The Real Warriors Campaign
The Real Warriors Campaign was launched by the Defense Centers of Excellence (DCoE) for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury to encourage returning U.S. service members, veterans and their families to seek help for “invisible” wounds and aid in recovery and reintegration. Since 2008, Booz Allen Hamilton has been a partner with DCoE in the development and implementation of the Real Warriors public education campaign. Booz Allen has conducted research on the barriers that might prevent members of the military from seeking help. The goal, all along, has been to reduce stigma—to highlight the strength and courage that lies at the core of the recognition that one needs help. Booz Allen’s campaign has used social media networks and traditional media channels to reach service members. The traditional outreach alone has netted coverage of its PSAs in 177 countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan, reaching 1.5 million members of the military community weekly. The PSAs have aired domestically on 270 TV stations, helping to drive traffic to the Real Warriors Web site and to the Facebook page, which has nearly 21,000 likes as of Sept. 2011. —SG