credit - Rolling Barrage

By Michael Reeve

ROLLING BARRAGE 2023

‘You are supposed to be that rock’: Rolling Barrage ride still working to break the stigma of PTSD in veterans

Jul 4, 2023 | 4:16 PM

KAMLOOPS — In just under a month, a group of Canadian veterans will travel from coast to coast on their motorbikes, raising funds and awareness for PTSD with the seventh annual Rolling Barrage ride. The event has grown every year with 50 bikers expected to complete the ‘full pull’ across the country this August. Hundreds more will join in for parts of the ride.

“It was labelled back in 1982 as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by the American Medical Association — 1982. Here we are in 2023 and we are still trying to raise awareness,” said Canadian veteran and Rolling Barrage founder Scott Casey.

Casey knows all too well the effects of PTSD on members of the armed forces. Casey joined up fresh out of high school in 1986. In 1992, Casey would spend seven months down range in Yugoslavia with the United Nations and November Company. In the 31 years since, November Company has lost 12 soldiers to suicide.

“Whether you are in the military or a first responder, you are suppose to be that rock. You are supposed to be that person who runs into the danger instead of running away. And at the end of the day, that cumulative trauma affects everyone and anybody who says it doesn’t affect them is wearing a mask — they are just covering it up, still. It’s good to find pressure release valves all the way through that, to make sure it doesn’t build up over time,” said Casey, ahead of this year’s ride.

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Casey credits riding as one of his so-called ‘pressure release valves’ to aid in his recovery from PTSD, and in 2017 founded the Rolling Barrage to help spread awareness.

“A friend of mine who I joined the army with, we were on the milk run together to basic training. In ’99, he took his life and he was the first one. And that was the catalyst for me that something had to be done. Started working in the veteran community, developing peer support programs and the Rolling Barrage is just another piece of that puzzle,” stated Casey.

The ride helps raise funds that are then spread across the country to services like Honour House and Honour Ranch here in British Columbia — services used by local Kamloops veterans.

“PTSD is a thing that you have every single day. There are a lot of veterans who have this, who have to fight this every day. And with the support groups that Rolling Barrage supports, a lot of people wouldn’t know where to go for help. And at the legion, we also do that,” said Kamloops Legion President Daniel Martin.

As the ride helps to raise awareness for PTSD, the journey itself has helped a multitude of service members and first responders begin the long road to recovery.

“The communities are lining the streets and that in itself is good for the riders, as well. Because they get that thank-you that communities really want to put out there. That, in itself is overwhelming, in a positive way for so many of our riders,” added Casey.

The 2023 ride begins on August 1 in St. John’s, crossing the nation in 19 days and finishing up in Burnaby on August 19.

For more information about the ride, visit https://therollingbarrage.com/