If you participated or watched Bungie’s Call to Arms weekend earlier this month, you may know that part of that event was to find the military’s biggest Destiny fans and bring them with us to PAX West as part of our Air Assault Program. This is where we at Stack-Up 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), or in this case a trip to PAX West.
Throughout the event, we’ve met some amazing people from the armed forces and received a plethora of valid nominations to join us in Seattle for PAX. However we are not able to take everyone, so it was with great care that we at Stack-Up poured through all the applications until we finally found the right vets to match up with this particular Air Assault mission!
Joining us will be…
Chris Griffin (U.S. Army)
“My name is Christopher Griffin, and I am a U.S. Army veteran. With depression and anxiety, gaming helps me calm down and collect my thoughts in a productive manner. Allowing an escape from the real world and pPlunging into fantasy allows me to forget my issues and problems both mentally and physically. Being proactive in my community and others allows me to help and reach out to people I never knew I could help.”
Destiny Thoughts…
“My favorite Destiny moment was the first time we killed Oryx. Just the feeling of beating something so massive and so absolute was just epic. My favorite PVP primary is the Mida muti-tool, with a 1000 yard stare and The Ash Factory rocket launcher. My favorite PvE setup is With a Hung Jury, a Black Spindle, and a Harrowed Qullim’s Terminus. Love SRL as well and cannot wait till its return in December.”
Elliott Alcantara (U.S. Army)
“Enlisted in the Army right after high school in 2002 to become an Airborne Ranger. After spending 40+ months in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Scout Sniper, Rifle Team Leader, Squad Leader, and Platoon Sergeant, and just under 13 years of total service, I was medically retired for PTSD.
Gaming helps me in that when I feel an uncontrollable nervousness or anxiousness; I can turn on my Xbox and become focused on something. When I get lost in my own head, I can get out of it simply by loading up a game. Gaming has given me a common ground to get to know people who don’t have my sorts of experiences. “
Destiny Thoughts…
“Favorite destiny items/weapons – TLW and MIDA for PVP, and I loved the Fatebringer /Black Spindle / Gjallahorn for PVE. Favorite destiny moment – Three-way tie between completing my first Vault of Glass at LVL 26 with all blue weapons, flawless solo Crota at LVL 32, and that first time flawless.”
Shawn Revell (U.S. Army)
“My Name is Shawn, and I Served as an Infantryman in the U.S. Army for seven years until 2014 when I was medically discharged. I’ve been on two deployments to Iraq. Serving in Mosul and Basra and outlying cities. I was with B. Co 1-12 Cav 3HBCT 1CD.
When I got out, I found a peaceful calming within a game called “Destiny.” This game and the people I’ve met have helped me dramatically. All of the medical issues and emotions you eventually have to deal with and are stuck with are very hard to overcome… but Destiny and helping the awesome streamers in the Destiny Twitch Directory with graphic and motion design have been a true blessing for me.”
Destiny Thoughts…
“Oh man, Where to begin. I’ll be like most Day 1 Players and say Vanilla Destiny. I don’t think I can necessarily pin down one overall favorite experience. From doing the Vault of Glass for the very first time and taking 14+ hours to do it. From the overall feel of Destiny’s PVP to jumping down the Hellmouth fighting and racing to be worlds first to defeat Crota…. only to have one of our teammates disconnect from Destiny once we made it to Crota (All Destiny players know this feeling), to bringing Sparrows into the VOG and defeating Atheon with Sparrows in tow. Everything about Destiny was fantastic.”
Trevor Harris (U.S. Navy)
“In the military, I was a Navy Corpsman and deployed with 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance. We deployed to the al Anbar province, Iraq in 2004 where we were involved with most of the hot spots. During that time I treated many of my Marines for various injuries but managed to leave country saving my Marines life, limbs, and sight with a combination of skill and luck. My battalion was not as lucky, though, and we lost several of my brothers during the deployment. We lost even more from the demons that people brought home with them.
Video games have helped me relax after a long day or have given me something to occupy my mind when I’ve been stuck in a dark place. They give you a way to escape your life for a little while when your life feels like it’s coming apart at the seams. A good game can give you something to look forward to when nothing else in your life does.”
Destiny Thoughts…
“It’s been a while since I’ve played so I don’t remember the names for things but…during my stay in the American Lake VA, I loved playing Destiny with the other vets. It was a nice distraction and stress relief from our fun filled days of VA mental health. We would have ourselves a little party just about every night, gathering around the glow of the TV. It gave us a less stressful way talk about all the death and destruction that we’ve seen and get to open up and talk to people. My favorite character to play was the sniper/shotgun toting Psychopath, vaporizing aliens into the great beyond with my magic hand grenades, crazy knife skills, and a rocket launcher!!!”
For four incredible days, these fantastic servicemen will be unleashed upon PAX West and enjoy an all expenses paid trip to gaming nirvana!
That’s not all, though. The folks from Bungie are graciously opening their doors to our Air Assaults and allowing them a behind the scenes look into Destiny with a Bungie Studio Tour. This is sure to be an amazing experience for any Destiny fan let alone four members of the U.S. Armed Forces who are all self-proclaimed Destiny super-fans!
Stand by right here on Stack-Up.org as we will be bringing you all the exciting news from PAX West. You will also want to follow us on Twitter, and Facebook as we will be sharing all of the convention fun on our social media channels! If you are going to be at the show and are interested in connecting, please let us know in the comments below!
Look out Seattle, here we come! You better be ready to STACK UP!