all travelling well and looking after yourselves. It’s been a busy month and there have been some highs and lows. Tango Juliet Foxtrot continues to do well and we’re spreading the message about the importance of looking after our mental health and starting a conversation.  The memorial service for the four Victoria Police officers killed whilst performing their duties back on the 22nd of April 2020 was a moving tribute and I’m sure that those who were eit...

Happy New Year - Fight the good fight

Well! What a roller coaster of a few weeks with the launch of the Tango Juliet Foxtrot website. It wasn’t without a few minor issues and as we iron them out I appreciate everyone’s patience.  We have added PayPal to the site so that we can give our mates another option than the plastic fantastic when buying your merch.  Over the last couple of weeks I’ve had some really great conversations with some fantastic people. People that have also suffered from PTSD and anxiety as a resul...

Keep Fighting

Last week saw me back to hospital for treatment to manage my anxiety, depression and Post Traumatic Stress. This was a planned admission, and one that helps me manage the symptoms of the illness. Whilst I’m in there, I receive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) which is helpful for managing my depression. I’ll explain how it works as it’s pretty cool and has been successful for me to keep things manageable when other things haven’t worked.  During a TMS session, an electromagne...

Tango Juliet Foxtrot

At Tango Juliet Foxtrot, we’re about looking after our mates. The job is often a difficult one and the TJF brand was created with the realisation that there is still so much more to do when it comes to looking after our mental health. TJF has always been a tongue in cheek saying amongst those in the job. It’s not a negative thing as some may believe, it acknowledges the fact that not every day is easy. Some days are fucked! Not only are we about creating really cool stuff that you’ll want ...