We wrote a few weeks ago that veterans are not broken individuals. We stand by that statement. We find the term broken relegates many to a place of defeat when in reality they are quite capable of victory. They just need to be shown the way. While possessing the capability or strength to find a way out of the darkness, they may not always know the right path to take. That's where mentorship comes in. Having someone that's been there, who's struggled but has found the path to healing and to winning. What is winning? What does victory look like? We'll be honest, we probably can't say what it is for everyone, but we'll throw this general premise out that winning is 'Being content, and confident in who you are and where you're headed.'

It seems that from violence on the streets to the violence in our schools, that many adolescents are not content with, nor confident in who they are and where they're headed. They feel irrelevant or unwanted and it leads them down an extremely dark path because nobody is there to guide them. Whether it is the latest incident in Florida or merely someone robbing a convenient store, it is often the "outcasts" of society, the unwanted, the abused, the hurt, or the "undesirables". We find these people that have been relegated to defeat and irrelevance.Some may need legitimate psychiatric help. Some may just be pure evil. We're not going to entertain the premise that we know everyone's mind or heart or can fix everything with one fell swoop. However...Many struggling people could just use a mentor. Someone who has been there before, who has struggled with depression, anxiety, feeling not wanted and yet has somehow made it through all of that.Veterans aren't broken, but many of them have dealt with depression, anxiety, feeling unwanted by society, but here they are winning at life. Many of them love helping others. Not only because it is in their nature to help, but also because they've found that when they help others succeed, their own demons depart. We could give you any number of examples from all the veterans here at Grunt Style, to the halls of Congress. Veterans are winning by helping others, and we couldn't think of better people to mentor the youth of today.

We asked that we have a real discussion on solutions. Maybe more security is needed, maybe putting an armed veteran in every school to protect kids is a good idea. But maybe, putting a man or woman that has seen the worst in the world, and still has love and kindness in their heart, in the lives of troubled youth from California to New York, armed with giving a damn about that kid is a much better option. Maybe there will be some reciprocal healing through mentorship.READ MORE:

LET’S HAVE A REAL DISCUSSION

BE ARMED, WITHOUT A WEAPON

SCHOOL SHOOTING IN FLORIDA