01/14/2018
Just a reminder. Blacksheep is like a volcano; sometimes dormant, always simmering, prone to violent eruptions. The birthplace of MILSIM and the top game in North America will return.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=929173077148680&substory_index=0&id=381000198632640
THE MARRIAGE OF MIND AND BODY – share this far and wide
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
I am a career Infantry officer trained to maneuver under fire and keep the objective in sight. Sometimes you have to give ground to allow the enemy to reveal their intent; then take the battle to them on your terms and the terrain you select. It was a very calculated risk when I put my professional reputation and the Blacksheep brand behind the PTSD cause. I knew it would be controversial and would be counter-intuitive to some. Peer review is an important litmus test. By any measure, Blacksheep is the top MILSIM game in the sport – proven, tested and trusted. The true test came when I chose another peer group – the PTSD professional community. Another calculated risk that could have gone very well or very bad. Here are the results of that journey. Objective secured!
THE SUMMER 2015 FOUNDRY CUP – 18-20 June 2015
http://www.foundrycup.com/
The Eastern Foundry is a veteran owned company and they wanted to tackle the most important issue in their first event – they tackled PTSD. The Foundry Cup is a forum that brings together groups of innovators to help them refine, collaborate, and develop creative ideas. The 2015 Foundry Cup focused on ways to detect and treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Fourteen finalists were brought together to participate in a program where finalists presented their ideas, collaborated and received educational workshops.
Blacksheep MILSIM was the first company selected to participate in this event. They found Blacksheep through The Canteen on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/PTSDMILSIMCANTEEN/. I want to emphasize that they found Blacksheep and were so excited about what Blacksheep is doing – we didn’t apply! I thank the brave souls that shared their testimonial in the Canteen – your stories touched everyone and made the MILSIM story very real.
This was an amazing event! The creativity, passion and enthusiasm was mind blowing. It was a very diverse group of companies – technology to link patients and therapists, yoga, equine therapy, journaling, moral injury healing and MILSIM. We concluded that there is no magic pill for PTSD. PTSD is very personal and the therapy that works for one may not work for another. We all saw value in adding as many tools to the tool box as possible – a full spectrum of care from medical intervention to lifestyle sustainment.
We were briefed by the RAND Corporation on the scientific validation process. The process is long and arduous taking up to fifteen years to achieve results. We need alternative solutions that work now. This was a key point we made during a teleconference with the VA National Center for PTSD. They were receptive to the idea of listing alternative therapies that are not “approved” but are showing positive results. The Finalists are working on this with VA – could take a while though. We used the analogy of cancer treatments – some are approved and some are not. If I had cancer, I would want to know about all of them.
Dr, Kevin Kip - the Executive Director of the Research Center at the University of South Florida – was a Finalist presenting his research on Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART). ART is an emerging psychotherapy with roots in existing evidence based therapies, but shown to achieve benefits much more rapidly (i.e. 1-5 sessions). Clients with depression, anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, substance abuse and other mental health conditions begin experiencing substantial benefits starting in the first session. ART works directly to reprogram the way in which distressing memories and images are stored in the brain so that they no longer trigger strong physical and emotional reactions.
On the very first day we immediately saw the connection between ART and MILSIM. What ART achieves through imagery to reprogram the brain, MILSIM achieves through physical activity – the marriage of mind and body. I can only vouch for the results seen at Blacksheep. Blacksheep is a full immersion experience and the unique convergence of stimuli is very powerful. Dr. Kip described it this way, “the over stimulation decreases the ability to repress the emotions, triggers are identified and causes a ‘hard reboot’ of the brain with the new image.” We were both extremely excited and agreed to create a partnership. Dr. Kip invited me to make a presentation at his conference.
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF ACCELERATED RESOLUTION THERAPY CONFERENCE – 30-31 July 2015.
http://www.is-art.org/
Holy cow talking about rubbing elbows with the big dogs!
Dr. Charles Hoge, MD, Colonel, US Army Retired from Walter Reed National Medical Center gave the keynote address on “Mental Health Impact of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Core Components of Trauma-Focused Treatment in Veterans.”
Dr. David Diamond, Professor, Department of Psychology, Cognitive, Neural and Social Division, University of South Florida gave a presentation on “Understanding the Effectiveness of ART in the context of the Neurobiology of PTSD.” This guy has over 25 years in studying the biology of the brain. Science supports what we are seeing in MILSIM. Memories are like clay, they can be manipulated. Memories create both a mental and physical imprint. Traumatic memories can get stuck in the Amygdala – the primitive brain responsible for fight or flight – and cause anxiety and physiological responses to those images.
Part of this conference was a live demonstration of ART. I have always been a “muddy boots” leader – never asking anyone to do something I won’t do myself. I volunteered to be the guinea pig for this demonstration – put this s**t to the test. I have an uncontrollable emotional trigger when I talk about PTSD – an image of my wife’s meltdown due to complex PTSD. The image was stuck and caused me to choke up when public speaking – many of you have seen this at Blacksheep events. In front of 25 spectators Laney Rosenzweig – the founder of ART – did a session with me. I broke down explaining my situation to the audience. Laney was confident and performed ART on me. I felt better – the anxiety, guilt and anger were gone. Now here’s the real test – I had to make my presentation to the full conference one hour later. I did it without choking up! In ONE one-hour session Laney removed a 20 pound rock from my rucksack – a rock I had been carrying for more than a decade.
Laney explained it to me like this, “ART is like dentistry for the brain. When you have a cavity the dentist removes the decay and replaces it. ART targets the trigger and replaces it.” For more information on ART go to http://acceleratedresolutiontherapy.com/web/. Contact them to find an ART therapist in your area or tell your therapist to contact them for ART training.
Blacksheep MILSIM has partnered with the University of South Florida and the Rosenzweig Center for Rapid Recovery. You will see ART researchers and ART therapists at future Blacksheep events. Laney Rosenzweig – the founder of ART – is excited about attending some Blacksheep events in the near future. There are already some PTSD therapists interested in attending as players to learn about the military culture and MILSIM experience.
I also had a very long and productive conversation with a representative from the Canadian Veterans Administration and the Chief Psychiatrist for the Canadian Armed Forces. In addition to exploring ART, they have implemented many progressive programs for the early detection and treatment of PTSD. Most notable, they have instituted a medal similar to the Purple Heart for injuries to the mind sustained in combat.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Spread the word – about ART and MILSIM. The marriage of mind and body.
Support the PTSD MILSIM Foundation to fund the research and provide scholarships for therapy – www.ptsdmilsimfoundation.org. Funding is essential to this effort.
Share your stories about how MILSIM has helped you with PTSD or about how MILSIM has given you insight to PTSD, about how MILSIM has given you insight to the military and about how MILSIM has changed your life - https://www.facebook.com/groups/PTSDMILSIMCANTEEN/. Testimonials are the single most important thing during this phase. Your stories show the powerful impact of MILSIM for anyone who participates.
Play MILSIM! We need good MILSIM at the local, regional and National level. Sign up for a Blacksheep event – “THE PARAMOUNT MILSIM EXPERIENCE” – www.blacksheepmilsim.com. Loring in Maine at the end of August and Guardian Center in Georgia in November – need 750 signed up for Guardian Center by the end of September. Nothing can happen without your support! Your participation in the events creates the environment to help others – all you have to do is play.
IN CLOSING
It’s time for the sport of MILSIM to grow up. Every sport goes through growing pains. Many people are starting to notice MILSIM from outside our sport – MILSIM is on the radar. MILSIM is still an underground sport. Most people don’t even know MILSIM exists or they have the “kids in jeans with Walmart guns” perception associated with Airsoft. We all have a responsibility to represent MILSIM with honor and respect. I have seen more honor and respect demonstrated by children on a playground than that demonstrated by some members of our community over the past several months.
I have come to the conclusion that haters are going to hate. No amount of honorable or respectful debate can change their minds. Their motives are dishonorable, their dialogue is disrespectful, their behavior is subversive and their tactics could result in legal or criminal consequences. Social media behavior requires the same level of honor and respect as behavior on the field. I am always open to respectful debate, that’s how we move things forward and improve. SAFETY is never debatable. I am done with Airsoft drama and Facebook flame wars. Keep that bu****it where it belongs, in the fantasies of teenage wet dreams along with full-auto, high cap magazines and Gucci gear. Facebook has a great feature to deal with the haters – BLOCK. It removes them from your life, you can’t see what they say, they can’t see what you say, they can’t contact you – life is good! It’s time to BLOCK this cancer from our sport.
MILSIM has so much potential on many levels. Let’s play some MILSIM. The sport based on HONOR and RESPECT.
Blacksheep MILSIM has some great things in the works and new venues. Stand-by!
MILSIM – celebrating the warrior spirit in each of us.
John Bucciarelli (Blacksheep6)
Major, Infantry
United States Army Retired
