Marines Strip Down for PTSD Suicide Awareness

Dozens of Marines stripped down to their silkies (green short shorts that make us happy DADT is gone) and hiked Mission Beach in California over the weekend to raise awareness for PTSD. For the event, "22, with 22, for the 22," Marines and other military hiked 22 kilometers while carrying 22 kilograms in honor of the 22 service members who commit suicide each day.

The event was organized by the group, Irreverent Warriors, a community of veterans who use humor to cope with PTSD. The group, founded by retired Marine Capt. Danny Maher turned comedian, is described on the website:

"We are combat veterans who choose to tell our stories in the same manner that we'd tell them in a living room with our best bros. We choose to express our dark humor and let our terrible jokes fly like eagles, all in an effort to get combat vets to laugh, get together, and stop fucking killing themselves.

What better way to practice that philosophy than a mass bromance in short shorts? By having a photoshoot and producing a calendar of that bromance and donating the proceeds to families of service members who have committed suicide."