Students in Focus
Scars of War: º£½ÇÉçÇø student authors stunning memoir on service career, mental health journey and rebuilding
Jason Gibney was born into a military family and enlisted in the Australian Army as a rifleman at just 17.
As a teenager, his two biggest passions were fitness and the outdoors. He wanted to travel, get out of his hometown and start experiencing the world.
“I was excited about it, the prospect of spreading my wings, and serving the country,” Jason says.
“Looking back, I don't think you can have a full appreciation of what service life can involve, the sacrifices it can mean.
“I'd probably do it all again, which might seem strange because of everything I know now, but otherwise, I wouldn't be the me I am today.”
Over his 16-year career, Jason completed postings in Iraq, Afghanistan and Malaysia, including combat operations and civilian evacuation missions, but it was his final posting, a week-long operation in Kabul in 2021 that changed everything.
“The previous deployments were planned, large scale military operations, where we were deployed for six to nine months or so. But when Afghanistan fell, the Taliban surrounded Kabul very quickly, quicker than I think the world was anticipating,” Jason says.
“You might remember videos on the news of people clinging to planes to try and escape the country, that's what we were responding to, on very short notice. That humanitarian aspect, the devastation and watching everything we fought for over the years just crumble…
The deployment was only a weeklong, but it was one of the toughest experiences I had.
As with any posting, Jason did his duty, got on with the job. But in the months following his return home, the signs and symptoms of PTSD and moral injury began to emerge. For the first time, Jason was experiencing the effects of mental illness, he realised he needed help, and a break. But this posed a problem – with a medical discharge from the army, he wouldn’t be able to return. His career, a core thread of his identity, and the defence lifestyle, community and camaraderie that had been a steadfast part of his life since the beginning, were suddenly lost.
For the first time in his life, Jason had no direction, no purpose, and nowhere to be.
But he was determined not to sink.
He started with talking; he connected with other veterans, sharing experiences, learning that he wasn’t alone in what he was going through.
He tried on new careers; he spent a week volunteering in a school to see if he might like teaching.
And he started writing his story.
Jason had completed a bachelor's degree in English literature and philosophy while working, chipping away at it during his military service for enjoyment, so when it came to writing his personal memoir, it came intuitively.
As his book started to take shape, Jason also embarked on a different project. While researching law degrees, he came across the at the University of Canberra. Despite living interstate, on the Sunshine Coast, the course looked like the perfect fit.
“It has a really great, flexible structure. You take one intensive subject at a time for seven weeks, six subjects a year. For me, it's just so much more manageable doing it with one subject at a time.”
While he had chosen law, intending to become an advocate for military veterans, he soon realised just how many pathways were available where he would be able to help people.
He also joined the , where he found a community of other students and staff with military experience, who could provide that sense of camaraderie and solidarity that comes with being in the Defence force.
I think the purpose of the Club is all about a connection. It's a group of people who are automatically there to look out for one another and help wherever they can. It’s a taste of service life, and the team environment you have there.
Finally, in November of 2025, nearly four years after the posting that changed the course of his life, Jason officially launched his memoir at the .
It was a huge milestone achievement but not one he embarked on for fame or money. It was only after his discharge, and upon connecting with other veterans, that he realised the true scale of the mental health struggles faced by veterans – telling his story was also for them.
“I feel a little vulnerable – it's such a personal story, but in those moments of worry, I just remember that it's about so much more than me. There are so many veterans out there who are struggling after returning from warzones like Iraq and Afghanistan in particular,” Jason says.
“One of the two main things I want to get out of the book, is to show other veterans that they're not alone, because that really helped me when I was going through it and secondly, to spread awareness to non-military of what it’s really like on the ground.”
“I've told the story of just an average soldier, I wasn’t in Special Forces, I didn’t receive the Victoria Cross. But some of the experiences that that we went through overseas were quite extraordinary; you don't really realise at the time, but later on, it starts to catch up with you.
“The important thing for me was knowing that we don’t have to be stuck, being a broken ex-soldier, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”
You can find Jason's memoir on his website at