New Broome RSL leadership looks to usher in younger generation of members

Evolution and sustainability are the remit of new Broome RSL president Lt-Col Craig Bruhn as he looks to increase membership and support services for members at the town’s sub-branch.

Recently deployed on operations in the Middle East, Lt-Col Bruhn was working in a secure facility when he stepped outside to check his phone and discovered he had been elected as Broome RSL president.

Since his return, the Broome RSL committee has moved quickly to develop a business plan and a new constitution.

Lt-Col Bruhn sees engaging the younger generation as a priority.

“The challenge for the RSL now is to evolve, and making sure that we don’t become irrelevant,” he said.

“It’s a significant challenge. The demographic of the RSL does tend to be older, and so that younger generation isn’t necessarily there.

“The risk is that down the track places like this become unsustainable, which would be a shame because this is a perfect venue for the younger generation guys to come and relax, grab a meal over the bar and bring their families down.

“I can only speak from a Melbourne experience, but some RSLs there are set up like sporting clubs with pokies and that sort of thing.

“The younger generation doesn’t want to go to a place like that, and thankfully we don’t. They want to go somewhere where they can have a quiet catch-up with mates and have access to that welfare support.

“It’s a cultural disconnect that we need to evolve to meet.”

Lt-Col Bruhn said as well as providing a great atmosphere, the RSL also supported service members and veterans to navigate the ebbs and flows of civilian life with dedicated support.

“There’s a whole range of different support on offer, and the first step is linking in with us,” he said.

“There’s probably 240 ex-services members in Broome who aren’t engaged with the RSL who probably don’t feel that they can reach out for welfare support, which is the real reason why we are here.”

Lt-Col Bruhn said the RSL could provide access to welfare support, including financial aid, counselling, and advocacy for compensation claims.

“We’ve got a new welfare officer who’s just about to be appointed,” he said.

“He’s pretty experienced in that advocacy space.

“Some members might struggle with day-to-day life and navigating things which we might see as normal.

“If they’re struggling financially, we can direct them to certain support resources and counselling and all that sort of stuff, but sometimes they just need a chat.

“Sometimes it is simple as going for a coffee and just letting them speak and listening.

“Sometimes that’s all they need.”

Lt-Col Bruhn also discussed that there may be some ex-members in the region who were struggling leading into the Christmas period. He encouraged them to reach out if they needed help.

The RSL is also looking to enhance its family-friendly atmosphere and increase its social media presence to help attract ex-servicemen and women and members of the Broome community while maintaining its unique historic atmosphere.

“It’s one of the few sub-branches in Australia that has a direct connection to our military history such as the bombings in 1942. Not many RSLs have that, so that’s something that’s really important,” he said.

“It’s that old Broome atmosphere we want to maintain.

“Ultimately, it’d be great if we had this place going so well that we see commentary on social media from visitors, saying ‘you’ve got to get down to the Broome RSL’.”