THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOUNDATION
Warrior Ride.
On 24 JAN 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) released a casualty status report accounting for all Service Members that lost their lives since 07 OCT 2001, following the U.S. led invasion of Afghanistan in the aftermath of the 9/11 Attacks on the World Trade Center. According to this report, 7,074 Service Members have been killed fighting in the multitude of campaigns that constitute the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), and an additional 53,323 Service Members were wounded. In total, America’s sons and daughters have sustained more than 60,000 casualties over 20+ years of sustained combat operations abroad. Sadly, for many of America’s Service Members and Veterans, wars don’t end when they return home and the battlefield becomes psychological.
“The man who can win the war can only rarely survive the peace.” - Natalie Haynes, A Thousand Ships
This is Our Mission.
The suicide rate among U.S. Service Members and Veterans is staggering. It dwarfs the number of those killed during the GWOT and drastically outpaces the suicide rate of the general population by approximately 2.5%. A study conducted by Brown University’s Cost of War Project concluded that well over 30,000 Service Members and Veterans have taken their own lives since the onset of post 9/11 military operations. Year after year these numbers continue to climb, and there is proof that the DoD and Veteran Affairs (VA) drastically under-report these numbers.
America’s Service Member and Veteran Community represents less than 10% of the adult population. For the Nation, these small communities have carried the burden of prolonged conflict in austere environments against unconventional enemies. The constant exposure to wartime trauma, high-tempo of military life, historical lack of emphasis on mental health within military communities, and a disengaged general public have created an environment wherein Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is prevalent, and military communities feel alienated and disconnected from the rest of the American population.
For us here at The Ultimate Sacrifice Foundation (TUSF), this is unsatisfactory. We have made it the primary tenet of our mission to help our military communities fight and win these invisible battles.
Data from hundreds of peer-reviewed studies show that positive community engagement and social connection are substantial factors in suicide prevention. TUSF embodies these findings and vows to provide events and retreats that promote community-healing and relationship-building within American’s Service Member and Veteran populations. This is our mission. This is why we exist.
To promote awareness regarding military-related suicides and help us raise funds to facilitate our mission, we have created the TUSF Warrior Ride, a 3,700 mile bike ride from Boston, MA to San Diego, CA.
In early 2013, SGT Maddox, Kyle, and many of us here at TUSF deployed together to Ghazni Province, Afghanistan with 1-87th Infantry Battalion, 10th Mountain Division in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). During that deployment, SGT Maddox gave his life defending America against her enemies. Kyle, SGT Roy “Archie” Arcentales, and SGT Caleb Walters fought like lions to try and save SGT Maddox. Through red-hot flames and choking smoke, with complete disregard for their own safety, they fought. Archie, Caleb, and Kyle literally walked through hell to get SGT Maddox out, and they succeeded. Sadly, SGT Maddox succumbed to his substantial wounds a few days later, but the courage and love demonstrated that day can never be forgotten. We will never forget.
SGT Anthony Maddox. 1-87 IN BN, 10th MTN DIV. KIA Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. 22 July 2013.
SGT Roy “Archie” Arcentales, and SGT Caleb Walters. Two of America’s many heroes.
The burden of that day will always weigh heavy on those that were there. However, that was one day among many. One story among thousands. The purpose of Kyle’s ride is to highlight all of the stories of those that fought like lions on foreign battlefields. All of the blood spilt in faraway lands. All of the brothers and sisters lost. But most importantly, the internal battles against an invisible enemy many of us continue to wage at home, which have proven to be just as deadly.
