His prayer, while laying bloodied and shattered, wasn't for his life, but only that his fellow Marines wouldn't have to watch him die. As they patrolled the Sunni Triangle near Baghdad, Schick's tank hit an explosive device, and he was thrown through the roof. 'It was in my family lineage to be a war fighter,' he said. Schick knew the country was headed to war, and he volunteered for infantry. His boot camp orders came earlier than expected following the terrorist attacks on Sept. Schick wanted her to speak of him with the same admiration, and he enlisted to become a third-generation Marine at the beginning of his senior year in high school. He fondly recalls his grandmother talking with pride about his grandfather, a World War II veteran and Marine infantryman. The responsibility of the uniform appealed to Schick at a young age.

The humans we deal with just happened to have worn a uniform at one time or another,' Schick said. Schick is the CEO of 22Kill, a non-profit organization focused on suicide awareness and prevention by providing mental wellness programs and therapies to veterans, first responders and their families. 'You can't fix a problem until you realize there's a problem.' 'It affected all of us as veterans, because we knew it was an issue, but knowledge is only power when it's shared,' Schick said. The challenge of 22 pushups a day, for 22 days, drove attention to the 2012 Veterans Affairs study which concluded that 22 veterans die on average every day by suicide. In 2013, he guided the initiation of a social media campaign that went viral.

He wanted to be a Marine.īut it was a classic military workout that actually provided Schick the means to awaken people's hearts and minds to change. You can read Jake’s Open Letter To Warriors and his eloquent wisdom on resilience in Psychology Today.Jacob Schick knew when he was 8 years old he wanted to make the world a better place. Jake also plays a role in Clint Eastwood’s production of “American Sniper” and will also be appearing in Bradley Cooper’s production of “A Star is Born” in May. Jake has become a staunch advocate for maximizing the potential in people from all walks of life and shares his story and the effects of being severely wounded at public speaking engagements throughout the country to motivate people to be better tomorrow than they were today, and raise awareness to the epidemic of the 22 warriors that die by suicide every day.Ī passionate and fearless leader whose quick wit and stories of intestinal fortitude have a profound impact on everyone he meets, Jake has appeared on James Gandolfini’s HBO special “Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq,” as well as “60 Minute Sports” and various other local and national venues. “Physical pain reminds you you’re alive, mental pain tests your will to stay that way”, is a saying that Jake says often in regards to suffering mentally. For years he dreaded his TBI and PTSD diagnosis a common mindset among warriors. Jake will tell you his physical injuries weren’t the worst that happened to him. Jake has undergone 46 operations, 23 blood transfusions, and countless hours of rehabilitation.

Jacob Schick, Chief Executive Officer for, is a third generation Marine who epitomizes service and sacrifice.Īfter a triple-stacked tank mine detonated below his vehicle in Al Anbar Province, Iraq in 2004, Jake suffered compound fractures in his left leg and left arm multiple skin, ligament and bone losses varying burns partial loss of his left hand and arm amputation below the knee of his right leg, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Jake schick