Why do people fail to understand that people in fields like border also require care, love and mental therapies to cope with their inner traumatizing battles tolerated for years for the safety of their nations?

Well, by diving into the pages of this military biography, “A Soldier’s Soldier” by Neysa Holmes, PhD, readers will come to know that Erick was the embodiment of dedication, perseverance, and excellence. He endured some of the most grueling military training in existence—Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS), the Q Course, Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) training, and the Combat Diver Qualification Course (CDQC)—emerging as an elite warrior, a Green Beret. But despite his ability to withstand brutal physical and mental tests, there was one battle he wasn’t prepared for: the fight against his own military trauma.

For all his qualifications and sacrifices in service to his country, no one came to help him when he needed it.

The Making of an Elite Warrior

Becoming a Green Beret is no easy feat. The selection process weeds out those who cannot endure its intense demands, leaving only the strongest and most adaptable. Erick was one of them.

He was trained for everything—combat tactics, strategic planning, and survival under the most extreme conditions. He mastered weapons systems, languages, and clandestine operations. He pushed his body to its absolute limits in one of the most demanding military schools in the world, the Combat Diver Qualification Course, where only one in three soldiers succeed.

Erick didn’t just serve—he excelled. He was among the best, part of a brotherhood that required unwavering commitment and resilience. His life revolved around service, each mission a test of his strength and endurance.

Yet, for all the strength required to survive in battle, no amount of training could prepare him for what came next.

The Fight That No One Trains For

The battlefield leaves scars beyond the visible wounds. The trauma of war, the weight of loss, and the relentless strain of always being on high alert begin to take their toll. Soldiers like Erick spend years preparing for war, but when they return home, there is no roadmap, no strategy, and no structured training for the war inside their own minds.

When Erick needed help—when he needed the same level of dedication and commitment from the system he served—the support was nowhere to be found.

The VA was overwhelmed, and its bureaucracy was slow and impersonal.

Therapy and counseling came with waiting lists, paperwork, and red tape.

His elite status in the military meant nothing when it came to battling PTSD.

Erick had survived near-impossible conditions in combat, but back home, he was left alone to fight a war that he didn’t have the tools to win.

A System That Trains Warriors, Then Abandons Them

The military prides itself on training soldiers for every possible scenario, yet it fails to prepare them for the reality of life after war. The very system that conditioned Erick to withstand the harshest conditions—to endure sleep deprivation, hunger, pain, and fear—failed to recognize that no amount of strength could stop the mental toll of repeated deployments, combat stress, and survivor’s guilt.

Where was the structured reintegration? The step-by-step process to guide these warriors home?

Soldiers like Erick don’t need pity—they need the same level of training and support to relearn how to exist in the civilian world. They need a system that values their mental well-being as much as their physical endurance. They need action, not bureaucracy.

The Unfinished Mission

Erick’s story is a call to action. It’s a reminder that our duty to our soldiers doesn’t end when they take off their uniforms. It is not enough to celebrate their bravery on the battlefield—we must be there for them when the battle is over.

The government, the military, and society as a whole must do better. We cannot continue to send men and women into war only to abandon them when they return. The same level of commitment that went into training Erick for combat should go into helping him heal.