Vets Use Paintball to Reduce Stress
ICYMI: The Bloomington (IL) Pantagraph reports that “while Chris Aguayo was serving in the U.S. Army, he witnessed his best friend burn to death in a Humvee.”
“‘It took its toll on me,’ he said. ‘I had survivor’s guilt. I went into a huge depression.'”
“In an effort to cope, he requested a change in military bases. It was there that one of his buddies suggested he start playing paintball.
“‘It was my first taste of playing paintball with a group,” he said. It happened only months before he was deployed to Afghanistan — his second tour of duty. He previously went to Iraq.”
“‘It was a big help for me,’ he said. ‘It jump-started my idea to put together my own team. I wanted to take that and give back to other active members and vets.'”
“Now Aguayo, 29, a freshman at Illinois State University, has organized a military-structured Task Force Legion that has paintball teams across 10 states, including the Charlie Company in Illinois.”