Meet Joe
Veteran | Entrepreneur | Husband | Father
Enlisting
My name is Joe Yurick, my mission is to normalize sobriety with Veterans who are using and abusing substances in a harmful, self-medicating way.
Raised in a small town in Pennsylvania that only has one redlight to this day. I joined the ARMY in 2000, halfway through my senior year in the Delayed Entry Program. I completed boot camp at Ft. Sill in Lawton, Ok. I then went to Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Tx for my Advanced Individual Training, graduating as the Honor Grad. I stayed at Ft. Bliss for my first duty station. There I trained as a Launcher Dog with the PATRIOT Missile System.
Called to War
Then, the day we all remember. 9-11-01. We soon had orders to deploy overseas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. We first deployed to the northern tip of Qatar and emplaced our launchers to protect Central Command in Doha, Qatar. As 3rd Infantry Division breached Baghdad, the air threat was diminishing. We then loaded all our equipment on a boat and went up the Gulf, then emplaced in Kuwait.
Once Baghdad was secure, the air threat was eliminated. We loaded our equipment to send back to the states and stayed in country to pull multiple details.
Due to the needs of the government, I was stop-lossed. After fulfilling my full term, I was Honorably Discharged in 2004.
Into the Trenches
Now, my relationship with alcohol.
I started drinking early in high school. Keggers in corn fields, MD 20/20, shots…you name it. Then, when I got to my duty station Ft. Bliss, we were miles from Juarez, Mexico, where the drinking age is 18.
To keep Soldiers state side, they made the drinking age on post 18. So, there I was, 18, allowed to drink with no parental supervision. We drank so much that we dubbed ourselves Alcoholics Defending America (a play on Air Defense Artillery).
Calling It Quits
When I got out, my drinking continued. If I was happy, I would drink. If I was sad, I would drink. This cycle continued and my tolerance got higher and higher.
My issue was once I started drinking, I didn’t want to stop. This resulted in a sit down with my wife to get this under control. We agreed that I would limit myself to 3 beers (I would drink the 9% Double IPA). But that wasn’t enough for my addiction. I would hide beers and liquor and sneak away to drink, all while only drinking 3 in front of my wife. This extended to during the week and really started to get out of control.
This finally came to a halt when my wife finally had enough. In June of ’22, she gave me a choice: my family or my addiction. Nothing in this world means more to me than my family, so I committed to not drinking for 6 months and planned to reassess things after that time.
On a New Mission
That was, by far, the hardest thing I ever had to do. I did seek counsel with therapists, attended a few AA meetings but generally deal with it on my own. My wife was my support system through all this and I relied heavily on my faith.
After 6 months I looked at everything in my life. The only things I missed from drinking were selfish. I missed the buzz, the social interaction, how it made me feel. Aside from that, literally everything was better! My health (lost 60 lbs.), my sleep, my relationships, my memory, my money…literally everything.
So, I made the decision to never drink again. With so much positivity and progress, I now want this for others that were in my situation. Hence, This Sober Vet.