It is once again that time of year Red Shirts! This Labor Day weekend thousands of gamers, geeks, and nerds will arrive in Seattle Washington for the biggest of all the PAXes, PAX West! For four amazing days games, and geek culture will be the focus of our attention and the source of amazing fun!
We here at Stack-Up are gearing up for another great Air Assault experience at the convention. We want to take just a moment to introduce you to the Veterans who we will be bringing along with us to Seattle so that they can experience this amazing event.
Michael R Field
Petty Officer 1st Class Michael R Field joined the U.S. Navy on May 1st, 2007, and is still Active Duty today. He has completed 4 deployments, and one RIMPAC conducting numerous exercises including; anti-piracy operations, anti drug/gun running operations, escort duties, search and rescue operations, and much more. Coming into the military late in life, and after being homeless for almost a year, gave him a distinct advantage because he takes nothing that the military has offered for granted.
Speaking for myself I can say that the community that has grown around the game Destiny, both in the game as well as on Twitch.tv, has saved my life. When I was at the lowest point of my PTSD fueled depression it was the people that I met that helped me carry on day by day. Whether it was seeking me out to be involved in a raid or PvP, or just to take a moment to ask how my day is going. The amazing people that play this game went out of their way to make sure I was still there.
I would like to thank you all. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank you.
Damian Alexander Salgado
My time in service from February 2009 to July 2014 is something I will always remember and it will always be one of the biggest shapers of my life. I served with Alpha Co. 2-502 101st Airborne (Air Assault). My biggest accomplishment with this unit was deploying with them to Kandahar, Afghanistan from June 2010 to June 2011.
It is in support of this campaign where I received my injuries due to an IED incident I was involved in. After my deployment, I continued on to be selected from Special Forces Assessment and Selection. I was given the opportunity to train in the Special Forces Qualification Course and I did well up until the point that my back injury from the IED incident could no longer withstand the intense training.
After being medically retired, I now study game programming and have made gaming a bigger part of my life than it already was. Video games have been with me since I played my first Pac-Man game on Atari 2600 to now awaiting Destiny 2 for my PS4. It has provided me with friendships, ease of mind and an escape from any pains I sometimes feel from my military career or life. Without gaming, I can easily say I would not be the well-rounded man I am today.
Steven Schweitzer
Steve is a disabled Army Lieutenant Colonel, Aviation. UH-1 and C-12s. Day 1 Atari 2600 gamer, first computer 1978, Radio Shack Color Computer with 4K of Ram. Been a gamer my entire life. Touring Bungie Studios has been on my bucket list since Halo 1. Primarily play on Xbox but moving to PS4 for Destiny 2.
Richard Semashko
I come from a military family so I moved quite a bit. I joined the army right out of high school in Oct. 2005. I was active duty for 4 years and 7 months of which I spent 2 years and 3 months deployed. I went through Basic and AIT to be a Motor Transportation Operator (88M) at Ft. Leonardwood, MO. When I finished up I was stationed at Ft Hood, TX with DFST 1-7 Cav.
I spent my first tour as a radio operator in an office when I got back I moved to doing ammo for my unit. My second tour was spent doing convoys transporting supplies for our outpost. When I completed my second tour I came home completed my paperwork and got out of the military March 9th of 2010. I stayed in Texas for about a year before moving back to Michigan. I worked for my dad doing property maintenance before going to cosmetology school. I moved to Wisconsin not long after I finished school and went to work for an HVAC company.
I currently work at Gamestop as a Game Advisor and working towards a promotion. Gaming gave me an escape, something to think about other than the current situation, it helps me be less antisocial and expands my group of supporters and friends. I appreciate and respect every one of the people that have helped me both in the gaming world and out.
Stack-Up is honored to be able to give back to these great Veterans through our Air Assault program! Make sure to stand by right here on Stack-Up.Org for our PAX West coverage and to check in with our Air Assaults to hear what they thought of the convention!
If you would like to find out more about how you can help us support Veterans through our Air Assault program, or would like to know more about our other programs and how to get involved click on the banner below and Stack Up with us!
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