MY STORY

I joined the military in January of 1990.  I originally wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps who was an Army Ranger during Korea and Vietnam.  I wasn’t a bad kid, but I did get into a little bit of trouble during my high school years. This caused my record to be just dirty enough not to qualify for the Ranger program so I wound up in the U.S. Navy.  After completing boot camp and Navy “A” school I was assigned to the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a nuclear powered aircraft carrier stationed out of Norfolk Virginia.  I completed two Mediterranean cruises while onboard the Roosevelt in support of Operations Southern Watch and Provide Comfort.  During my first Mediterranean deployment something traumatic happened to me but, I was young and invincible and could block it out and handle it.  I reenlisted and transferred in July 1996 to a Seabee battalion in Gulfport, Mississippi where I completed another deployment to Iraq in 1997-1998.  I chose not to continue my service after that and was discharged in early 2000.  I had a young daughter who really didn’t know her dad and I decided that at home with my family was the best place to be.  The difficulty of readjusting to civilian life and where I fit in was immediate.  I spent a couple of years trying to figure out what I wanted to do and where I could feel that sense of service.  I ignored the counseling and therapy offered to me by the VA, my motto was “I’ve got this!”. The problem was I really didn’t have anything, I was miserable, tormented everyday and losing the battle.  After all the years of self isolation, guilt, depression and alcohol abuse in January of 2021 I finally broke.  I divorced my wife of 23 years, my isolation and alcohol abuse became worse and I slipped into a place of defeat and believing the world would be better without me.  By the grace of God, a friend of mine kicked in my door to find me with a 9 mm pistol to my head and saved my life.  I reluctantly starting taking advantage of the counseling/therapy at the VA after that, got on the right medication and quit drinking.  It was a difficult thing to do but was needed and I began working on my demons, my life was turning around.  In April of 2022 after taking advice from a fellow veteran I applied and was accepted for a 3 day free fishing trip through a nonprofit organization designed to help with PTSD, depression, etc.  We spent that weekend telling stories, laughing, crying a lot and helping each other.  I returned home from that trip not only with a whole bunch of fish but also knowing that there are others who struggled like me, we are not alone and there is healing in a group setting with people who have the same conditions and who understand.  After many months of praying and seeking God on what direction I should take as to volunteering and helping, I felt led to organize and start T.R. Three Outdoors in September of 2023.  I hope to spend my remaining years paying it forward and helping other veterans realize that nobody has to struggle alone.