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Melvin Gatewood
Certified Peer Support Specialist, Veteran Advocate, Peer Support Group Leader, and Humanitarian
Who Is Melvin ?
Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran and Purple Heart recipient, Sergeant Melvin Gatewood (RET) is the Co-Founder and President of Operation Continue Service. Gatewood is currently a peer support specialist with the Department of Veteran Affairs in Nashville. He’s dedicated his time to serving the Military and Veteran community. Gatewood’s goal is to remember fallen service members as well as give support to active-duty personnel and veterans who need it.
Melvin Gatewood was inspired to serve his community by his family. He was raised in a family that had a passion to serve others. As a young boy, his mother worked as a social worker and his grandmother volunteered at a nursing home. Melvin would often visit the nursing home with his grandmother and marvel at her dedication to the elderly, even the ones she didn’t know. These experiences shaped him into the man he is today.
When Melvin isn’t working at Operation Continue Service, he’s volunteering at another veteran service organization, the Wounded Warrior Project, as a peer support group leader.
Gatewood received the Inaugural Wounded Warrior Project Rusty Baggett Peer Leader of the Year award in 2021 and was selected to attend the Super Bowl LVI by DeAndre Hopkins, USAA, and the Wounded Warrior Project. Also, Gatewood has been recognized by NHL’s Nashville Predators and the Tennessee Titans for his dedication to the veteran and military community.
Our Services
“Remembering those who have fallen while motivating those that still stand!”
Since April 2021, the nonprofit organization, Operation Continue Service, has taken on the task of supporting the veteran community.
Operation Continue Service hosts memorial rucks and recovery rucks, community service projects, as well as hosts veteran coffee socials. A ruck is a military term for walking with a weighted backpack; it symbolizes the weight, trauma, and issues military personnel carry during and after military service.
Numerous men and women who serve in the military suffer from mental health issues during and after service. Anxiety, depression, and PTSD are some of the issues these individuals face. Operation Continue Service has a mission to give support and bring awareness to the mental health problems veterans and active-duty personnel face.
Memorial Rucks
A memorial ruck is performed to honor and remember fallen military personnel who died in the line of duty. Although Memorial Day is set aside to recognize these individuals, Gatewood believes it’s important to celebrate their sacrifice all year round.
The Operation Continue Service members and memorial ruck participants walk while carrying the US flag, and a photo of the fallen veteran they’re honoring.
Recovery Rucks
​A recovery ruck is performed to bring awareness to veteran suicide and mental health issues. During this ruck, the members of Operation Continue Service and ruck participants walk several miles. At the same time, Gatewood carries his weighted backpack and the US flag and wears his recovery vest that is labeled with mental health issues military personnel and veterans face daily. The words depression, racism, anxiety, military sexual trauma, and post-traumatic stress disorder can be seen written across his vest. In addition to the rucks, Gatewood has championed the 22-a-day pushup challenge he hosts every July to raise awareness of veteran suicide.
Veteran Coffee Socials
The veteran coffee socials seek to bring veterans and their family members together to socialize and receive information from local, state, and federal agencies. The goal of these events is to connect members of the community.
According to Gatewood, whether a veteran is twenty years old or eighty-five years old, the support of members of their community is important.
In addition to these social gatherings, Gatewood hopes to incorporate support groups into the organization to provide further support to the veteran community.
