Learning to be okay that I came home.

It took me years to begin to be okay with the fact that I came home and so many of my friends didn't. I couldn’t reconcile why I only limped away from military service, while good men I served with died. This weighed on me for years. It led me into negative life patterns that severely impacted my family, myself and the life I lived.

But when I came to a point of brokenness personally, professionally, physically, psychologically and spiritually. I was finally able to surrender. I was finally able to begin to get outside of myself and heal. The great catalyst for all of this was God using his creation to help me find myself in the solitude of wilderness. I found in nature a salve for the soul that I couldn’t find anywhere else.

In 2016 my family and I moved to Alaska to continue to get that nature medicine in spades. Through friendships I developed with other like minded veterans I joined Remedy Alpine as the operations officer with the goal of sharing the great growth I had experienced through the healing power of solitude and fellowship in the Alaskan backcountry.

When it boils down to the brass tax, I, like many veterans, want to self isolate and disengage from the stress of everyday life. Research shows that this can lead to negative effects in ones life though, increasing a persons likelihood for increased anxiety, depression, and ultimately potential to inflict self harm.

Through programs like Remedy Alpine, military veterans can combat isolation through peer supported outdoor therapeutic recreation. They can see themselves in the solitude on nature, with a empathetic and supportive group of peers that understand the emotional, psychological and physical struggles that come with military service and transition to civilian life.

Once we begin to heal ourselves, we seek to share that experience with others, encouraging them in their own personal growth. This is facilitated through many mediums. But one of the significant events that I have been privileged to be part of the past few years has been helping lead the Travis Manion Foundation teams of Gold Star family members up Gold Star Peak in the Chugach Mountain Range in southcentral Alaska. This a cathartic and emotional event for many of these family members and I am honored and humbled by the sacrifice they have made on my behalf, and for every American.

So the next time you as a veteran want to pull away and isolate from the world. Instead, come out with Remedy Alpine on an event and experience the solitude of the wildness and the fellowship of peers that understand the battle.