David Savage: Australia’s First Civilian Casualty of the Afghanistan War

It is not just military personnel that serve, with thousands of civilians having been embedded in the Australian Defence Force on operations at home and overseas.

One such was David Savage AM, who was Australia’s first civilian casualty of the Afghanistan war, when in 2012, he was almost killed by a child suicide bomber.

David, formerly a member of the Australian Federal Police, was serving as an AusAID Stabilisation Advisor in Afghanistan at the time. He was accompanied by 16 members of the US National Guard working as his security detachment when a child wearing an explosive device as a vest, was able to walk close enough towards David and detonate the device.

The explosion left David critically injured and fighting for his life.

David’s story is one of outstanding resilience and hope. Years after the attack, David was made a member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his work in international relations, peacekeeping and human rights investigations, and was an ACT finalist in the 2015 Australian of the Year awards. He is also a Soldier On ambassador.

If you have been affected by anything discussed in this episode you can contact:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people)

CREDITS:

Host: Hugh Riminton

Guest/s: David Savage AM

Producer: Ryan Banks & Matthew Tankard

Editing, music & mixing: Matthew Tankard

Special thanks to ArtSound FM in Canberra

This podcast is a Smart Fella Media production

You can learn more about Soldier On at www.soldieron.org.au

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