MISSION STATEMENT
The Sgt. John Basilone Foundation was started by Gunnery Sergeant Basilone's family to honor his legacy. Our mission is to preserve his memory and help support those veterans who suffer from the effects of post-traumatic stress. Many veterans, if not all, who have deployed to foreign lands in the service of their country have returned changed as a result. The Sgt. John Basilone Foundation seeks to provide veterans access to treatment that will provide them with coping skills for dealing with their post-traumatic stress. Focus will be on holistic treatments that will positively impact the outlook on their lives as they transition from military to civilian life. This "treatment" can be best described as "Movement is Medicine!" Research has shown that a yoga practice can help relieve symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress such as psychological distress, anxiety and sadness.
The Sgt. John Basilone Foundation also seeks to change the public's perspective on how to refer to what is clinically diagnosed as Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to the Rand Center for Military Health Policy Research approximately 18.5 percent of returning service members from Iraq and Afghanistan have PTSD. PTSD is defined as an anxiety disorder that may occur after exposure to traumatic event such as military combat, violence, or a natural calamity. The Sgt. John Basilone Foundation, as did Presidents Obama and George W. Bush, prefers to drop the "D." By inferring that those veterans who suffer the effects of post-traumatic stress have a disorder, the Sgt. John Basilone Foundation feels it instead stigmatizes the veterans and may have the negative effect of dissuading them from seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress. In simple terms, when you label, you limit. Comedian George Carlin perhaps best addressed this use of what he coined "soft language" to describe veterans' reaction to combat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuEQixrBKCc&t=25s.
By serving those who have gone to war by seeking holistic treatment for their symptoms we feel we will best accomplish our mission to improve their lives, the lives of their family, and to carry on Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone's legacy of helping others. We're proud to carry on our new mission statement by continuing to help "John's boys."