“I woke up and we were at war”: Peacekeeping PTSD drives mission for better mental health systems
Australian Defence Force (ADF) member Major Liz Daly was an unarmed United Nations (UN) peacekeeper leading an international team of 14 members, when the 7 October attacks launched the region into conflict.
Her post: the border of Israel-occupied Golan Heights and Syria. Immediately, it was a raging war zone across the region.
And for the following 24 days, Major Daly and two other UN Military Observers in the Truce Supervision Organisation were locked into their Observation Post (OP). What followed was a period of uncertainty and fear.
“We and the other OPs suddenly found ourselves holding our positions along the Area of Separation…amidst missile attacks in our area of operations, concrete blocks were observed being placed against our only evacuation routes - we had limited resupply and so much uncertainty as to how long this would all be going on for,” Major Daly explained.
“After 13 days the Israel Defence Force unlocked the gates to restock our fuel, water and food, and two days after that a fire came towards our OP, and towards a full fuel stockpile and threatening to burn down the entire compound. The fire triggered the surrounding landmines which added to the chaos and noise.
“We were watching it get closer and closer, and finally the Israeli soldiers stationed there opened the gates and let us run out and fight the fire.”
Major Daly’s actions earned her recognition in the 2024 Women in Defence Awards, awarded for leadership, achievements, innovation and contribution to telling Army’s story.
Now, the inspiring officer and leader and CQUniversity PhD candidate is determined that her experiences will help other ADF members get the support and recognition they need.
Researching how female ADF members experience defence culture and access mental health support, Major Daly is open about her own mental health following her Middle East posting.
“I was diagnosed with PTSD in April this year – to be able to say that is huge progress for me - at the start of the year I couldn’t even talk about what I’d experienced,” she said.
Supporting the mental health of her team during the mission had been a key priority for Major Daly.
“We really had to work together to keep each other going amidst a period filled with so much uncertainty and fear,” she said, adding the group were still in regular contact despite returning to their 12 home countries.
Major Daly had taken a leave of absence from her PhD research while serving with the UN and has returned with new insight and lived experience.
“CQUniversity has been so supportive, especially my supervisor Dr Amy Johnson who has her own lived experience as an officer in the Royal Australian Navy (Reserve),” she said.
“I’ve been able to structure the degree around full-time work and the command role I’ve returned to, which is the only way I could study – and CQU is making it work.”
Working towards conferral in 2025, Major Daly is also juggling study with sporting commitments, recently named as an Australian team member for the Invictus Games in Canada in February next year.
Since 2014, the Invictus Games has given veteran and serving military personnel a platform to compete in sports, with support to overcome physical and mental injuries of their service.
Major Daly will compete in indoor rowing, skeleton, swimming and wheelchair rugby.
Knowing she’ll be competing alongside other PTSD survivors is a source of pride and motivation, and Major Daly also hopes to use the platform to highlight the role of Australian peacekeepers.
“How our own personnel contribute on Operation Paladin (the ADF’s support to the UN Truce Supervision Organisation) is something that not many people are aware of,” she said.
“As peacekeepers we are unarmed - but we were, and those still deployed over there are - very much within the war, and that’s been the case for 76 years of Australian members contributing to this vital work.
“For me, the award and my Invictus role are opportunities to encourage better recognition for the work of all peacekeepers who are still under threat yet holding the position along the ceasefire areas and committed to doing their job.”
Major Daly continues to serve as a member of the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps based in Wodonga.
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