I am an Iraq Veteran, I was in country from 2004-2005 and participated in the battle to retake Fallujah, I was only 19 at the time and truly thought we were making the world a better place. Many years later, with the collapse of the Iraqi military and the rise of ISIS I felt like how I feel most Vietnam veterans felt… What was the point?

Of the approximately 130 men and women I have served with 4 have already committed suicide and another died young of a heart attack. While we know more and treatment for PTSD has improved, the stigma surrounding it still acts like a barrier for those that need help to seek it, until it is to late…

In college, in an interesting turn of events my lab partner in one of my classes was an Iraqi who had lived in a small town called Habbaniyah not far from where was stationed in Taqaddum before Phantom Fury started. We made small take and eventually became comfortable enough to take about the war. I asked her if she felt that her country was better off after the invasion. The short answer was no… While they were initially hopeful, greed and corruption set in and left the vacuum that gave rise to ISIS, and she felt they ultimately made things less safe than they were under the Saddam regime.