Chad M. Robichaux found himself in the darkest place in his battle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the kind showcased in movies about veterans on the edge.
Gun in hand, he considered taking his own life.
“I was as rock bottom as anybody could be,” Robichaux says. “The only thing that kept me from doing it was family pictures … I couldn’t bear my kid finding me.”
Robichaux served his country as a Force Recon Marine with eight deployments to Afghanistan. After coming home, he tried traditional methods for coping with his PTSD, including medicinal treatments, but nothing worked.
It wasn’t until restoring his faith and family bonds that he began to see a change.
“I felt like I found the cure to cancer. It’s the only way to really explain it,” he says of his faith-driven methods. Now, Robichaux is working to help other veterans who may have hit a similar hit rock bottom, through his Mighty Oaks Foundation, which teams with fellow veterans to help those struggling through peer-based discipleship.
He calls the foundation a “life commitment to paying it forward.” He captures that journey in his new book, “An Unfair Advantage: Victory in the Midst of Battle.” The memoir recalls his most harrowing moments from the fields of battle, his time as an MMA champion and how God helped heal his battered soul.
Robichaux’s organization continually offers new opportunities to help his fellow veterans and, by extension, himself.
That proved true when he first met Branden D. Kunath, a medically retired U.S. Marine Staff Sergeant who served as an Infantry Machine Gunner and Infantry Unit Leader during his active duty service. Kunath is now an instructor with the Mighty Oaks Warrior Programs as well as the group’s National Facilitation Manager. Kunath now admits he wasn’t keen on what the program had to offer him at first.
“I got a front row seat to watch his journey,” Robichaux says. “He could have made a decision that continued to destroy his life.” Instead, Kunath embraced Christ and flourished under the program.
“I was a few steps ahead of him,” he recalls of their healing process. According to Robichaux, people like Kunath hold “me very accountable to my own journey and the work that I do. It inspires me.”
“I remember phone calls from my wife when she would tell me she was praying for me, but I often replied that God wasn’t in Afghanistan – not in such an evil place. I know now that what I felt wasn’t the absence of God but rather the tangible presence of evil.”
Robichaux’s current work extends to the highest corridors of power. He recently teamed with the Trump administration to help bring faith-based organizations like Mighty Oaks into the official realm of government treatments.
He cares deeply about helping his fellow veterans and now has an even greater incentive to help future soldiers. Robichaux’s son, Hunter, is a third-generation Marine combat veteran currently serving in Afghanistan.
Robichaux is now optimistic about the direction of our country with regards to dealing with PTSD and other mental health challenges faced by veterans. “America learned a very big lesson from Vietnam. We lost almost 200,000 to suicide, a direct result of not taking care of Vietnam veterans when they came home,” he says.
It’s why he’s worked “hand in hand” with the Trump administration to improve the Veteran’s Affairs division and reach troubled soldiers. “There’s a lot of work left to do,” he adds.
Since embracing his new mission, Robichaux has spoken to more than 150,000 active duty troops and directly helped more than 3,300 active military and veterans at four Mighty Oaks Ranches across the country.
The current pandemic is making Robichaux’s work even harder as veterans deal with both PTSD and lockdown-based isolation. Suicide hotline calls are soaring as a result, he notes.
Even today, he still recalls why he considered suicide at his lowest point and why his second chance matters.
“I thought there was no purpose left in my life,” he says. “Fast forward to today, and there’s not enough days left in a lifetime to do what I want to achieve in this world.”
“There are always things worth fighting for: your legacy, your honor, your integrity, and even your health. Our role as men – as husbands, fathers, and leaders – in our communities will bring us to battles that will require us to rise up as warriors and fight. And we must.”