Being a "Wounded Warrior" Without Any Wounds

I'm now a part of the Wounded Warrior Battalion, which was set up to aid Marines who are ill or injured in either reintegrating with the operating forces, or transitioning out of the Marine Corps entirely. I fall into the ill category and as far as I know I'll be transitioning out, due to a manic episode I had in the middle of February.

Being a part of this battalion makes me feel guilty. I'm not injured like a lot of the other Marines are - missing limbs, wheel chair bound, walking with sticks and so on. While I was checking in, I was shown around by a Marine who is missing his right leg below the knee - here I am, walking around in perfectly fine physical health, and I'm checked into the same unit as him.

So far there hasn't been any kind of negative attitudes directed at me or anything of that sort, but I still feel bad regardless.

I'm still getting used to everything and to writing, so don't expect any mind blowing posts for a while. I'll slowly be working myself up to writing about the episode over the coming weeks.

Not Dead, Just Not Alive

Hello, all - all who read this, anyway.

I'm writing to say that I'm not dead. I recently had a manic episode which sent me away from my command in Okinawa and sent me to a Naval Hospital in San Diego.

I will write more about that at a later date but as for right now I just wanted to get the news out that I'm alive and kicking, more or less. I'll be getting regular access to the internet again soon and so will write more about what happened to me and what it all means in due time. Life changing stuff, to be sure.

Sorry to drop off the face of the earth like that, it wasn't my intention, but I've been stuck in this place since February 19th. Things moved rather quickly for me once I had my episode and it was all very strange and surreal.

More later!