Changes at DVA and in the Veterans’ Affairs Sector
On Thursday, 9 November 2023, 1.30 pm - 3 pm, Ian Lindgren will be updating the Veteran community, the friends of Pro Patria Centre and interested members of the Wagga Wagga/Riverina Community on the positive changes occurring within DVA and the Veterans’ Affairs Sector.
Ian is the Chair of the Australian Peacekeeper and Peacemaker Veterans' Association and represents Veterans and Pro Patria Centre at ESORT.
Ian Lindgren was born in Wagga Wagga and grew up at Sandigo. He spent his formative years at Yanco Agricultural High School and only ever had one aim; to join the Army. He initially joined the Army Reserve in Wagga Wagga in 1980 at 4/3 RNSWR and then was accepted into Portsea Officer Cadet School in 1981. There he graduated into the Royal Australian Engineers. Halfway through his career in 1990 while he was actually serving at 1RTB Kapooka, he corps transferred to Signals Corps because he felt he could introduce business concepts to the fledging information technology capability in Army and Defence because they were very technical and often their solutions did not meet business needs.
Ian went on to be the Chief Information Officer at the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai in 2000. Here he was injured and although promoted on return to Australia to run the Defence Restricted Network, he was unable to continue in uniform and was medically discharged. He and he wife, Maria have started a number of businesses known as the PayMe Group and they deliver recruitment, novated leasing and payroll services all across Australia. Ian’s wife Maria now runs all businesses and Ian dedicates almost 100% of his time to the veteran community.
Ian has two sons, and six grandchildren.
This will be a fantastic opportunity to hear from someone with boots on the ground working for a better relationship with DVA and better outcomes for Veterans and their families.
