My Story

With over two decades serving in the U.S. Army, along with multiple Combat Deployments, I learned all too much about the “Invisible Wounds” that many suffer with. Many suffer with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and unfortunately many give into this illness resulting in Suicide.

Almost 1.5 million people attempt suicide every year. About 55,000 of them succeed. On average that is about 4,000 attempts and 150 successful attempts per day! In early 2018 I almost joined those statistics.

I was personally diagnosed with PTSD in 2016 and retired from the military in late 2018. Since then, I have learned even more about this illness and how it effects not only Veterans but anyone who has suffered a traumatic event. Immediately after my military service I entered the field of private security. While working in this field I worked alongside many former military members, 1st responders, and many others in various industries and fields, all with different backgrounds. This further helped me understand how PTSD affected not only us but how people viewed us.

Over those years I continued to seek new treatments to help me cope with my PTSD and while doing so it also helped me learn so much more about not only PTSD but how and why we developed PTSD in the first place. Eventually PTSD had got the best of me, so I left the security world completely. I knew there was a huge stigma attached to this illness and didn’t think I would ever be able to be outspoken about it. I learned that talking about the illness and how it affected my daily life not only helped me but also helped others. I later founded the charity Cars4Awareness.

Utilizing my love for cars and the car community, I focused on that. We began to hold car shows and other car related events creating an atmosphere where people could feel comfortable not only discussing mental health but to also network with other organizations and each other. To this day, Cars4Awareness has grown to a nationwide organization, not only spreading awareness but also providing a few programs to assist those who suffer with PTSD and related mental challenges. Old Sarge Company, LLC was formed in 2023 to not only provide you with more awareness clothing but also inspirational and motivational apparel to help you get through life’s challenges. Most importantly, proceeds go directly to supporting not only Cars4Awareness but other local organizations that assist others throughout your communities. To learn more about Cars4Awareness and other charities we support click on their logos to take you to their websites. Also, feel free to check out LifeWithPTSD, a blog about me and my thoughts and experiences living with PTSD. Together we can remove the stigma attached to Mental Health and ultimately reduce suicides throughout the world.