Bailey "Gene" entered the military right out of high school.   He completed his first term with the Air Force 1999.  In 2000, he joined the SCARNG where he met Raina.  Bailey and his wife have two beautiful daughters ages 12 and 9.  Two days after his wedding, he was deployed for 15 months working in a detainee prison camp as a military police officer.  In 2004/2005, he returned to active duty with the United States Army, where he served until he medically retired in 2012.  During his time in the Army, Bailey has 9 deployments with his latest one being Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2008 where he served 18 months.  During his time in the military and more so since he retired, he has noticed a great need for Veterans and their families.  He decided to start Battle Buddies For Life, in hopes to be an outlet for all military veterans to find help and resources in which they need in order to survive and cope with the “Hidden Wounds of War.”  Battling with PTSD, clinical depression, anxiety disorder, and TBI, Gene  understands that help from the VA is extremely backed-up and not forth-coming, so he empathically sympathizes with the Veterans and their families.

 

 

   Raina is the florist for Piggly Wiggly.  She met Gene in 2000, and they married in 2002.  She volunteers her time as a Girl Scout Troop Leader in the Red Bank area, and volunteers to help anyone and anywhere that she can be of assistance.  Raina knows what it’s like to be a military spouse.  She understands the struggles that military spouses and their families go through when the military member leaves for months at a time.  Raina has realized that the VA is not much help for veterans and that there is almost  no help available for those returning from multiple deployments.  Raina is hoping that Battle Buddies For Life will help to pick up the slack in the vast majority of the returning veterans.  She knows the struggles that veterans like her husband go through on a daily basis, and knows first-hand that the VA is not that reliable and sympathizes with all of the families of the returning soldiers, veterans, and their families.