Elite Warrior Institute was founded in 2024 on one of the core principles of military service “leave no man behind”. It is no secret that a significant number of our brothers/sisters-in-arms (hereafter referred to as ‘Warriors’) are left behind, but not in the literary sense of physically leaving them behind. Instead, they are left behind on the battlefields of their mind because they struggle coping with various life circumstances while suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other mental health challenges, and find themselves alone in their thoughts with no avenue of support that doesn’t involve fear of negatively impacting their career, upward reporting through their Chain of Command, stigmatization, shame, nowhere to turn, lack of trust and human interaction….and the list goes on.
According to the Veteran Administration’s 2022 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, more than 6,000 veterans have committed suicide every year since 2001. EVERY YEAR!!! To raise the shock factor of that statistic, approximately 120,000 of our nation’s Warriors have taken their own life since the tragic events our nation suffered on 9/11. Or, put another way…..
- 17x’s more than combat deaths since 9/11
- 2x’s more than combat deaths in the Vietnam War
- 3x’s more than combat deaths in the Korean War
- Slightly more than combat deaths in World War I
- 6x’s more than combat deaths in the American Revolutionary War
Why that many? Why just one?
A common saying within the military community is “no plan ever survives first contact”. The traditional plans of treating our Warriors is clearly not meeting the needs of each and every one, and we must engage different targets of opportunity so we can rescue these Warriors from the battlefields of their mind and bring them home.
Knowing a different approach was needed to reach more of these Warriors, the Founder (James Brown) of Elite Warrior Institute reflected on his own personal journey towards mental health healing and the methodology for what helped bring him some inner peace, a clearer mind, and a healthier lifestyle. Nature-based recreational activities were crucial in that healing process but were being engaged in singular form without the additional camaraderie and brotherhood that exists within the military community. From those healing lessons of his own, James decided to bring the two components together to form Elite Warrior Institute.
