In the summer of 2023, veteran Joshua Rife was struggling with suicidal thoughts.
“The only escape I had was to just unplug from my life and do something else. And for me, it was video games,” he said.
Fortunately, another veteran he’d met online recommended Rife seek mental help from the local VA hospital, and he’s now in a much better place mentally.
“It was really good to talk to somebody who had experience at the VA hospital that I trusted online.”
Rife is part of a younger generation of digital-minded veterans who are more likely to engage in online activities than make regular visits to a VFW post. Recognizing a niche that needed to be filled, the VFW launched the Combat Tested Gaming Program to make it easier for veterans to connect with each other and build camaraderie.
“The VFW has a great mission but it’s really hard to get younger veterans to support that mission when they don’t experience what it is like to be in a VFW. This is an attempt by the VFW to pull in veterans who are more experienced with a digital life,” said Rife, who serves as chairman of the West Virginia Combat Tested Gaming Community that meets online every Friday night
The veterans bond over common experiences and shared language while gaming, even if they haven’t met any of the other players in person, he said.
“When you’re playing games with people and you’re just chatting and you get to know people a little bit, you start to get a feel for the person that you’re playing with. You’ve never met these people before in your life. But when you’re really quiet one night on Discord, they’ll ask you, ‘Hey, are you OK? Hey man, do you need to talk?’ And it just starts from there.”
The West Virginia Combat Tested Gaming group meets on twitch.tv every Friday night and is open to all active duty service members, veterans and their families. Participants are not required to be a member of the VFW. The VFW Combat Tested Gaming Community also is active on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.
The West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance works closely with groups like the VFW and the American Legion to support and promote programs like Combat Tested Gaming.
“The gaming is the tool; it’s the how. The community is the why: to get veterans to hop into Discord or come see us and just chat. That’s all we want to do,” Rife said.
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