Welcome to today's PC Vetrofit program. In case this is your first time, here you can read about a recipient of one of our latest PC Vetrofit crates. What is the PC Vetrofit program? Through our PC Vetrofit program, we and our sponsors build a gaming PC for a Veteran out there who has been nominated. Nominations can be made by the Veterans themselves or by friends, family, and other persons who know the Veteran.
Today and Monday's PC Vetrofit crates are special, just in time for the holidays. Aaron and his brother Jeremiah are both Veterans who served in the Marine Corps. Jeremiah nominated his brother Aaron for a PC Vetrofit crate because while he's been trying to save up for his own gaming PC, he wasn't sure if his brother would get one for himself. He really wanted to be able to game with him as he tells us in his request:
Hello! My younger brother and I both did 4 years in the Corps, and both deployed to Afghanistan. I was artillery like our Marine dad, my brother's crazy ass went infantry. His platoon saw more combat than the rest of his battalion combined, and he came back a different person. His stories are harrowing compared to anything I did. I'm glad he came back at all, but life has been a terrifying roller coaster of emotion in the 9 years since. He's managed to accomplish great things academically and professionally, and raise a beautiful family, while battling invisible wounds, too often alone. We've both hit some low lows, but we're now lucky enough to live on the same property, and spend a lot of time together, which I think has saved us both. My brother has never been a "gamer" as much as I have, but I've tried hard to expose him and look for things that engage him. His days are usually comprised of finding distractions from hour to hour. My biggest success so far has been Onward for Oculus Quest 2. I let him play mine and he ordered one on the spot. Now we play together and it's maybe the most therapeutic thing we have. I built gaming PCs back in high school and was very into it, but not since the Corps. However, I've recently seen games like Squad, Arma3, and Hell Let Loose, and they look amazing. I hesitated to show my brother this stuff for PTSD concerns but when he reacted so positively to Onward, I showed him some YouTube videos of the aforementioned games. Instantly, he excitedly asked why we aren't playing them together already. Since then, I've been determined to acquire gaming PCs, but goddamn they're pricey. I have no problem saving for my own PC, as I'll use it for many other games that I want to play anyway, but I don't think my brother will buy one for himself, not knowing how much therapy time he's missing out on. I think plugging into organized online teams of veterans in these games would be absolutely amazing for his state of mind. While bouncing ideas around, he's mentioned the idea of us doing a YouTube channel together many many times, but we've never had a subject we could get a lot of mileage out of, other than airsoft, but you need a lot of cameras and a lot of editing. "Afghanistan vet Marine brothers play Arma3" sounds like it might get a lot of views though. I believe that, if anyone is looking for people for whom a gaming computer could make a genuine positive impact in their PTSD-ridden life, my brother is one. Thank you for your time and consideration, I hope we get to play together someday. The only photo I have at the moment is of us playing airsoft, but I'll email you pictures of him in Afghanistan asap. He's the one with the bolt action, btw.
Thanks, Jeremiah, for sharing all of that with us. After hearing Jeremiah and Aaron's story, we had Jeremiah submit a PC Vetrofit request for himself which you can read on Monday. These brothers both deserve something that they can enjoy together.
He’s beyond stoked and grateful for everything. Thank you so much!
Stack Up, I can’t thank you enough for creating an organization that benefits vets in such a substantial way. I am humbled to have been chosen for this, and I intend to get a lot of use out of this PC. This thing is fucking awesome man. I have never even seen a computer this nice in person, so owning one is still surreal. Thank you again Dave.
We're constantly humbled by the impact our programs can have on people. We hope Aaron gets some good gaming in on his new PC. If Aaron and Jeremiah do happen to start streaming, we hope they'll let us know so we can throw them some support!
RonnieFit sponsored this crate. He does so much good for our community and programs and if you're able, be sure to check him on his youtube channel.
Want to make a difference for our troops but not sure how to get involved with Stack Up? We have plenty of volunteer opportunities and a plethora of ways to support. Hit that red button below to find out how.
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