The great outdoors are a fantastic avenue for Veterans to transition back into civilian life.
Time in the U.S. Military often fundamentally changes the men and women who answer the call to serve their country. Unfortunately, many have a hard time transitioning back to life as normal in the states once their service is up.
For some, like former Navy Seal Rorke Denver, that transition may have been harder than normal. Rorke served all over the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
However, Rorke found some great parallels between service and hunting that have helped him transition to life back in the states and finally find some peace. He talks about it in this great new short film from a partnership with MeatEater, Yeti Coolers and ZPZ Productions. It's an inspiring watch and worth four minutes of your time.
It's often difficult for our servicemen and women to transition to civilian life, especially when they've been in as long as Denver was. To suddenly give up everything that has defined your life for 13 long years would be hard on anyone. Denver found an obvious parallel in a hunt deep into the backcountry, with a heavy pack while carrying a weapon, probably not unlike those he carried on many combat scenarios.
However, at the same time, the situation isn't nearly as stressful, nor as dangerous. In fact, from his reactions, we're betting the quiet moments in the beauty of nature really give him time to finally reflect and think.
We're glad to see he has found solace in the great outdoors. The unfortunate truth is many veterans struggle with finding something like this help them make that transition. This is especially true for our disabled veterans.
If you know a veteran who could use a hand making the transition back to civilian life, try introducing them to the great outdoors. It has been proven time and again to be an effective mode of therapy and may be just the kind of recreational outlet they need. Thank you for your service Mr. Denver, and good luck this hunting season!
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his YouTube channel.
NEXT: SIG SAUER CROSS RIFLE FOLDS THE GAP BETWEEN TACTICAL, HUNTING PURPOSES
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