Navy Veteran Colin shares what the Invictus movement means to him

After nearly 30 years in the Royal Australian Navy - first as a Boatswain's Mate, then as an Aircrewman deployed to the Middle East, Timor-Leste and the South Pacific - Colin McCallum was medically separated in September 2024. What came next started small. A local Invictus Australia indoor rowing session in Nowra. A Defence Community Sport Expo in Canberra. Step by step, sport became the thread pulling him forward through PTSD, depression, multiple musculoskeletal injuries, and recovery from cervical fusion surgery. That thread led him to Vancouver Whistler for the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025, and now to Düsseldorf, where he'll once again pull on the green and gold at the Invictus Germany Sports Festival 2026. Like many, Colin's story doesn't begin or end with the international spotlight. It started at the local level, in community sport programs that connect veterans and their families through shared experience, movement, and mateship. It's where confidence is rebuilt, friendships are forged, and the road to recovery takes shape. Learn more about Invictus Australia's community work, and get involved here: https://invictusaustralia.org/local-e...