Hike to raise awareness for suicide among combat veterans makes its way through Orlando.
Walkers brave the cold in their silkies for the cause
Saturday’s high of 50 degrees didn’t stop Jared DeFoor and 40 others from walking around downtown Orlando wearing military-issued shorts, carrying ruck sacks with no shirts on.
When passersby were done gawking at the 24-year-old’s six-pack abs, the Marine Corps sergeant would tell them the real reason he stripped down.
“I’ve lost three of my friends to suicide,” said DeFoor, an Apopka native who’s been a marine for nearly six years. “So this is pretty near and dear to my heart.”
The Silkies Hike, also called the “22 with 22 for the 22,” is an event sponsored by the Irreverent Warriors organization.
Irreverent Warriors brings veterans together “using humor and camaraderie to heal the mental wounds of war” and raises money to financially support warriors.
Retired and active service men and women
don the military-issued shorts and walk 22 kilometers, about 13 miles, while carrying 22 kilograms of weight in their rucksacks.
The last 22 represents the number of veterans who kill themselves daily, according to U.S Department of Veterans Affairs statistics.
“That’s what it’s all about to me,” said DeFoor, who hosted Saturday’s Silkies Hike. “To help each other out.”
Stops on Saturday’s hike included Graffiti Junktion locations in Thornton Park and downtown Orlando, and World of Beer near Lake Eola. The group ended with an after party at Wall Street Plaza, the same place the hike started.
“As long as we’re all together, that’s one less person we have to worry about being by themselves,” said Trevor Aldridge, president of the Veterans Club at Valencia College.
Aldridge, 24, spent four years serving as a data network specialist in the Marine Corps before leaving the service last year.
He talks about the number of friends he’s lost to suicide without batting an eye, indicating how routine it is for soldiers to come back from combat and unravel when adjusting to civilian life.
“Civilians don’t understand veterans the way veterans understand veterans,” said Aldridge.
That disconnect from the outside world is why the Silkies Hike is only open to active and retired service members, said Terri Lynn Sugar-Robinson, a regional director for the Silkies Hike.
Sugar-Robinson said by keeping the event private allows participants to be as candid as they want to be.
“This is their bonding moment,” she said. “They tell war stories. They’re dirty with their mouth, they have fun and support each other.”
Marvin Ayala, who grew up in Orlando and now lives in Tampa, said the hikes are critical in connecting veterans to each other and services.
“I’m out here because I want to raise awareness for PTS,” said Ayala, 34. “I don’t like calling it PTSD because I don’t like labeling it as a disorder.”
Ayala served three tours in Iraq during his14 years he served in the U.S. Army infantry.
He said it’s not uncommon for soldiers to return from war without any knowledge or education of how they’re expected to resume normal life.
“When you get out, you have all this built up frustration, built up trauma,” he said. “And you need an outlet to get it out.”
The physical act of walking with fellow soldiers signifies much more than a pub crawl, said Ayala.
It’s a chance to meet others who’ve shared scarring experiences and comfort each other the way only a family member can.
“I’ve gone through some pretty dark times and I have a pretty good support network with all my friends and all the networking that I do in the community,” he said. “And I still have rough times.”