From a Navy brat to a cricket tragic, a rock singer and an SAS veteran, Harry Moffitt's life so far reads like a Boy's Own adventure manual.
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The 30-year Australian Army veteran was in Shepparton on Tuesday night at the invitation of the city's RSL sub-branch to talk about his 11 active deployments as a member of the elite Special Air Service regiment. He also brought his book Eleven Bats, and offered advice to returned servicemen on how to cope with life after the army.
“There's a lot of heat in the veteran community in various spheres at the moment, but I wanted to say that veteran life is not all about trauma.
“The majority of vets live meaningful, ordinary lives. Of course, there is a small section of veterans who are hurting and we need to roll up our sleeves and help.
“But we are well-provisioned and there are lots of people who want to help. I'm a big fan of the RSL,” he said.
Shepparton RSL club president Bob Wilkie said it was a packed house with about 100 specially invited members in attendance to hear Mr Moffitt's talk.
“He was very well-received - he wasn't just here to sell his book. He was honest and upfront in his answers to questions about current inquiries into the SAS.
“He also took time out to chat and mingle with members afterwards,” Mr Wilkie said.
In his 2020 book, Eleven Bats, Mr Moffitt shares stories on his 20-year career in the SAS, including his role as operator and team commander and describes how cricket had a profound impact on his life, on and off the pitch and battlefield.
The 52-year-old was born in Williamstown and spent his childhood playing cricket with mates around Australia as his naval officer father was posted to different locations.
“We moved 11 times and I grew up a navy brat playing cricket in school teams and streets around the country,” he said.
From 2002 to 2013, as an SAS soldier, Mr Moffitt took a bat and ball on each deployment and began a tradition of organising matches wherever he was sent.
He played with fellow soldiers, locals and visiting politicians in the mountains of East Timor, in the dusty streets of Baghdad, and in the hills of Afghanistan. He saw his ad-hoc matches as ways to relax and as bridge-builders between different cultures.
In one instance his cricket skills were even sledged by the enemy Taliban.
“On a mounted patrol 50 km outside the wire, in between exchanging gunfire there is a lot of time to fill in, so we'd play cricket,” he said.
He said the Taliban would watch the Aussie games from the mountains, while other diggers would listen to enemy radio traffic.
“They were rubbishing our cricket. We offered them a game, but they declined because they'd reveal their positions and we'd bomb them, which was probably right,” he said.
After 11 years, Mr Moffitt collected 11 bats over 11 deployments, each signed by fellow soldiers, local people, politicians and generals. One bat is even signed by Prince Harry and his late grandfather Prince Philip.
“When they came to Australia they visited us in our barracks and Harry was more than happy to sign a bat, but Prince Philip declined. I had to send in my 12-year-old son Henry on a special ops mission to persuade him - which he did,” Mr Moffitt said.
In Afghanistan it wasn't all cricket. On a night patrol in 2008 he was injured in a roadside bomb blast which killed his mate, Sean McCarthy, sitting next to him in the patrol vehicle.
Of all the bats Mr Moffitt has collected, it is the one with his mate's signature that he most treasures.
“The bat was with us in the car with us when he was killed, and I was WIA and sent home to Australia early.
“That bat, which we had been playing with only hours before, symbolises the thin veneer between life and death in Afghanistan; one minute a joyous game of cricket, the next profound tragedy,” he said.
Recently retired from army life, Mr Moffitt is a registered psychologist who now runs a human performance consultancy, working with sports teams, the military and industry. He has also performed for 30 years with other SAS mates in Perth-based rock band The Externals.
Mr Moffitt has compared playing in a loud hard rock band to belonging to a high performance team, such as an SAS unit.
“It struck me that a band in full flight, playing hard and fast, leaning tight into the rhythm, in unison, performing as one, might very well be considered an HPT,” he said.
The Externals have a new single The Hell Beyond, a new album and are on tour later this year.
Mr Moffitt said his visit to Shepparton was a chance to meet RSL members and talk about programs now in place to help returned SAS soldiers.
“It's important to have a life outside the military,” he said.
“It's also important to start the transition process at the start not the end of an army career,” he said.
He said education scholarships were now playing a vital part in helping soldiers transition to civilian life.
“Don't let the military define you. Take ownership of your destiny and don't become a bystander. It's hard work,” he said.
Copies of Eleven Bats are on sale at Collins Booksellers Shepparton, Maude St and at the Shepparton RSL.
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