After years serving in the Australian Defence Force, including stints in Iraq and Afghanistan, Dan Cairnes and mate and fellow serving officer Dave Farrell are rebuilding their lives in Australia and assisting other military veterans to do the same.

On Saturday 11 August, at the lunch that precedes Fitzroys match against old foes Ivanhoe, youll have the privilege of hearing from veterans Dan Cairnes and Dave Farrell.

Dan and Dave will share their experiences of life during and after their distinguished military careers, and explain how their work as founders of social enterprise, Veterans in Construction, is assisting returned servicemen and women at one of the riskiest times in their lives, ironically, their return home.

Some people casually liken the football field to a battle ground. But in their heart of hearts they know that such a comparison is as fake as anything Trump and his detractors could trump up.

Dan Cairnes thinks there are some comparisons that pass muster though. The leadership and resilience displayed in football definitely has crossovers into your professional and personal endeavours,he says.

The military trains its people hard, often to failure. The reason for this is that you learn by your mistakes.

When the time comes for you to do it for real, worst case it doesnt come as an absolute shock. Best case, its easy./p>

Dan says that following Aussie Rules while in the Army was hard at times, particularly in the northern states where Rugby and League have a greater following.

But communication for deployed personnel has improved dramatically these days,he says, so they know exactly whats happening in the sporting world back home./p>

Now a local living in Carlton North and with a number of kids in his street playing in the junior grades, Dans been able to catch some home games at Brunswick Street Oval.

So now that hes within a stones throw, we plan on recruiting Dan as a regular Royssupporter.

After all, as he says, games at BSO means youre close to the action, and you can soak up the rich history of the ground all against the wonderful backdrop of the city./p>

What could be better?

Military biographies

Dan Cairnes

Dan served in the Australian Defence Force for over a decade where he fulfilled a variety of regimental, training and operational appointments as an Army Officer. His operational service includes nine months in Iraq during the summer of 2005, where he provided specialist mentoring and coaching to an Iraqi Army unit.

Dave Farrell MG

Dave had a distinguished career in the Australian Army serving over 17 years. The majority of his career he spent in the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) until his discharge a couple of years ago.

Dave deployed to Afghanistan on six occasions and has spent more than two years all up in this combat zone. He has also deployed to other various and exotic locations with the SAS.

During Daves first deployment to Afghanistan, his unit was ambushed by a numerically superior foe. During this encounter, Dave was put into the unenviable position of fight or die Dave chose the first option and was subsequently awarded the Medal for Gallantry (MG) for his acts of bravery.

Tickets for lunch can be purchased here: https://fitzroyfc.worldsecuresystems.com/BookingRetrieve.aspx?ID=96398