Since 9/11, over 2.77M Servicemembers have deployed in support of U.S. military operations overseas. The conflict experience of each of these individuals often persists in a deeply personal and frequently complex set of memories, emotions and beliefs. Similarly, each of these individuals may be affected in a deeply personal and complex way by the current situation in Afghanistan.
As a company with a number of veterans who spent time in both Afghanistan and Iraq, today we are reconnecting with our brothers- and sisters-in-arms, to reminisce over shared experience and to remind ourselves that it is okay to have a profound and complicated reaction to events of the past few weeks.
According to the VA, in recent years a veteran of the United States Armed Forces has committed suicide approximately every forty-five minutes. Since 9/11, Brown University estimates that over 30,000 active duty personnel and military veterans have died by suicide. For context, this is over four times the number of military personnel (>7,000) who have died as a result of combat operations.
Call a buddy. Text a friend. Check to see whether that crusty old NCO has figured out how to work Zoom yet. Above all, please remember that we are never alone.
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