Australian Army officer Major Elizabeth Daly has felt an increased sense of belonging and support since engaging with the Invictus Games program.
So much so, she is hoping to use her Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 experience to inspire both current serving members as well as veterans to find renewed purpose and hope within a community of shared experience.
Having joined the Army Reserves at 25 to work with the Military Police after a short stint in sport management, Major Daly has notched up many accomplishments in her 14-year military career.
However, it was the foot injury she sustained during her time at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, following her transition to full-time service in 2012 - and specifically her rehabilitation experience - that led her to change her career trajectory.
"It was a hard time back then," recalled Major Daly (39), who grew up in Newcastle but finished her schooling in Tamworth.
Choosing instead to commission into the Army's Medical Corps, Major Daly has since carried out numerous roles including health planning for humanitarian assistance and disaster response, health specialist recruiter.
She has also worked as an instructor at the ADF Peace Operations Training Centre and, more recently, as Officer Commanding at the Health Specialist Wing at the ADF School of Health - her favourite role to date.
There have been many highlights, one of which was receiving the 2021 Telstra Brilliant Women in Digital Health award for helping develop the COVID-19 ADF Awareness Course for deployed personnel as part of Operation COVID-19 Assist.
Major Daly has also deployed twice, participating in Operation Accordion in the UAE in 2016/2017 and Operation Paladin in Israel during 2023.
It was her role as a United Nations military observer in the Golan Heights during the start of the Israel-Hamas war as part of the latter deployment that would leave a lasting impact on her.
'I once had someone tell me that if I said I had PTSD, I'd get kicked out, so I make sure I speak about all my experiences. We need to normalise talking about mental health.'
Locked into an observation post between Israel and Syria for 24 days straight, unarmed, with two other UN military observers, Major Daly and her colleagues experienced a number of significant incidents, which led to a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis upon her return home.
"I thought we were going to die. I was really scared; it was just chaotic," she recalled, adding that she also unknowingly re-tore her previously repaired ACL graft during this period.
The Wodonga-based officer acknowledged her healing process would be ongoing, with therapy and counselling required to learn to live with her condition. However, these harrowing experiences have also motivated her to become a passionate advocate for mental health awareness, speaking openly about her struggles in a bid to break the stigma surrounding mental health in the military.
"I once had someone tell me that if I said I had PTSD, I'd get kicked out, so I make sure I speak about all my experiences. We need to normalise talking about mental health," Major Daly said.
This is where the Invictus program comes in, which involves the sharing of experiences within a supportive and respectful environment, at the core of which is recovery and rehabilitation through sport.
The former gymnast and competitive athlete - who will be pitting her skills at Invictus against current and former-serving servicemen and women from 24 different countries in swimming, indoor rowing, wheelchair rugby and skeleton - has always used sport to lift her mood, particularly during dark times.
It has also served to reinvigorate her purpose and simply make her feel good.
"Sport has always been my happy place, as well as the universal way of making friends," Major Daly said.
"Military friendships are just so special anyway, and this [Invictus experience] is no exception.
"[I would tell people] if you're feeling a little lost or you're feeling like people around you don't necessarily understand what you're going through, whether it's an injury or illness, Invictus is your tribe because they are people going through the same thing."
The ADF is partnering with Invictus Australia to support a team of 33 serving and former serving military members to participate in the games between February 8 and 16.
