The Youth Regiment

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The Youth Regiment Discipline. Direction. Change. A Youth Development Program For Teens In Need.
🇦🇺 9 Days - Real Results
📍 Central Coast NSW
(1)

27/10/2026

VULNERABILITY IS NOT WEAKNESS. ❤️‍🩹

I’ve been to war. I’ve lost people, relationships and parts of myself I thought I’d never get back.

And one thing life has taught me is this.

You cannot heal what you refuse to acknowledge.

For years, I believed resilience meant being strong enough to carry everything. Never showing the cracks.

I was wrong.

I see that same battle in young Australians every day.

💔 Behind the anger is often pain.

💔 Behind the defiance is fear.

💔 Behind the silence is a child desperate to be understood.

And behind that child? Parents lying awake at night wondering if they’ll ever get their son or daughter back.

To those parents, your child is still there.

Their hardest chapter doesn’t have to define their future.

That’s why I founded The Youth Regiment.

Not to punish struggling children, but to rebuild connection, accountability and self-belief.

Because real strength isn’t pretending you’re invincible.

It’s finding the courage to heal.

🪖 FORTIFIED FUTURES 04

📅 6–14 January 2027

👨‍👩‍👧 Parent Workshop: 13 January

🎖️ March-Out: 14 January

Nine days of veteran-led mentoring, resilience development and family support, followed by five weeks of continued guidance.

⚠️ LIMITED PLACES AVAILABLE

📩 DM us or visit the link in our bio.

A young person is more than their hardest moment.

Matthew French | Founder & CEO

I’m honoured to have been invited to NSW Parliament House on 11 November for ASEAN Ltd’s first anniversary celebration, ...
26/10/2026

I’m honoured to have been invited to NSW Parliament House on 11 November for ASEAN Ltd’s first anniversary celebration, promoting Australian values and social cohesion.

As an Afghanistan veteran and founder of The Youth Regiment, being included in an occasion that brings together community leaders, parliamentarians and people from different cultural backgrounds means a great deal to me.

A stronger Australia starts with people coming together, respecting one another’s stories and making room for everyone to contribute. Our young people need to see that leadership in action.

That belief sits at the heart of what we’re building through The Youth Regiment and The Forum—connection, belonging and opportunities for young people and their families.

My sincere thanks to ASEAN Ltd and the organisers for the invitation. I look forward to joining you for such a special occasion.

People often see the nine days.They see young people arrive at a residential program, put down their phones, confront di...
25/10/2026

People often see the nine days.

They see young people arrive at a residential program, put down their phones, confront difficult conversations, learn new standards and discover that they are capable of far more than they believed.

What they do not always see is everything being built around those nine days.

Over August, September and October, I have been working across schools, family support, veteran networks, media, hospitality, government and community infrastructure. These are not separate projects competing for my attention. They are different parts of the same problem and, I believe, different parts of a more practical answer.



https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/beyond-nine-days-what-ive-been-building-over-last-two-matthew-french-gwwse

22/10/2026

This young man now returns the favour. Giving me motivation and determination. Thank you!

Hey Matthew, just wanted to write you a appreciation message I was on your camp about 2 years ago and I cannot thank you enough for the s**t you have done you have straighten me out for the better, given me a better life, a more disciplined mindset and most importantly it made me lock in for life , Thanks once again Matthew and continue to do what you do because you changed my life for the better and it’s great seeing you do this for future kids.

Good things take time. Only those who see the vision understand. So what is the vision? Investment in Australia’s future...
22/10/2026

Good things take time. Only those who see the vision understand.

So what is the vision? Investment in Australia’s future!

22/10/2026

and is what this country needs more than ever. Thank you Bonnyrigg High School and NSW Rugby League was a pleasure being apart of the fitness 4 life program.

21/10/2026

THIS IS WHAT A NATIONAL MOVEMENT LOOKS LIKE. 🇦🇺

When support starts crossing state borders, you know you’re building something far bigger than just another youth program.

HomeFront Australia stepped forward with $18,000, covering the expenses for three families who were desperately searching for answers in a system that had failed to provide the support they needed.

Three families. Three opportunities to rebuild relationships, restore hope and change the direction of young lives.

But their support didn’t stop there.

Operation Australia, backed by the same incredible people, deployed a four-person media team, including producers and videographers, to capture the entire Fortified Futures journey in real time.

The discipline. The difficult conversations. The vulnerability. The breakthroughs. And the extraordinary moments when parents and children begin finding their way back to each other.

Australia is about to see what actually happens behind the gates of The Youth Regiment — and the work behind the results we are achieving.

To David and Sian Ballantyne, thank you.

Thank you for believing in our mission, backing our veterans and recognising that real change doesn’t happen through endless conversations about what’s wrong with our youth.

It happens when good people stop talking about the problem and start investing in the solution.

From all of us boots-on-the-ground operators, your support means more than you know.

We’re not just delivering a nine-day program.

We’re building a national movement to change how Australia mentors, supports and develops its young people.

And we’re only getting started.

Matthew French
Founder & CEO | The Youth Regiment

21/10/2026

1 on 1 with Dr Xanthe Weston Criminologist on FF02

21/10/2026

These messages from parents keep us mentors going. From all of us with boots on the ground, thank you.

20/10/2026

You cannot hand someone a book and expect them to be ready for the moment their world falls apart.

Every mentor I bring into The Youth Regiment carries real-world experience from the battlefield and from rebuilding a life after service.

We know what it feels like to lose your direction. To question your purpose. To face something you cannot simply push through with a brave face.

Reading about resilience will only take you so far. Our responsibility as educators is to help young people practise the skills they can draw on when life hits hard.

Control your breathing. Recognise what you can influence. Ask for support. Take the next step, even when you cannot see the whole way forward.

Because those crushing moments will come. The rejection. The loss. The failure you never saw coming. The day your confidence disappears and getting out of bed becomes an achievement.

That is why we challenge our participants, give them responsibility and stay beside them as they work through discomfort. Each experience gives them something to draw on when the stakes are higher.

I want every young person who steps onto our program to leave knowing that a hard moment does not have to define their future.

And when they struggle to get back up, I want them to know they can reach for someone’s hand.

There is courage in that, too.

Matthew French
Founder & CEO | The Youth Regiment

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Great Aussie Bush Camp
Kincumber, NSW
2251

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