The mental and emotional turmoil from wartime service is very real and affects every veteran, their family, and friends in some way. From challenges in managing the simple activities of daily living to the desperate extreme of taking one’s own life, the range of needs is extensive. In fact, the latest studies indicate that 44 veterans die by suicide every day. Veterans are also 52.3% more likely to take their life than the national average.
HEALING PROVIDES PEACE AND STABILITY
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The mental and emotional turmoil from wartime service is very real and affects every veteran, their family, and friends in some way. From challenges in managing the simple activities of daily living to the desperate extreme of taking one’s own life, the range of needs is extensive. In fact, the latest studies indicate that 44 veterans die by suicide every day. Veterans are also 52.3% more likely to take their life than the national average.
HEALING PROVIDES PEACE AND STABILITY
Charlie Mike was created by modern veterans who know the realities of war and the realities of returning to civilian life. We understand the mental and physical tolls, the challenges, and the struggles. We understand what veterans want and need in order to cope with these life challenges. Our work will create a new community, new programs, and raise the bar to help former warfighters integrate back into “normal” life after military service. Charlie Mike programs are about creating healing, and a true sense of peace.
Our mission is to save the lives of military veterans still carrying the unseen wounds of combat, one veteran at a time.
In military jargon, "Charlie Mike" means "continue mission" in the phonetic alphabet (think A is "alpha," B is "bravo," C is "charlie," etc).
Charlie Mike will save lives through a multi-faceted approach to help each veteran “continue the mission,” to never quit, and to address their daily challenges. This approach is based on three pillars that focus on creating stability for each veteran we serve.
The three foundational pillars of Charlie Mike are universal yet tailored to each veteran, designed to address the challenges they face. Each persons’ experience is quite different, even if similar challenges or needs are exhibited. These pillars are designed to address three key areas affecting veterans today: PTSD and TBI, suicide, and sexual assault.
PILLAR ONE: MENTAL & EMOTIONAL STABILITY
Creating mental and emotional stability is the foundation of everything Charlie Mike will do within the veteran community. Mental and emotional instability are the unseen costs and casualties of war, and they are quite common. When progress is made, healing begins, and life changes for the better. The resulting stability allows for the other aspects of “normal” life to be within reach.
Pillar One: Mental & Emotional Stability, includes specific programs tailored to the needs and interests of our veteran participants — programs that provide opportunities for help and healing. One such option is our Canine Battle Buddy Program.
Dogs often prove to be effective, lasting, and meaningful tools in assisting with emotional needs, and provide a healing approach to mental and emotional stability. This can correlate to a reduction in suicides by creating a sense of purpose. This type of treatment, through canine companionship, for example, produces amazing and tangible results in the healing of traumas related to combat, and military service.
Nearly 500,000 dogs are euthanized each year in the United States, and millions more are abandoned. We rescue dogs that meet our specifications from animal shelters in central North Carolina and South Florida, and train them to be companions for veterans, and those with PTSD, TBI, or other emotional challenges. This is a significant component of the Charlie Mike mission. In this effort, we essentially save two lives: rescue a dog, and then, rescue a veteran.
Our Equine Training & Riding Program, also found within Pillar One, offers something elusive in many of the treatment options available to veterans today: a true sense of peace.
Though majestic, the horse is a prey animal always on the alert, ready to flee in an instant. They constantly attempt to determine what is safe and what is a threat. Once humans are trusted, they provide unconditional love and bonding. This is a perfect partnership for a person overcoming their own fears and levels of distrust. As a veteran begins to trust the horse and its reactions, he/she develops skills to deal with the stressors of everyday life.
Working with horses will require honest internal conversations within each military veteran. It will also require positive energy, and putting one’s anxieties, anger, and other struggles in check. Each participant will learn a sense of calm, and a sense of quietness to elicit a positive response from our equine friends and companions. Over time, this practice can teach new behavior and new emotional habits, and provide a real opportunity for peace and healing.
PILLAR TWO: STABILITY IN DAILY LIVING
Creating stability in daily living is part of the overall goal and mission of Charlie Mike. Once mental and emotional stability are created, daily living will get easier, be better, and more productive. The issues are complex and challenging, but the approach is simple. Helping veterans find and learn tools to become self-reliant is the best gift we can provide. This daily stability will provide a foundation for participants to sustain themselves for the rest of their lives.
PILLAR THREE: STABILITY BY SERVING OTHERS
As much as veterans miss their teams, they miss the service. In the volunteer force of the U.S. Military, everyone joins for various reasons. The service aspect, however, is an integral part of the job, and is instilled by every branch of the military. Once discharged, those who have deployed often miss the high tempo, the austere environment, the challenge, and even the danger. Very few things in life will ever compare to or compete with wartime service. This causes a lack of stability as veterans struggle to find meaning in “normal life.”
We have a solution: getting veterans back into service. Creating stability by serving others is a simple approach for long-term healing. When we serve and help each other, we serve a higher cause, and yet gain personal benefits that are immeasurable.
Our vision is to help Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and Sailors help one another “Continue the Mission of Life,” in whatever form that may be. We believe that by standing together at home, just as we stood together during war time, we will help each other succeed in getting back to life.
Join our mission.
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