Breaking Boundaries for Veteran Health
By Barry F. Scher
Being tough physically and mentally comes with being a part of the armed forces. Sometimes though, the pressures of military service continue long after service is over.
Post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, depression, and suicides are just some of the post-service stress veterans suffer from. In a 2017 study, nearly 13 percent of veterans studied were diagnosed with PTSD—a rate much higher when compared to the incidence among the general population.
Military suicides have increased by as much as 20 percent during the pandemic. Senior Army officers reported a 30-percent increase in active-duty suicides in 2020 and last year, research found that 30,177 active-duty personnel and veterans who served in the military after 9/11 have died by suicide.
To bring awareness to these challenges, 35-year-old retired Army Capt. Kyle Butters of Pasadena is on a mission. Butters, who served in the military for eight years, plans on running 22 miles, every 24 hours, for two days to raise funds for the Infinite Hero Foundation.
The foundation supports brain health and suicide prevention programs and Butters is hoping others will join with him for his 22 Miles to Break Boundaries event. The organization began in 2012 to fund programs to effectively treat military veterans and their families who are dealing with service-related mental and physical injuries.
It’s a cause that has special meaning for the veteran.
“I experienced mental health issues while serving as an officer in the Army and had to retire,” Butters says. “It was a life-changing experience for me as I had a career mindset to serve my country until I had to retire early with my disability.
Butters says he has also experienced the loss of fellow soldiers and friends to both combat and suicide. “These losses have had a major impact on me. So, I have made it my life’s mission to do all I can to address and help remedy the mental health challenges I experienced as well as by thousands of other veterans who have experiences like mine,” he said.
Butters is currently a business analyst for the Department of Defense at the Defense Spectrum Organization in Annapolis.
Funds raised will provide veterans access to personalized rehabilitative programs that have proven effective to treat depression and mental illness.
“Individuals or businesses can make a direct donation to the Infinite Hero Foundation. Also, for those who want to actively take part, volunteers can walk, run, bike or even swim for 2.2 miles, or 2.2 hours or even 22 miles to be a part of my 22 Miles to Break Boundaries, April 22 through April 24. You can do any of these activities in your own neighborhood or even join me.”
Butters will be running with an American flag that has been his constant companion since he joined the Army in 2009. The flag has flown over U.S. Army installations in Georgia, California, Oklahoma, Alaska, Ireland, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, and Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Learn more: infinitehero.org or givebox.com/22tobreakboundaries.