The Electronic Entertainment Expo or E3 is nearly upon us and we are gearing up and getting ready to roll out but we are not going alone. As we descend upon LA for a week-long extravaganza of all things video games, we have a few special guests coming along for the ride: our E3 2019 Air Assaults!
We are proud to be able to give back to veterans through our Air Assaults program in which we hand-pick deserving veterans and pay for them to attend life-changing video game and geek culture events, whether it be a Comic-Con, an Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), a Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) or even a game developer studio tour. With the help of our local Stacks providing support, we make sure those veterans have a weekend that they will never forget!
The veterans joining us for E3 2019 not only exemplify service, duty, and honor but are also rabid fans of video games! Take a moment and read below to learn more about them.
Wayne Wilson
Army Favorite Video Game Franchises/Studios/Publishers: Bungie and Destiny, Bethesda for Fallout & Elder Scrolls, Insomniac Games, Naughty Dog, Rockstar, Ubisoft, Guerrilla Favorite Streamers: Byf, Evade for content. James Werk, iLulu on Twitch
“I enlisted in the US Army as an 11B at 17, then grew up fast. This foundation set me up for a successful career that spanned 9 years and some change, July ‘02- December ‘11. I served 2 combat tours in Iraq with the 101st Airborne. I was medically retired with much-unfinished business and moving on was hard. The military is the only job I have ever had.
The question “what do you do now” has always bothered me. I struggled with my transition to civilian life and finding my purpose, but during this time gaming helped me heal. Specifically, the Destiny franchise. Through gaming, I rediscovered that camaraderie. The therapeutic value of socializing in a positive community and little wins with difficult content has shown a greater benefit than anything else. Outside of gaming, I’m family-focused, with a passion for service work.”
Robert Eckard
Marines Favorite Video Game Franchises/Studios/Publishers: Sony, Nintendo, Sega, Bethesda Favorite Streamers: TheRadBrad
I am Rob, I am a 100% Combat disabled, medically retired Marine. I entered the Marine Corps, post 9/11 in June of 2002 and retired June 2017 with 15 years in. During my time in the Marine Corps, I did 3 Combat tours in Iraq, 1 Combat tour in Afghanistan and a year-long deployment in Japan without my family.
I suffer from debilitating PTSD/TBI as well as a multitude of physical injuries. I now live in Georgia with my family, my two boys are teenagers and love to play video games with me, which helps bring us closer, as I missed all their childhood. I enjoy gaming as a release of stress and to connect with other veterans like myself.
Isadore M Sylve IV
Army Favorite Video Game Franchises/Studios/Publishers: Bethesda, Halo, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Square Enix, Pokemon Favorite Streamers: TSM Daequan, Summit1G, TSM Hamlinz, 100T Valkyrae, TimTheTatMan
I joined the army in 2014 because a lot of my family had served, and the army offered me a lot of things I couldn’t find out in the civilian world. I have always been into aviation and with them, not only was I able to work and learn about aircraft, I got to fly in vehicles most people never get to touch.
While having a nice career is great and all, I got so much more from being in the armed forces. Growing up a African American male in the U.S. I have had quite a hard time with being treated poorly but when I joined and the entire time I served I felt exactly the same as everyone else, the only color we saw was green and your work ethic was really the main factor to how well you did.
The Armed forces can be killer on the body and in June 2018 I had to be medically retired with various injuries. Honestly, I’m lucky because even with the injuries I have I can still do the one thing that I love doing and that has been playing video games. Video games have been my stress reliever, hobby, and a great way for me to connect with people and have fun since I was 10years old and I will continue to play them till I’m old and grey.
We are looking forward to spending time with these amazing people and thanking them for their service. We hope our Air Assaults enjoy E3 as it is certainly an epicenter of video game culture and an experience like no other.
Stand by as we will have details of the trip after the convention, as well as some words from our Air Assaults about their experience!
If you’d like to make a donation that helps support our Air Assault program or if you would like to answer the Call To Arms with you own charity stream and help us make an impact, hit the link below for intel!
