Cary Reichbach asks a question you’ve probably never considered: How would you handle shooting a child in the head?
On purpose.
In the theater of war today, he says, “the enemy doesn’t wear a uniform — everyone around you is a possible death threat. You can find yourself in a culture where parents send children running at you strapped with explosives believing that they are sending their own kids straight to paradise. The children don’t know the difference.”
In the field, soldiers — sometimes national guardsmen with little training — have to make split-second decisions. “You have to make a decision to cut down a little kid and take the child's life or risk him taking out you and five of your friends.”
While the physical injuries of war are immediately obvious, it is the hidden neurological damage and PTSD that inflict some of the most enduring pain.
Watch Carry Reichbach at METAL
“These kinds of decisions, constant vigilance, and proximity to explosions can have lasting impact. Veterans return home unable to shut down their nervous system's alarm. You can’t relax, can’t calm down, you’re looking over your shoulder all the time. You don’t like crowds, concerts, malls — you just can’t escape."
Tragically, the only escape is often suicide, with double-digit veteran suicides every day.
Compounding the tragedy is the poor care returning vets receive... if they receive care at all.
JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT BLEEDING...
“When we first got into the global war on terror,” Reichbach explains in his thorough, even-toned, matter-of-fact manner, “we had humvees with canvas tops and thin sheet metal and bullets went right through it. If it drove over an IED, it was blown to pieces. People lost arms, legs, or were killed instantly. We figured out how to reinforce these vehicles and so they were mine-resistant, where the hull of the vehicle is shaped like a "V," and IED explosions would now flip it, glancing off of it.”
As a result, lives were saved and physical injuries were drastically reduced. “So now the vehicle won't be blown apart,” Reichbach continues, “and in doing so we've kind of done a disservice because now when guys step out of that vehicle after it's been rolled and they have all of their body parts intact, we say ‘Hey! Good for you! You're fine. Shake it off. We're going out again tomorrow!’”
INEXPLICABLE RAGE
While these soldiers may not have suffered visible wounds, their invisible wounds were just beginning to fester. “They will begin to manifest,” says Reichbach, “Within a week. Within 2 weeks. Neurological functions start to decrease. Vocabulary disappears. Frustration behavior changes, there's inexplicable rage and eventually this person may get kicked out of the military or not be able to follow orders.”
It gets worse.
Their behavior might get them a dishonorable discharge, so the VA won’t cover their ongoing medical problems. Reichbach tracks the spiral down. “The VA may say, ‘Well, you didn't finish your tour honorably so you don't have any medical coverage.’ Now it's very hard to find a job. You can't keep a job. You don't even know what's wrong with you. And all this time, you look in the mirror and everything looks fine.”
ENTER: GREY TEAM
Reichbach explains that “these issues in the brain — whether injury or PTSD — are due to a chemical inflammation of the brain, elevating cortisol levels, causing the brain to swell.” This swelling can alter personality and cognitive function, leading to severe behavioral changes.
To prevent these invisible wounds destroying the lives of vets and the people around them, Reichbach created Grey Team, one of America’s top military suicide prevention nonprofits. Grey Team’s sole mission is to support active-duty U.S. soldiers and military veterans by building and implementing solutions to reduce and eliminate military suicides.
The organization’s approach to treatment is holistic, innovative and supremely practical.
“We will use whatever works because we are committed to addressing the root causes of PTSD rather than simply prescribing antipsychotics and throwing a bunch of pills at a vet. For example, we have found the use of low-level lasers to get oxygen to starved areas of the brain will start to heal it. We use groundbreaking therapies like sound waves and infrared light, and now ketamine. In Colorado, among other places, psilocybin has been decriminalized and there are promising results being shown there, too.”
Grey Team’s methods extend beyond the strictly medical. “You feel so isolated upon returning home because no one understands you,” Reichbach says. “After WWII, veterans had organizations like the VFW and American Legion for camaraderie. Even if it meant having a smoke and a light alcoholic drink together, vets had somewhere to go.”
That’s why Grey Team emphasizes personalized workouts with their staff, camaraderie, community outings, as well as their array of brain treatment machines in a flagship 90-day program targeted at improving physical and mental health.
Ultimately, it’s not only about bringing down the inflammation and repairing damage. It’s about the community-building, the personal care, the prevention of devastating isolation and the downward spiral it often causes.
“It's the machines, sure,” reflects Reichbach. “But it’s also our staff’s encouragement — they show up for the participants in our program. They genuinely care. We all do. And that caring makes a difference.”
Written by Adam Gilad
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