Army veteran and Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) Alumnus Joshua for treatment after a lengthy period of ignoring the symptoms. His family Burnett will tell you there are a lot of firsts in military life. The first time he put on the uniform, the first day of basic training, the first cold water shave in the field, or the first non-commissioned officer he admired and wanted to become. Recently, Burnett has been struggling with another first.
“I have thought about the world without me,” Burnett said. “I have thought about my life and how much it means, and I have thought about ending it all. I say now, for the first time, after a decade of denying it to family, friends, doctors, and brothers and sisters in arms, that I have thought about suicide.” Burnett says that many reasons have stopped him from following through, but his family has been paramount in keeping him going.
“I couldn’t bear the thought of three fatherless boys and the idea of my wife Allison struggling to understand why,” said Burnett. He explained that he also worried greatly about what his suicide would mean for the soldiers who looked up to him every single day. “I came to realize that ending my life would not only affect my wife and sons, the most important reason I backed off from those thoughts, but it would also tarnish every single guiding word of positivity that I had ever shared with one of my soldiers,” Burnett said. “The training and mentorship I provided to thousands of soldiers, over the course of a 14-year career would mean nothing at that point.”
Like many who suffer from the invisible wounds of war, Burnett self-referred began to worry, and his loving wife pleaded with him to seek out help. “My wife was lost and guilt-ridden in her inability to help me cope after almost a decade of ignoring symptoms,” said Burnett. “I reached a point where I was no longer able to perform daily tasks my position required.”
Burnett sought out treatment. The days and weeks with neuro-psych at Walter-Reed and Bethesda were some of the longest of Burnett’s career. The endless testing began to produce results. The physical and mental medical concerns were numerous— Burnett knew the situation was dire. It nearly drove him to his breaking point.
“It felt like my Army no longer wanted me,” Burnett reflected. “I was at the top of my career, and I realized I might have to accept that it was ending. My first thought was that was the beginning of the end.”
Burnett says it was at this point when WWP provided him a resource that changed everything. Burnett joined WWP’s Peer Support program, designed to help wounded veterans develop friendships with fellow warriors who are further along in their recovery process. The goal of Peer Support is for the warrior being mentored to eventually mentor a fellow warrior – embodying the Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) logo of one warrior carrying another. Currently, nearly 100,000 wounded service members, their family members, and caregivers receive support each year through free WWP programs and services. Through a high-touch and interactive approach, the WWP vision is to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation’s history.
“Wounded Warrior Project is ultimately capable of giving back to wounded veterans what they are willing to put in,” Burnett explained. “It requires dedication similar to wearing the uniform. It’s comforting in that way because it shows what someone is capable of when they work for it.” Burnett’s job forces him to travel often. And everywhere he goes he sees the logo emblazoned on jackets, shirts, and backpacks, reminding him that he is not alone in his journey.
“I catch a glimpse of that logo, of the warrior carrying his brother or sister over the shoulder, and I recognize that we, the wounded, are truly everywhere.” WWP represents many things for Burnett. A friend, a platform, and at times, a crutch. WWP has shown him how to organize his life and set achievable goals along his road to recovery.
“WWP gave me the motivation to reprioritize my recovery and offered to relieve some of the ‘dumping’ burden my wife Allison had been dealing with for the last decade. My first Peer Mentor, Gerald, put it best when he said ‘Josh, you already had the tools, we just needed to help you realize it was worth doing for yourself.’ They helped me to realize that this recovery, like everything I was familiar with from 14-years in the uniform, was a team effort.” Burnett is now a certified WWP Peer Mentor, training towards being a certified Peer Facilitator. He has also grown the company he founded in 2014, Virescit Tactical Systems, as a way of starting the path of “the new me.”
“I realized that I needed it for my recovery,” he said “Virescit comes from my Scottish heritage, the family crest reads ‘Virescit Vulnere Virtus’ or ‘Strength Flourishes at the site of the Wound.’ It’s a very appropriate motto for my life at this point.” Through this outlet, Burnett rediscovered a sense of purpose and excitement as his new normal. His company allows him to focus on his areas of expertise within the Cybersecurity industry, and that excites him.
“We are working to bring lifesaving communications technologies to the warfighters and first- responders,” he said. “It allows me to continue giving what I can, to the country that has done so much for my family and me. This would have never materialized without the WWP Peer Support group.”
Burnett continues to find his new normal and create a successful transition from military life into civilian life, a journey his wife understands and supports. “I am luckier than most. I have a loving and supportive wife at home who understands my issues far better than most other spouses,” said Burnett. “My family loves me, holding nothing against me. They accept that it’s a process, and are there to support me during the spurts of anger and the week long bouts of depression that go alongside the random weeks of extreme motivation.” Burnett knows what a life of firsts looks like. He looks back on his first Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) peer support session with a mild sense of humor, remembering that it was not exactly textbook.
“My first session was bad. Really bad,” Burnett mused. “My first contact at WWP is a Peer Facilitator, and he still talks about it. He always asks my permission, but continues to use me as an example for first timers in a group.” Burnett says he’s not embarrassed about it. His recovery process gives him pride and is an illustration of what can be done when you have the right support network in your corner.
“I know I can always reach out to any of these people for a word, a pat on the back, a helping hand, or a listening ear,” Burnett said. “Our small group gets together every month, without fail. The group gives me a reason to see if maybe I can give to someone next month, what these men and women have given to me for the past two years. My wife Allison, my sons, Noah, Tristan and Brennan, and Wounded Warrior Project Peer Support program saved my life.”
About Wounded Warrior Project
The mission of Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. WWP’s purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. To learn more about WWP and the Warrior Care NetworkTM program, visit woundedwarriorproject.org. (Photos courtesy WWP)
