Nathan Bolton Travels from Adelaide, SA

By the age of just 21, Nathan earned a Certificate III in Geoscience, worked in the mines, worked on the oil rigs, was a volunteer firefighter with the Country Fire Service, and joined the Army before rising to Australia’s Special Forces.

After joining the Army, Nathan was quickly accepted into the Special Operations Engineer Regiment based out of Holsworthy in Sydney between 2009 and 2014. In 2009 and 2013, Nathan supported the Military Domestic Counter Terrorism Unit TAG East protecting Australia’s interests.

In 2010 and 2012, Nathan deployed to Afghanistan as part of the Special Operations Task Group. Here he found himself involved in multiple traumatic situations, from having his vehicle blown up, being pinned down by enemy gunfire, accepting his death laying on top of IEDs, and more. In 2011, Nathan attempted and completed the SASR Selection course. However, Nathan was medically discharged from the Australian Defence Force in 2014 for physical injuries sustained on his second tour. He was later diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depression. Nathan lost the next five years of his life to severe mental ill-health, where he mustered all the energy he had to protect himself from himself merely. However, after hitting rock bottom, Nathan finally broke his silence and sought psychological support. Here he learned to make peace with his past and his newfound limitations and an unexpected silver lining forged out of the depths of suffering and an unrivaled lesson when it comes to living authentically.