Howdy!  My name is Charlie and I’m a Resident Veteran at Camp Alma and wanted to tell you about my experience there.  I went into the Marines right out of high school at age 18 and assigned to a sniper platoon.  Sniper platoon was a great experience for me.  The platoon was together almost completely intact for 6 years including 2 deployments – one in Afghanistan and one in South Korea.  I had a leadership position in the platoon at age 21, which was younger than the norm, and at 23 I became a sniper school instructor at Quantico.  I was discharged at age 24.

When I was discharged I was feeling confident, and also told by my buddies, that transition to civilian life would be no problem.  That was certainly not the case as it turned out!  Almost immediately, I felt I was no longer an asset to anyone and had no civilian support structure to identify with.  I was discharged with 70% service disability – basically PTSD and TBI (IED blast exposure).  

I was shocked at the degree of anxiety and depression that I developed and how quickly I was overwhelmed by the intensity of these feelings.  I never encountered these issues growing up!  I couldn’t get out of bed and went from job to job because I was triggered easily and just dreaded going to work.  I probably had 20 jobs over the next 5-6 years!  During this time, I went the self-medication route which only made things worse.  Alcohol, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine were my daily cocktail for years.  Unfortunately, I could not make the intake at VA work efficiently and basically got lost in the system when I tried to access help.

I was living in a motel and was arrested for chasing my brother and my girlfriend with a gun and drew a 55 month sentence in prison.  

Through a family friend that was a mutual acquaintance of Dr. LeBow at Veterans Legacy/Camp Alma, I eventually connected with him and agreed that pursuing the remainder of my sentence at Camp Alma would be best.   I was able to transition to Camp Alma from Powder River Correctional Facility in August of 2024 and completed my sentence in November of 2024.

The experience at Camp Alma was truly what I needed when I was discharged from the Marines.  The men and staff around me were all supportive and I’ve been able to slowly settle down my emotions and recalibrate my goals.  I’m currently tapering my opioid support regimen and working in a lumber mill while still staying at Camp Alma.  

I’m so grateful for this program as it literally has turned my life around!  

Thanks to All