Esports Program Aims to Reduce Veteran Suicides

WPHHAdmin

Aug 1, 2024

396

American Legion Lebron Post 58

Esports program, which is designed to reduce veteran suicide by providing an environment of a connection.

Lebron Post 58 Chaplain George Shafer stands next to one of the gaming platforms that is part of the Bunker 58 Esports program at Lebron Post 58 in Guthrie.

Suicide has no single cause and no one approach can end it-but prevention is possible, especially when Veterans find support before a crisis happens.
That’s the mission of the American Legion Lebron Post 58 in Guthrie with its Bunker 58 Esports program, which is designed to reduce veteran suicide by providing an environment of a connection, teamwork, and camaraderie for local veterans.
“Bunker 58 started as an idea between three Legionnaires a couple of years ago,” said Army veteran and Lebron Post 58 Chaplain George Shafer. “We were sitting around drinking coffee, and one of our members read an article in the National American Legion Magazine about a partnership with a gaming organization. And in that article, it explained to us that eSports provides a level of camaraderie, accountability, and competition that veterans crave. We began the process of looking into what it would look like to get that program at our post here in Guthrie. And we began looking at the cost and looking into the internet, and considering where we could potentially run the program.”
Shafer said the process began of reaching out to Regiment Gaming, which is the nation’s largest veteran-only gaming community in the country.
“I was able to make contact with Chris Earl, who’s the CEO of Regiment, and that began a working relationship with both Regiment and Paradox Customs to get the computers,” Shafer said. “Our committee worked tirelessly from February until July, getting the room designated, getting the room prepared. We coordinated with the community. We coordinated with many entities to help make this happen. And finally, on July 10th, we had our grand opening.”
Shafer said the grand opening was a success.
“It exceeded our expectations dramatically,” he said. “We were hoping on a Wednesday afternoon to hopefully get 10 or 20 people to come out and look at what we were doing. We ended up having over 100 people show up. We were able to speak with veterans and attendants who had never stepped foot into an American Legion before. We were able to procure new memberships coming from a younger demographic. And the response that we got from our immediate community was overwhelmingly special.”
Shafer said Bunker 58 is a passion project for Lebron Post 58 members.
“Many of our committee members are enthusiastic about this project because we know somebody who has succumbed to being part of the 22 a day,” Shafer said, in reference to the number of veteran suicides per day. “Our goal is to have this program up and running so that it is a safe place to land for any veteran who finds themselves struggling during the holidays, starting with Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving through the week after New Year’s, is our target goal to get good at facilitating, mentoring, and assisting veterans through this new venue.”
Shafer said each Esports committee member is being trained how to operate the gaming equipment by Brent Lemmons, vice-chair of the Esports committee and former Esports coach at Guthrie High School.
“We’re training our committee members on how to operate the equipment,” Shafer said. “We will train up the entire committee on how to start up, run, diagnose, fix, assist, get people onto gaming platforms, working with the different areas of hardware like the mouse, the keyboard, the headset, the controller, the towers.”
Shafer said when the training is finished, the goal is to host game nights and tournaments.
“We’d like to have beginner nights where people just step in and they learn about what Esports is, and how they can take advantage of it,” he said.
Shafer, like other veterans, has had his share of struggles since leaving the military.
He said his faith and a support network has helped him.
“I am a veteran that has struggled,” he said. “I’ve been out of the military for 10 years. I have struggled with the aimlessness, and the lack of passion, feeling worthless, feeling empty, feeling void.”
Shafer said his struggles help him better help other veterans.
“When I see that in somebody else, I’m able to recognize it,” he said. “Not because I’ve experienced exactly what that person has experienced, but it rekindles my desire to ensure that nobody ever feels that way again. To ensure that they understand that they’re made in the image of God, in the image of their creator, and that they have worth, and that they have value. Even if they no longer wear the uniform or serve the country, they still have value and they still have worth, and they still have things that they were put on this planet to do. And if I can help them get through this short, temporal period of feeling empty, it’s my honor to do that.”
According to a 2023 Military Times article, video games have gone hand in hand with military service since the 1990s when service members would take their Nintendo or Sega Genesis consoles on deployment with them. While much has changed in the quality and quantity of gaming services and platforms, one thing has remained constant: Military members love video games.
They love them so much that the Navy, Army, Marine Corps, Air Force/Space Force, and Coast Guard have established esports teams. The services founded these teams to modernize outreach and recruitment efforts and show a different side to military service.
Shafer said the long-term goal of Bunker 58 is to give veterans an outlet to turn to instead of suicide.
“The long-term goal is to end veteran suicide. So, do I believe video games are the answer for veteran suicide? No, I do not. I believe that Esports are a methodology to reaching potential veterans that could be struggling,” he said. “And that is our responsibility. Do we want veterans to come out and play video games? Of course. Absolutely. We want to provide that environment. We want the environment to be safe, we want it to be warm, we want it to be engaging. But when people pull me aside in my role as a chaplain to discuss matters of faith, suicidal tendencies, financial hardships, joblessness, I believe that is the core of the program that will eventually begin to save lives.”