FORT CAVAZOS, Texas — Sergeant Mason Hymer is a soldier with the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, and has been temporarily assigned to the People First Center on Fort Cavazos.
His story begins in the small town of Springfield, Missouri.
”There’s not a lot to do around there, but I grew up hunting and fishing,” Sgt. Hymer said.
“I spent a lot of time outdoors — stuff like that. It was a pretty good time.”
Seeing the events on 9/11 as a child inspired him to join the Army, but he struggled with depression after returning from deployment in 2020.
That’s when he found his lifeline by going through a horse ranch program designed to help people like him called Camp Cowboy.
”In the very beginning, it gave me a way to ground myself, to take a step back, to breathe — to take myself back down to zero,” Sgt. Hymer said.
“Then after I graduated, it gave me a way that I could help other people.”
He does so through his work at the People First Center — training his fellow soldiers on suicide prevention.
He takes what he learned at Camp Cowboy with him to work.
”Our slogan over there is 'Make a difference every day',” Sgt. Hymer said.
“If you can do something really small in someone's life that can set them on a course for something better — that’s kind of what we’re striving for.”
Those who work with Sgt. Hymer say he now lives by that slogan.
”He’s here to help people that need just somebody to talk to,” said Staff Sgt. Michael Hutchins, who works with Sgt. Hymer at the People First Center.
“He’s an open ear just to listen — sometimes that’s all people need when they think they don’t have anybody.”
That’s why Sgt. Hymer has a message for anyone out there struggling.
”No matter how bad anything ever gets, there’s a way through it,” Sgt. Hymer said.
“If you ever need help, come see me. I'll be glad to help you out.”
22 current and former service members take their own lives every day.
Sgt. Hymer is doing what he can to bring that number down, and credits Camp Cowboy for giving him the growth he needed to fight this never ending battle.