Chief Warrant Officer 3 Aaron Hunnel, the health and wellness program manager for the Wisconsin National Guard, is currently biking 3,100 miles from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland for his “Ride 2 Stop Suicide”.
Hunnel was inspired to create this event after a Guardsmen in one of the Comprehensive Health Wellness courses that he manages admitted he was struggling with suicidal thoughts.
Hunnel is also part of a working group led by the Wisconsin National Guard’s Service Member Support Division and the Guard’s behavioral health team developing tools and resources focused on increasing mental health awareness and overall comprehensive wellness across the 10,000-member Wisconsin National Guard.
He began his ride on Saturday, and purposefully chose to begin the event on September 11 in a nod to a time when many people came together to overcome challenges and pain.