It is time to protect our protectors!

    

The military is excellent at teaching us how to be military, but fails at teaching how to cope in life after the military.  What is the difference between civilian and military? What is lost when we leave the service? Why are more non-combat veterans taking their lives than those that have seen combat?

I believe the answer is simple. Many join the military looking to find something. Some are driven by patriotism, others in search of adventure; some to get away from home and start a new life. Many join as children looking to find themselves. Regardless of the individual reason what they all find is structure, brotherhood, honor, pride, and a group of individuals molded together with one common goal. A sense of belonging. Active duty members live by one set of rules with purpose and direction. The brotherhood transcends color, race, creed and social economic boundaries. Equals with a simple, firmly enforced chain of command that is not biased by anything other than hard work and a clearly laid out path to advancement.

The day they had those who served a DD-214's, the civilian equivalent of their walking papers, all the aforementioned is lost. The loss is immediate and irreplaceable. What's left is anger, frustration, confusion and an overwhelming sense of being ill-equipped to manage civilian life among people that don't understand the depth of honor, loyalty, discipline, unity and mission. It seems that purpose, honor, sense of duty and camaraderie are gone. To deal with this many turn to unsustainable coping mechanisms, these addictions almost always end badly.

My first goal is to donate to an established group that will help deal with these issues. Eventually, I intend to grow the Not Today Foundation to build a way for like-minded brothers and sisters to communicate anytime night or day. I'd like to draw upon the common thread of military training to give veterans a coping mechanism that they can hold onto. One that will give them purpose to move forward and help them live the life that has been given to them by those who gave their today for our tomorrow.

Jerry Martin

2015