John and I (Steven) met while serving in the Marine Corps in 2017 and quickly became best friends. Collectively we have 7 deployments ranging from Afghanistan and Iraq to a Marine Expeditionary Unit and Crisis Response, yet the most difficult challenge we have ever faced was the transition into civilian life, as it is for many veterans of the US Military.
Complicating the matter of my transition, we lost a dear friend and fellow Marine to suicide, Staff Sergeant Noah S. Bratcher. Between losing Noah and struggling with the transition my life fell apart as I battled depression, PTS (post-traumatic stress), and faced down the ever-present specter of suicide. The darkness had taken hold and I was slowly losing myself, I was on track to become one of the 16.8 veterans lost each day to suicide.