As a retired soldier who has served in combat zones myself, I truly understand the phrase "Welcome Home". For those not familiar with it, this is the greeting fellow soldiers, especially combat soldiers, give each other once they find they are speaking with a fellow 'brother-in-arms'. It's a simple phrase. Just two simple words, but to a service member, that phrase means so much more than those words appear to present. It not only means, "Welcome home to the States" or "Welcome home to your home", it means "Your battle is over. You've come home and now the healing can begin." It means that you no longer have to look over your shoulder. It means you're now amongst friends. You've survived and your back home with your brothers.

Unfortunately, far too many brothers and sisters haven't found that peace they thought they were coming home to. They struggle to reacquaint themselves with civilian life. They carry shadows of their experiences with them every day. Flashbacks, nightmares, hyper vigilance, sensitivity to loud noises, general irritability, inability to maintain a healthy romantic relationship, and a multitude of other symptoms plague our returning service members on a daily basis. As a result, we have experienced as many as 22 veterans a day committing suicide. The sad truth is, after seeing what they have seen and doing what they have done and experiencing what they have experienced, they find that they just can't flick a switch and turn it off. PTSD is a stealthy predator. It sneaks up on these service members, so slowly that they fail to recognize it for what it is. They just assume that everyone has flashbacks, or that their relationships fall apart because they simply chose the wrong partner. It's not until they seek counseling that they learn about PTSD and the devastating affect it is having on their lives. Unfortunately, far too many never seek that counseling. They struggle through life on their own until the normal day to day stresses we all feel, along with the burden of PTSD finally become too much to bear, and they find what they believe to be the only way out.

We at the Heroes Outreach Program know that there are alternatives to this vicious cycle. As I said, I, too served in combat zones. I, too have suffered with PTSD for over 30 years. It wasn't until just the last decade and a half that I learned what it was and that I could deal with it in a healthy and productive way. For me, that counseling didn't begin until after I tried to end my own life. Thankfully, I failed at that mission, but now, I have another mission that I refuse to fail at. I was a medic while serving in the Army, and I still have that strong desire to serve, and save, my fellow service members. I know personally, that we can all learn to live with PTSD and live a productive and happy life while "keeping our demons at bay". Toward that end, I am working to start the Heroes Outreach Program - HOPe.

The Heroes Outreach Program will be a support structure based on the model created by Alcoholics Anonymous. There will be meetings in every city in every state. These meetings will allow for all it's members to have 'Buddies', much like AA has it's Sponsors. These Buddies will form a close relationship with each other, because they know they have both gone through the same 'hell'. Brothers in Arms form a bond like no other. They have already pledged to sacrifice their lives for their country, and know that each one of them would do the same for their Brother. In Heroes Outreach Program, these brothers and sisters would become a part of each other's lives. They will spend time together, they would know what each other is going through. They would know if their brother or sister was going through a particularly stressful time. And, if the stress becomes too much to take, they know they have a brother or sister they can call on who would understand. That Buddy could be there for their sister or brother. They would be available 24/7 to help their sister or brother through whatever they are dealing with. They would be the hand that supports their sister or brother when they are about to fall.

As you can see, the program is not up and running at present. We need your help. In particular, we need the assistance of a professional psychiatrist, psychologist, and social worker who is willing to aid in developing the meeting criteria and program support structure. If you are, or know, one of these professionals, and are willing to assist in the program development, please contact John Morlock at or message me at https://www.facebook.com/HeroesOutreachProgram. Please, every hour and 5 minutes that passes, we lose another Hero. Please, let's work together to stop this horrific situation.