Heston Russell, Special Forces Veteran

Three Food Memories

“Because you've come from an institution where you're meant to put yourself last, to ask for help is seen as a bit of a failure”

In this episode you’ll meet Special Forces Veteran Heston Russell.

Heston grew up in suburban Brisbane as the middle child, with a Dad who was in the army, and an aerobics instructor mum.

Like his Dad, he joined the army too - but when he was a kid, he loved heading to work with his mum at the aerobics classes she taught. Food in the household was healthy and nutritious, chocolate and sweets were never to be seen.
This of course led him on a path the the corner store where he’d devour killer pythons and frogs. But life since high school hasn’t been all sweetness and lollipops. In fact, it's been far from.

During his time in the army, Heston served four combat operational deployments to Afghanistan and the Middle East, multiple counter-terrorism operations, a year in the US Special Ops command, and much more. Last year he won a defamation case against the ABC linking him to war-crimes in Afghanistan.

Hear Heston talk about the challenges he and other veterans face once leaving the armed forces, how it took him until almost 30 to finally realise who he was as a person, and how he feels more accepted in America as a veteran than back home here in Australia.
These days Heston invests his time in Veteran causes and the Veteran Games, an opportunity for Australian Veterans to showcase physical resilience, teamwork, and problem-solving in competition. You can find out more about the games at veterangames.com.

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TFM is produced and edited by Lauren McWhirter with original music by Russell Torrance.