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Nonprofits create camaraderie through wilderness adventures

Ben Greene
by Ben Greene
December 30, 2022
Wilderness

Courtesy photo

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Aaron Leonard, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, and seven other friends backpacked for days in Big Bend National Park. A photo of that beautiful landscape sits on Leonard’s desk, reminding the New York man that wilderness adventures enable uplifting friendships.

The former artillery officer served on active duty and in the National Guard. Now, he’s the program director for Another Summit and manages the Sierra Club’s Military Outdoors campaign. Both nonprofits bring vets together to share life during and after outdoor pursuits.

“They join a program that takes people out into nature and they can reform that sense of belonging to a team, just like they did when they were in the military,” he said.

Sierra Club outdoor activities for veterans include bird watching, ice climbing, multi-day expeditions and day hikes. Likewise, Outward Bound’s Veterans Program offers many locations and opportunities. 

RELATED: Program offers 300 free camping sites for active-duty military

Anthony Sousa, an Outward Bound lead instructor in North Carolina spent 26 years in the Marine Corps. The retired major now offers the therapy of wilderness to vets whenever he can. All Outward Bound veteran program activities are free.

“We go outside and we realize how we feel better,” Sousa said. “What we’re creating in the outdoors is space and time without distraction to experience whatever it is that the veteran is seeking.” 

Outward Bound helps with goal setting, leadership development, transitions in life or applying new skills to current challenges. A recent Blue Ridge Mountains course helped a veteran realize he often led his children like a military unit. 

During that trip, Sousa said, the team dialogued about leadership based on collaboration. Therefore, the veteran had an eye opener: he could use different leadership styles at home. 

Wilderness
Courtesy photo

“They are able to take on new challenges and learn new skills in a very short time period,” Sousa said. “Sometimes people just need to be shown through an experience.” 

Offering a spectrum of activities helps more people, Leonard said, because there are 18.5 million veterans. These people live in diverse communities with varying economic, personal and cultural dynamics.

Leonard said veterans can feel safe: trained trip leaders and properly-designed programs make a supportive, life-giving experience possible. 

“Our outdoor leaders are trained on cultural competency for the veteran community,” he said. 

Veterans have many barriers to outdoor recreation. For example, Leonard said veterans are often poor, people of color or older than the average American. So empowering veterans to come together is a challenge. 

Outdoor camaraderie has saved lives, Leonard said, since many veterans struggle with loneliness, depression or suicidal ideation. The power of the wilderness community gives the clubs reasons to persevere against the challenges. 

“We know that veterans who spend time with us on these day trips see increased trust with other veterans,” he said. 

He keeps a reminder of such camaraderie in the outdoors on his desk: a picture of Big Bend, a beautiful place. He still remembers realizing the group had developed deep trust in one another.

“If everybody’s a veteran, it’s like this magical moment can occur fairly quickly,” he said about veteran-only trips. “We’re creating that safe space.”

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Tags: Big Bend National ParkOutdoor activitiesOutward BoundSierra ClubveteranVeteran community
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Ben Greene

Ben Greene

Ben Greene tells the stories of life, the narratives of beauty and brokenness, thanks to 20 years of practice under others' watchful eyes. On Greene's first day as a journalist, a man jumped to his death at a rock quarry. That's when Greene learned where to park without upsetting first responders. Cops aren't as likely to talk when they're angry about where you parked, a wiser reporter said to Greene. Years later, he was miles from his car hours before a President's inauguration, That day, Americans shared their hopes and hurts at Metro stops near Washington D.C. He worked full-time for The Associated Press with the same delight as writing for slow towns beside slower rivers. He thrives in small-town Massachusetts, mostly because of the local donut shop, library and two beaches. As always, he's stirred by stories of people embracing risk and sacrifice to grow toward a purpose beyond their power or pleasure.

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