RICHMOND, Va. -- Jason Parker is 41 years old, but with a video game controller in his hand, the lifelong gamer is very much a kid at heart.
“I never raced a real car before so I assume this is normal,” Parker said.
Beyond the fun and games, Parker called his gaming serious business.
Parker served in two branches of the military, first as a sailor in the Navy and then as a combat medic in the Army.
During a deployment to Afghanistan in 2011 Jason suffered a traumatic brain injury in an explosion.
“I have trouble remembering the incident in specific,” Parker said. “I went through some personal struggles since leaving the Army. Now a decade later, I am in a good place."
Parker called recovery a long endeavor.
“I wake up every day now surprised and hopeful, which isn’t typically how I woke up in the past,” he said.
One path toward healing is video games.
"I am incredibly lucky to be where I am and doing what I’m doing,” Parker said.
Tech 4 Troops hired Jason with the title Master Gamer.
“I didn’t know a job like this existed,” Parker said.
Through online gaming, Parker provides an outlet for veterans to connect and gain confidence virtually.
“It is useful as a tool to get them to open up and I really like being able to communicate with my brothers and sister,” he said.
The nonprofit provides military men and women with refurbished computers and training which can lead to job opportunities.
President and CEO of Tech 4 Troops Mark Casper, who served in the Marines, admires his colleague for reaching veterans in a non-traditional way.
"It is his generation and younger that understands the gaming community,” Casper said. “When I see a Jason surviving and thriving it makes me feel good that we’re doing something right. That we’re in the right place at the right time and at the right moment and we’re doing something to change the world.”
The video game wing of the nonprofit is like a pit crew for veterans on the winding road of life.
“My strength lies in that I’m willing to play anything,” Parker said. “Gaming is one of the ways I use as therapy.”
Parker said he plans on roaring across the finish line with flying colors and he is inviting other veterans along for the ride.
“It is really something special when you can find your purpose in something that you genuinely enjoy," he said.
Click here if you would like to learn more about Jason’s gaming therapy and Tech 4 Troops.
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