- March 28, 2024
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The mission of the New Smyrna Beach-based race is to raise awareness for PTSD and suicide among veterans.
There are two major factors that brought Lani and Vincent Faulkner together: the Navy and motorcycles.
When Lani Faulkner’s father passed, he left her his motorcycle. He had been a chief petty officer in the Navy for 25 years, and even when he retired, he transitioned into a contractor for the military. To Lani, it was like he had never left.
She needed help customizing her father’s motorcycle, so her friend directed her to Vincent Faulkner’s shop. The chemistry was instant.
“We shared the same passions, and I found out he was in the Navy, so that was a plus,” Lani Faulkner chuckled.
Together, they shared a desire to serve, especially those who had once served the country. Lani found the organization Team Red, White and Blue through a group of runners, and immediately got involved. Soon after, she roped her husband in.
“Our goal is to make a person a healthier person,” Vincent said. “We had one guy that we would invite to come out, and he would show up and leave 10 minutes later. Since then, he’s had knee surgery, lost 70 pounds and is at CrossFit every night. These veterans just want to belong to something again.”
Currently, Vincent serves as the veterans outreach director for the Daytona Beach Chapter of Team RWB, and Lani serves as chapter captain.
“I always felt inferior myself, that I didn’t have anything to offer to our veterans,” Lani said. “They have a wealth and knowledge we as civilians don’t get to experience. But I realized that their connection to me is so important to them so they can feel normal. It takes that trust with us in creating their new home.”
Vincent Faulkner said that creating a new home outside of the military came with a lot of confusion. He was honorably discharged under medical conditions in 1986 after working on jet engines on a constantly vibrating deck for six years. That environment led to severe nerve damage and bone necrosis, a condition that causes the small bones in his feet to slowly decay. He’s had six surgeries to help combat the chronic pain, but none have been successful.
“The nerves in my feet are hypersensitive,” Vincent said. “When I’m taking a shower, my foot can’t hit water. It’s too painful. But I have to stay functional, there’s a lot of people that still count on me.”
Besides his medical conditions, Vincent said the hardest part about transitioning to civilian life was the lack of a consistent schedule. In the Navy, he would wake up every morning to a Plan of the Day, or POD.
“You wake up now and you’re like ‘Jeez where is the pod?’” He chuckled. “It takes a little while to transition. But one thing you’ll find in every veteran, is that they always want to do more. They served and they always want to serve.”
Lani and Vincent Faulkner are both participating in Team RWB’s Run as One event March 28 to help raise awareness for the types of struggles veterans’ face, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. The race was created as a memorial for Clay Hunt, a veteran who, after suffering from PTSD for some time, committed suicide.
“People want to not talk about suicides, but we have an average of 22 vets a day committing it,” Vincent said. “It’s not just returning modern-day vets, it’s our older vets too. They’ve been fighting for bit, using alcohol and drugs, and it left them in a bad place. We talk about raising awareness to remove the stigma of PTSD, so who people who have it won’t think ‘How do I get a job? Is the employer going to look at me like I’m a broken toy?’”
Tracee Fleming, community outreach director for Team RWB Daytona Chapter, joined to channel her negative energy that came from worrying about her brother’s safety in Afghanistan into something positive. She wanted do be involved in something more personal, rather than just shake a stranger’s hand and thank them for their service.
“A very common misconception about veterans is that they can only fully relate to other veterans,” she wrote in an email. “We may not realize right away that we have much, if anything, in common. But if we both like to run, we might get an opportunity to sweat together, to encourage each other, to break down some walls and get to know each other just as people. I have met so many wonderful people that I might never have even been brave enough to talk to through this organization, and I am so proud of all our members — veterans and civilians alike.”
Anyone interested in joining the Daytona Beach Chapter of Team RWB, veteran or civilian, content Lani Faulkner at [email protected].
Run as One
Join Team Rubicon, Team RWB, and The Mission Continues in showing unity with a common purpose in memory of Marine Corps veteran Clay Hunt.
According to the website for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Hunt enlisted in the Marine Corps in May 2005, and earned a Purple Heart after being shot in the wrist two years later.When he was honorably discharged in April 2009, he received a 30% disability rating from the VA for his PTSD.
He was an original member of Team Rubicon, and lost his battle with PTSD in March 2011 at the age of 28.
Unite together in his memory and those who lost their battles too. Participants can walk or run or just come out and meet your teammates and enjoy some breakfast. Participants are encouraged to bring American or military flags.
To register or order a Team RWB shirt, visit fundraise.teamrubiconusa.org/events/run-as-one/e43016.