Why we do this
My name is Ian, and I've been in your boots.
I enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in 1996 as a 2311 ammo tech, then joined the Army in 2003 as an 11B Infantryman. Two tours in Iraq — Kirkuk and Baqubah in '06–'07, Samarra in '08–'09. Retrained as a 46Q combat journalist at DINFOS, then moved to Fort Carson with the Rough Riders for a third deployment — Kandahar, Afghanistan, '10–'11, where I made Staff Sergeant. ETSd in 2013.
When I walked out those gates, life didn't get simpler. I couldn't keep relationships. I fell into homelessness repeatedly, blamed myself, thought something was just wrong with me. I kept seeking help and kept getting dismissed as a "healthy" human. In 2017 I disappeared for 42 days and came to on a beach in Oregon. Three separate stays at the VA residential program in Hot Springs. Still rated at 30% PTSD while the whole thing was burning down around me.
I didn't know how to ask for what I needed — and I was good at looking like I had it together.
When I finally learned to communicate what service actually did to me, and found the right people to stand alongside me, everything changed. I married Hilary — who became C3's co-founder. We returned to the Church. We built this. In 2023 I was rated 100% P&T — and the resources were there the whole time.
I'm here so that doesn't happen to you.