Hello, my name is Zach Scheel, and I’m the co-founder and CEO of Rhumbix, a Veteran-founded and Veteran-run construction tech company.

As a former US military member, I wanted to take a moment this Veterans Day to honor all of my fellow Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, and Airmen. Your service has kept our democracy and The American Experiment alive and thriving for over 245 years. Today’s a day to reflect on and celebrate our service to this beloved nation, so thank you for all you’ve given to our country.

I’d also like to take a moment today to call attention to a war that many Veterans are still fighting – years after their service – and it’s a war with mental health, depression, and post-traumatic stress. Many of our Shipmates carry invisible wounds sustained in combat that haunt them daily, and in too many cases, lead Veterans and active duty service members to take their own lives.

​On average, 17 veterans die by suicide–not in a far-off place, but right here at home. And two active duty service members die by suicide every day of the year. These deaths are a tragedy that’s entirely preventable through better programs for the identification and treatment of mental health issues.

The first step in addressing this is creating awareness around the problem and changing the stigma around mental health, which is why I’m growing this awesome mustache right now as part of a global charity known as Movember. This is my 13th year participating in Movember. Every year, I use my upper lip as a billboard to help remove barriers to men talking about their mental and physical well-being. If you’d like to learn more, please check out the link below to my MoSpace page, or go to Movember.com for more information.

In closing, I would like to sign off by sending a heartfelt thank you to all our Veterans and their families and wish everyone a Happy Veterans Day.

Zach Scheel 

Co-founder and CEO, Rhumbix