Battle Buddy program provides Veterans opportunity to connect with others

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“Friendship” is a word that can feel “soft” to many folks who have served in the military. Valuing human connection is sometimes perceived as weakness when being exposed to so much loss on the battlefield or through training accidents, or from illness and injury. This perception may come from self-preservation, but ironically it’s these bonds formed during service that can be lifesaving in our darkest moments and moments of levity; it is one of the many reasons folks miss their military life. Maybe we use the word “bond” or “camaraderie” to get at this concept, but that human connection is as vital to our survival as food, water and shelter. And it becomes harder to find as we get older.

Frost Call was founded on the principles of camaraderie, connection and friendship. Despite the increased connections from social media, group chats and other technology advancements, we know that these are not the same as a one-to-one connection with someone who understands what you have been through. Friendship does not scale.

Frost Call developed the Battle Buddy Program with exactly this in mind. Veterans and service members can join the program for free, with the only expectation being an effort to connect one-on-one with your Battle Buddy once a week for the duration of the two-month program. During the program, Frost Call provides online game nights, giveaways and unique in-person experiences to help make it easier to connect.

If friendship is an uncomfortable word, loneliness is even more stigmatizing. And yet, as the Surgeon General warned in 2023, loneliness has real physical impacts on our health and wellbeing.

Social connections have continued to decline, with one in five Americans reporting having none. Friendships drop, particularly among males by 50% after the age of 45, and the next generation isn’t faring much better. Two-thirds of young men report feeling that “nobody really understands them.” The military-civilian gap makes this even more challenging for Veterans who may reside in civilian communities with fewer connections to military service. The bonds formed during service were lifesaving, but as we get older and face many of life’s challenges, the difficulties of daily demands drive us further apart. Veterans are often scattered all over the country after service and connection with friends becomes increasingly challenging.

For folks who have a limited social circle outside of their immediate family or just want to expand their social network, the Battle Buddy program can be a lifesaving connection to others who have served. The benefits of camaraderie do not have to end after military service.