Enough is enough

This doesn't have a damn thing to do with trains, so if you want to know about how I do x,y, or z, it will have to wait. This is far more important than what we do with our choo choos in the basement. I'm going to get on my soapbox and talk about a damn travesty that is happening every day, and hardly anyone knows about it, unless you run in the same circles that I do.

Warning: if my choice of language during this post offends your sensibilities, cry about it. I'm going to use language that I know from years of experience, works at getting the attention of young men who hunt other men for a living.

Only 0.45% of Americans serve in the military, and of that figure, less than 1% see combat.  That ridiculously small percentage of men and women are shooting themselves in the face at an alarming rate, and they fucking need to stop it. STOP IT. 3 and a half.  3 and a half Soldiers I knew killed themselves. I say a half, because one of my Soldiers tried to suck start his sidearm, and his battle buddy found him on their kitchen floor and saved his life. The latest one was today, and I'm pissed off.

I sound pretty crass, don't I? There is a reason for that...

For those of you who don't know anyone in the military, it sounds cliché, but you really have no fucking clue about what it is like to volunteer to watch the people you love literally get blown up around you. Spare me the "war is bad" and political diatribes about illegal wars and all of the other talking points.  It is what it is. That is what we said, how we coped, and how we learned to accept that in far flung shitholes, people are really, really, fucked up. "Everything in Iraq is fucked up.", was the first thing that I heard that made any sense my first week there. I took that to heart, and I learned that what I was going to experience, was going to be fucked up, no matter what. 

The VA system is just as fucked up as Iraq is, and is of no real help, so it is up to friends and relatives, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters moms and dads to be the first line of defense in combating suicide. This doesn't just go for vets. "I'm not a professional" doesn't fucking apply when it comes to someone who you know. For fucks sake, have them email ME, and I'll talk to them. I don't give a shit!  I had to get between another one of my Soldiers, his 1911, and 3 cops with tasers and M4s at the ready...pointing at MY back to stop him from making a permanent mistake. The point is, that I am here, and I will talk to you if you need it.

"spreading awareness" of Veteran Suicide is a bullshit concept, just like all "awareness" campaigns. Veterans know damn well that their buddies are killing themselves, and the media sensationalization of the phenomena makes the rest of us look like psychopaths that you don't want your kids knocking on our doors on Halloween.

There are resources out there. There are people who understand, and are willing to talk. http://www.veteranscrisisline.net/ is just one of the many places vets can go to talk to someone, but you, dear reader, if you know a vet, you need to keep your eye on them to make sure they are good to go, because they volunteered to do the same for you, whether or not you even realize it.

Coming home was even more fucked up than going to war.  I've adjusted. Many of my brothers have not.

Go build something awesome.