Operation Iron Ruck Day was intended to combat veteran suicide

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – “We are actively working to eradicate this epidemic,” Gov. Kay Ivey said at a ceremony declaring November 27 Operation Iron Ruck Day in honor of the annual movement to raise awareness and prevent veteran suicide.

Operation Iron Ruck is a military exercise involving carrying a backpack over a long distance. Every year on Iron Bowl weekend, students organize their own 251-mile race to benefit veterans.

“It’s a rallying cry. It’s veterans standing up for veterans in a common fight for our lives,” said Bill Schwenk, Operation Iron Ruck coordinator in Auburn.

Walk participants say the journey is often therapeutic and reminds veterans that they are not alone.

Participants will wear 22 name tags that will symbolize the deaths of 22 veterans who lost their lives to suicide each day in 2018 when they started the movement at the Iron Bowl. Since then, suicide rates have dropped to 17 deaths per day.

“Please know that the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs is always here to help and we look forward to another successful Operation Iron Ruck,” said Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Newton, interim commissioner of Veterans Affairs.

In addition to this march, the state veterans association and veterans advocates are calling on lawmakers to support the Houston Hunter Bill. If passed, it would create a program under which veterans could store guns at businesses that would register as federal firearms licensees.

Officials say the extra step of visiting a business to obtain a gun could be enough to save a veteran’s life.

Click here to learn more about Operation Iron Ruck and donate to its efforts.

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