Joining Forces Blog

Veterans “Run As One” Across the Nation

On April 12, in communities across the country, Team Red, White and Blue (Team RWB), Team Rubicon, and The Mission Continues held their third annual Run As One event in honor of Marine veteran Clay Hunt -- an original member of Team Rubicon who lost his battle with PTSD and depression. Run As One celebrates the partnership between these three organizations while also symbolizing the leadership, action, and collaboration across all segments of our society supporting veterans and their families. The goals of Run As One are to:

1. Build strong, united communities around America's veterans.
2. Demonstrate leadership by driving collaboration and a proactive approach to veteran service.
3. Raise awareness of, and demonstrate solutions to, the challenges of the military to civilian transition.

Joining Forces Third Anniversary

Ed. note: This is cross-posted from Military Spouse magazine. See the original post here.

On June 7, 2012, Linda Mills received a phone call that changed her life forever: Linda’s husband, Army Staff Sergeant Andrew Mills, had been seriously injured when an IED exploded in Afghanistan. 

Almost immediately, Linda quit her job to become Andrew’s full-time caregiver.  In the weeks and months after the explosion, Andrew underwent more than 30 surgeries.  The two of them moved from North Carolina to Virginia, so that Andrew can rehab at a state-of-the-art military hospital.  And every single day, Linda has stood by her husband’s side, helping with physical therapy, assisting with daily personal care, and managing the family’s legal and financial responsibilities. 

Today, after two years in her new role as a caregiver, Linda considers herself not just a military spouse, but a nurse, an advocate, a scheduler, and a coach. And as she often says, even a tragedy can lead to a new beginning – in a few weeks’ time, she and Andrew will welcome their first child into the world.