From NBL player to special forces medic and 15 years of service, Lachy Armfield reflects on mateship

From being an NBL basketball player for just over a decade to serving as a combat medic for 15 years and then joining the Eden RSL sub-branch.

Lachy said they all had one thing in common - a strong sense of mateship.

"One of the best things about it [going to war] was being with the boys. Apart from missing my wife, it was like being back with the basketball team," he said.

"We were all just mates, looking after each other and it was pretty special."

Lachy first joined the Australian Defence Force in 2002, where he pursued his medical courses over several years.

READ ALSO:

"After living as a professional basketballer, I wanted to have a more structured life and I loved the army, so I joined two years after retiring from basketball," he said.

Lachy's medical career began in 2003, where he trained in a hospital for a few years, then moved on to infantry and artillery, before being selected to join the special forces in Afghanistan as a combat medic.

"I served over in Afghanistan as a medic for one of the teams, looking after the commandos which was pretty special," he said.

Looking back on his five-and-a-half-month stint in Afghanistan, Lachy said what he cherished the most was the comradeship, looking after his fellow service men and women and tending to sick or injured villagers.

"Being a medic I looked after a lot of children and mothers who were going through problems and it was really good to be there for the people," he said.

READ ALSO: Hercules' low and slow flyover a highlight at Merimbula Anzac Day

"I also worked with the Americans, I helped out with the Black Hawk choppers, retrieving people that were sick and all that.

Lachy said he remembered his time in Afghanistan vividly, the good and the bad.

"When you went on patrol outside the wire, you went through marijuana fields, poppy fields and all that, it was unbelievable," he said.

"Afghanistan is a beautiful country, just ruled by bad people."

During his 15 years of service Lachy also served in Timor Leste, to assist with a peacekeeping mission.

"I was with an infantry battalion and we did a lot of stuff over there and we also tried to find a character called Ronaldo who was causing a lot of problems, but we never ended up getting him," he said.

READ ALSO:

After working within the special forces Lachy joined the Randwick Barracks in Victoria as the medical manager, before finishing up at the Royal Military College in Canberra in October 2017.

"By then with my PTSD and injuries which included getting my spine fused from all those years playing basketball and my time in the army I was medically discharged," he said.

"I mean jumping out of a helicopter at 80 feet with a pack on your back can cause some wear and tear."

Lachy, his wife Megan and his daughter Grace then moved to Eden to be with their families.

READ ALSO: Anzac Day 2023: Bega Dawn Service rises from the mist

It was actually during one of his visits to his family in Pambula that his sister introduced him to Megan.

"It was Christmas in 2008, I came home on leave and met her and that was the end of me, I had found my love," he said.

Fast forward to present day, Lachy said he had nothing but the utmost respect and appreciation for his wife, who supported him during his years of service and through the recovery afterwards.

"I take my hat off to my wife for putting up with my PTSD, she deserves the world for looking after me the way she has," he said.

After 15 years and three days of service, Lachy has been decorated with seven medals.

The Australian Active Service Medal, Afghanistan Medal, Australian Service Medal, 15 years Service Medal, a four year Service Medal, ISAF Medal and the Timor Leste Solidarity Medal.

Love your regional news? Then sign up for the Voice of Real Australia, daily news from across the country delivered free to your inbox