The Veterans Experience

We’ve all heard the statistic that there are 21 Veteran suicides per day. That statistic is actually about right. What it translates to is that vets are about twice as likely as their civilian counterparts to die at their own hand. When we most recently ran the numbers they had increased to 2.3x.
Most people are partially correct to believe this awful statistic was an effect of the recent wars. It is true that war is to blame for some post-service struggles and suicides, but not nearly all. Here’s what most folks don’t know: that same rate had been ~1.8 for years before 9/11. As you can surely surmise, while post-wartime is a danger to Vets, the majority of the cause is some x factor from military service of any kind.
The Veteran Experience intends to reduce that number by at least the number of our participants who would have had the curse of self-harm’s insidious and heart-breaking outcome. Veterans tend to feel isolated and alone after service. They just don’t fit in the civilian world after service. These years are the prime window, and most dangerous time for suicides. There’s really never been an explanation for this. We suspect that it is largely due to the struggles, and the depression Veterans face after service. Imagine being dropped in the middle of a land whose population do not speak the same language, have the same-ish values, have the same kind of experiences and basically pathologizes your entire existence. They mostly won’t hire you. Feel awkward in the presence of Veterans. They effectively believe you’re defective. It doesn’t sound fun for even a day, right?
Now, imagine how severe, defeating and intractable it would become after years. The world is a better place for its Veterans. They are loyal, have world experience and understand chain of command principles. They fight our wars or guard against them and then come home to be a real resource to the world. It just doesn’t work out the way they hope. The Veteran Experience holds 5-10 forums per year with 8-12 Veterans per 5 day cycle. We cover all expenses including travel, room, board and activities. At least 85% of your donations go directly to our participants or the support of them. Our goal for this year is to reach $50k in donations this year. The more we have, the better program we give.
We would like to thank the Veterans that have attended in the past, those that will attend in the
future and everyone who donates to our cause.

Terry McAdoo
Founder
The Veteran Experience