May 25, 2013
No matter how hard you are #ptsd will make you it's bitch if you let it...#gosilent #educateyourself #speakout #brotherskeepers #operationzeus
seen from Italy
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No matter how hard you are #ptsd will make you it's bitch if you let it...#gosilent #educateyourself #speakout #brotherskeepers #operationzeus
Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend. Please remember, this is what Memorial Day is about. #memorialday #operationzeus #veteransuicide #loss #casualties Photo - @drxjake
Symphony silences Vet speakers
Symphony silences vet speakers: kxan.com
New Magpul merch in the webstore
The guys at Magpul sent us some goodies to help get a little more funding under our feet. Warfighters love Magpul and apparently Magpul loves Warfighters.
We've added a personal touch to these by painting a silhouette of Zeus onto them. By the way, these are the M3 model of the PMAG which won't be out until the summer!
Head on over to http://operationzeus.bigcartel.com/ and check it out!
My nomination of Scott Zaur for the Citizens Medal
Scott Zaur is a former Infantryman and Sniper from 1st Armored Division's A Co. 1st Battalion 6th Infantry Regiment. He served with 1/6 in two tours to Iraq, one in Ramadi, the other in Sadr City. If these two places don't sound familiar, here is a tidbit on what happened there during that time http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ramadi_(2006) - and Sadr City, Iraq during the from Spring 2008 until Summer 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Sadr_City
1/6 Infantry had returned from Sadr City, Iraq in July of 2009 and was being reorganized to the 170th Light Infantry Brigade and 1/6 specifically re-designated to 2nd Battalion 18th Infantry Regiment. Scott Zaur was to be promoted to Sergeant the day the results came back from his most recent urinalysis. He tested positive for marijuana and cocaine use. He was self medicating and told me, as I was his Medic for about 3 years while with 1/6 and 2/18 and knew that Scott was the kind of Infantryman that would always overcome any obstacle in his way, even PTSD, which he began coming to me with symptoms of, after returning from Sadr City.
His symptoms of PTSD were pushed to the wayside once he had been identified as a drug addict and was swiftly processed out of the Army on a general discharge under “honorable” conditions. He went home to Naperville, Illinois, unsure of what he would do with his life. His plans relied on heavily in staying the military, pursuing a career in the Special Operations community and continuing to fight not only for America, but his brothers in arms as well. I was being processed out at the time of his transition back to civilian life, for PTSD as well. I suggested that he go to school and figure out a new career path.
He searched for a new life, sought treatment for his PTSD, and found nothing but a complete lack of gratitude from his fellow Americans. On the 13th of May 2011, dressed in his Class A’s he ended his life.
Scott isn’t a hero for killing himself. He’s a martyr and a statistic. 18, I repeat eighteen American Warriors take their own lives every single day, Mr. President. On the 17th of May 2011, myself and 21 other, former members of 1/6 Infantry gathered in Naperville, Illinois to say goodbye to one of our Brothers in Arms. We put him in the ground at Abraham National Cemetery and together we swore an oath between us that we would never let this happen again. That never would we let one of our Brothers in Arms feel so alone, so hopeless that their only option would be suicide.
So I started filming a documentary called Operation: Zeus. Scott’s nickname was Zeus, because he was one of the hardest, strongest men I had ever met in my life. Operation: Zeus is his namesake. My film will be premiering some time in July of 2012 and we are hoping that not only do we end Service Member and Veteran suicide, but that we tell the story of this generation’s Veteran.
You can see more of what we are doing at www.operationzeus.com or at www.facebook.com/operationzeus please take a look, and take a moment to remember not only SGT Scott Zaur, but all of the others who have served this great nation that we all love so much. Maybe it’s time that America and Americans to start loving its’ Veterans as much as they love it.