Sunday, February 9, 2025
43.1 F
Roseville

Former Army Major Founded GallantFew

Karl Monger’s grandfather acquired post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while serving in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, and became an alcoholic to self-medicate those deep inner wounds. Karl’s grandfather, due in part to those wounds, would mistreat Karl’s father, which then contributed to his father mistreating Karl. When Karl was 4 in 1965, his father deserted his family.

Now 54-year-old Karl Monger, of Dallas, Texas, is a retired U.S. Army Major and founder/executive director of GallantFew, a nonprofit organization trying to “prevent veteran isolation by connecting new veterans with hometown veteran mentors.” Perhaps you could say Monger wants, in part, to reverse the generational cycle often accompanying returning veterans, similar to what he experienced in his own family.

In a telephone interview, Monger said, “We didn’t start (GallantFew) with the intention of helping disabled veterans. It was started in response to the suicide problem. In the mid-2000s, about when I started the first Army Ranger networking group on Linkedin.com, I heard the VA Secretary say 18 veterans commit suicide every day. Now that number is 22.”

He initially began GallantFew in 2010 for Rangers only, and based the model on his personal experience as a boy mentored through the Big Brother program. In college, Monger was a big brother to an at-risk youth, and, after the military, he ran a Big Brother agency in Kansas.

“Doing that convinced me one-on-one mentoring was life-changing,” he said. “And it was natural to connect people that had things in common.”

GallantFew has expanded to include any serviceman or -woman, and now has 7,000 involved. He said common problems among members include PTSD, traumatic brain injury, alcohol/drug abuse, physical disability, family problems, isolation, and suicidal thoughts.

He illustrated how GallantFew works: “There’s a veteran now in Houston going through a divorce who has a newborn son in ICU. He had a number of physical injuries (including back and brain), but hasn’t been approved for a disability rating. He had six Ranger combat deployments. He quit a decent paying job to be near his son. Medical expenses and stress were tearing him up. He reached out to one of our online groups. We helped with financial assistance and connected him with a Ranger vet (mentor) that owned a business in Houston, who hired him. The job has good income potential and the flexibility he needs to visit his son.”

For more, see www.GallantFew.org.



Brighter Side

Trending

LA-Z-Boy Home Furnishings & Décor in Roseville

Transform your living room and bedroom with La-Z-Boy's comfortable home furniture. Shop for sofas, couches, recliners, chairs, tables, mattress in a box, and more today.

Roseville Pleasant Grove Creek Trail closure for critical repairs

Roseville, Calif. - The trail crossing over Pleasant Grove Creek is closed for critical repairs between Old Coach Drive/Phillips Park and the Orchard View Road trailhead parking lot.

RG Philips Park in Roseville

RG Philips Park "This 6.5 acre park features a children’s...

Roseville welcomes US Quadball West Coast National Qualifier to Maidu Park

Roseville, Calif. - Quadball, an action-packed sport that evolved from the Harry Potter novels, will hold its only West Coast national qualifier Saturday, Feb. 8, and Sunday, Feb. 9 at Maidu Regional Park in Roseville.

The Crepe Stop in Roseville

The Crepe Stop in Roseville. Savory & Sweet. Crepes, Pancakes, Waffles, Gelato, Boba Tea.

Topics

LA-Z-Boy Home Furnishings & Décor in Roseville

Transform your living room and bedroom with La-Z-Boy's comfortable home furniture. Shop for sofas, couches, recliners, chairs, tables, mattress in a box, and more today.

Roseville Pleasant Grove Creek Trail closure for critical repairs

Roseville, Calif. - The trail crossing over Pleasant Grove Creek is closed for critical repairs between Old Coach Drive/Phillips Park and the Orchard View Road trailhead parking lot.

RG Philips Park in Roseville

RG Philips Park "This 6.5 acre park features a children’s...

Roseville welcomes US Quadball West Coast National Qualifier to Maidu Park

Roseville, Calif. - Quadball, an action-packed sport that evolved from the Harry Potter novels, will hold its only West Coast national qualifier Saturday, Feb. 8, and Sunday, Feb. 9 at Maidu Regional Park in Roseville.

The Crepe Stop in Roseville

The Crepe Stop in Roseville. Savory & Sweet. Crepes, Pancakes, Waffles, Gelato, Boba Tea.

Roseville Today Super Bowl party picks for Eagles and Chiefs game

Roseville, Calif.- This Sunday at the Superdome in New Orleans, the Philadelphia take on the Chiefs in Super Bowl 59. A super-sized rematch and unofficial national holiday of $8 million dollar commercials, food and drink and a little football.

Quarry Oaks Apartments in Rocklin

Quarry Oaks Apartments in Rocklin, Calif.

All American Sweeping Co. in Roseville

All American Sweeping's objective is to provide personalized customer service with an emphasis on professionalism, communication, responsiveness and quality at a fair price

Related Articles

Local Spotlight

Making a Splash in Roseville at Steve Wallen Swim School

Roseville, Calif. - Steve Wallen Swim School in Roseville teaches swim lessons and water safety for infants, kids, and adults of all skill levels.

California Fence and Patio serving Placer County for over 30 years

Loomis, Calif. - California Fence & Patio is proud of their reputation as the premier fencing and patio cover contractor in the Roseville,, Sacramento and Placer County region.

NorCal Solar and Gutter Cleaning in Roseville: Keeping Your Home Safe and Efficient

Roseville, Calif. - NorCal Solar and Gutter Cleaning, founded in 2019 by Brian Rykhlyuk shortly after graduating from Roseville High School, has quickly become a trusted name in the community for gutter cleaning and solar panel maintenance services.