Rx for Combat Stress: Comradeship
MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS
The morning after Chad Wade died, nobody wanted to walk point.
The Marines in Cpl. Wade’s squad no longer had to imagine what would happen if they stepped on a buried bomb. Now they had seen it, and the fresh memory of their friend’s shattered legs froze them in place.
When their squad leader, Sgt. Albert Tippett, lined them up for their next patrol, no one would pick up the metal detector used by the point man to clear a path through the mines.
Marines Rally Around Friend
It was, Sgt. Tippett knew, the moment his men would either keep fighting or succumb to fear and loss. So he handed the metal detector to the man who was hurting most: Cpl. Wade’s best friend.
That moment, and those that followed, epitomize the new approach to combat stress that the Marine Corps wants to institutionalize. Faced with a wave of mental-health problems among returning troops, the Corps is training young Marines—down to corporals and sergeants—to sniff out combat stress among their peers on the front lines and tackle it directly on the field of battle.
“The closer they are to their buddies, and the company they trained and deployed with, the better chance you have of returning them to combat,” says Col. David Furness, commander of 1st Marine Regiment.
After nearly a decade of war, military commanders have concluded they’re in danger of losing the battle against emotional trauma. One in five troops returns home from Afghanistan and Iraq saddled with some form of mental-health issue, says Dr. Matthew Friedman, executive director of the Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Not only are lives ruined, officers say, but the military, already stretched, is also stripped of forces it wants to send back to the field.
The latest research suggests troops handle battlefield stress better, and avoid post-war problems more often, when they heal among their comrades, Dr. Friedman says. In Israeli studies, researchers tracked soldiers who suffered acute combat stress in Lebanon in the early 1980s. Those treated at the front were more likely to return to combat and to function normally in civilian society afterward, the researchers found.
Marine commanders, who 18 months ago ordered the Corps to adopt the new approach, believe it’s already working. They’ve hired Rand Corp. to quantify its impact.
Still, some Marines call the new procedures unnecessary, arguing that good infantry leaders always look out for their men. The Marine Corps’ top officers don’t disagree. They just want to institutionalize such practices across the service.
Others warn that even a command from the top won’t change the nature of young men at war, who are often reluctant to talk about their feelings.
“I think there’s always going to be a stigma—you’re talking about 18-year-old alpha males,” says Lt. Col. Matthew Reid, commander of 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
His battalion is one of three in Afghanistan to undergo the new combat-stress training prior to shipping out for duty. Sgt. Tippett’s 11-man squad—1st Squad, 1st Platoon, Echo Co.—was the first in the battalion to test the approach after losing a man in combat. Enlisted men monitor for signs of stress, intervene when possible and refer cases to higher-level care when necessary.
In Garmsir, Sgt. Tippett and his men rallied around Lance Cpl. Seth Voie, the fallen man’s best friend. There was no formal therapy, no group intervention, just casual conversations. They shared stories of lost friends and gruesome moments. They let him mourn, but refused to let him wallow in “why-him?” and “what-if?” They kept him fighting.
Cpl. Wade, 22 years old, grew up in Rogers, Ark., lean and athletic with a penchant for bow hunting. An only child with an Iraq tour under his belt, he could have skipped Afghanistan. His mother told him he should make a choice he could live with when he put his head on the pillow at night. He chose to go with his friends: They’d be safer with a good radio operator, he told his mother.
Lance Cpl. Voie was a fun-loving, even goofy 23-year-old from Iola, Wis. A dog handler, he engaged in a constant battle to keep his black Lab, Zoom, off of his cot. Zoom’s job was to sniff out buried bombs, but he was terrified of gunfire and was given Prozac to calm his nerves.
Cpl. Wade and Lance Cpl. Voie became buddies soon after boot camp, bonding over sports and Lil Wayne’s rap music. In Garmsir, they made a hole in the wall between their hooches, leaky sleeping shelters built from sand-filled barriers, so they could talk into the night after a hard day of patrols through Taliban country.
On Dec. 1, the squad was ordered to a mud-walled compound used as an opium-processing lab. Their mission was to pick up equipment from another squad. Cpl. Wade had already been on one mission that day and didn’t feel like going out again. But someone had to carry the radio. Lance Cpl. Voie wanted to join his friend and swapped for a spot.
Sgt. Tippett led the squad along a man-made ridge, or berm, flanking an irrigation ditch outside the lab. “Everyone stay on my boot-prints,” he said. “Don’t get out of line.”
As the sergeant stepped onto a field, he heard an explosion behind him. Running back towards the opaque dust cloud, he saw Lance Cpl. Voie face down on the path. The sergeant lifted him by his flak vest and saw he was unhurt.
“Who was behind you?” Sgt. Tippett asked.
“Wade,” Lance Cpl. Voie responded.
As the dust cleared, Sgt. Tippett saw Cpl. Wade’s rifle lying in a deep crater. “Where’s Cpl. Wade?” he yelled frantically. “Find Cpl. Wade.”
Lance Cpl. Voie heard Cpl. Wade moaning, but he took an instant to realize his friend had been blown into the ditch. Cpl. Wade’s face was partly submerged in waist-deep water, and he stared up when Sgt. Tippett and Lance Cpl. Voie jumped in.
As they pulled Cpl. Wade from the water, they saw that one leg was gone and the other mangled. Sgt. Tippett and another Marine tightened tourniquets to stanch the bleeding.
Cpl. Wade’s eyes were open, but he didn’t speak. The Marines told him that his wife, Katie, loved him and that he’d see her again soon.
When his pulse faded, one Marine tried to resuscitate him by pressing against his chest; Sgt. Tippett inserted a breathing tube in his nose. A third Marine blew into it.
Soon Cpl. Wade was breathing again, and four Marines carried him to a medevac helicopter that set down on a nearby poppy field. Sgt. Tippett put his hand on the window. “I’ll see you when I get home, buddy,” he said.
Lance Cpl. Voie could find no reason to be optimistic.
Back at the base, Hospitalman 3rd Class Joseph Presley, the Navy corpsman, or medic, heard the patrol radio in Cpl. Wade’s “kill number,” which identifies a casualty: E for Echo Co., W for Wade and the last four digits of his Social Security number. The Doc, as corpsmen are universally called, knew it might mean Cpl. Wade was just wounded, but he felt nauseated nonetheless.
As Doc Presley headed out with the reinforcements, word reached the patrol that Cpl. Wade had died.
Doc Presley, a 25-year-old Iraq veteran from Memphis, immediately sought out Lance Cpl. Voie. He found him walking aimlessly, in tears. Zoom had bolted to the base. Doc Presley had taken the new combat-stress training to heart and he didn’t want Lance Cpl. Voie isolating himself, obsessing over the day’s decisions and events.
“That’s the quickest way for someone to start going downhill,” he recalled later.
Corpsmen are central to the Marine Corps’ new approach. These docs patrol with the grunts and rush in to care for the wounded. They’re enlisted men, one of the guys.
Another squadmate, Cpl. Shawn Spratt, 26, from Skiatook, Okla., hunted down Lance Cpl. Voie, too. He, Lance Cpl. Voie and Cpl. Wade had gone to boot camp together.
“He’s gone,” Lance Cpl. Voie told Cpl. Spratt.
“Everything’s going to be O.K.,” Cpl. Spratt assured him. “We just have to push on the fight.”
It was late by the time the patrol staggered silently to base. Sgt. Tippett went to his hooch, saw the photos of his own wife and sons, and wept.
Sgt. Tippett, 23, from Warrenton, Va., had needed to fight for acceptance in the squad. The day he reported to Camp Pendleton, he made everyone stay late cleaning the barracks on orders from his superior. The squad held that against him for months. He and his wife, Nikki, had eventually won the men over by hosting squad dinners.
Unwilling to allow his men to see him cry, he dried his eyes and went out to the bonfire, where an officer announced Cpl. Wade’s death to the platoon.
Afterwards, Sgt. Tippett threw his bloody fatigues into the burn pit. That night, he lay awake, listening to his men quietly crying. In his own hooch, Lance Cpl. Voie replayed the moment when he saw Cpl. Wade in the water and their eyes locked.
The next morning the men balked when the sergeant lined them up for an early patrol. Sgt. Tippett worried that if he let the Marines sit this one out, the fear would overwhelm them. He was especially concerned about Lance Cpl. Voie.
Sgt. Tippett took him aside. “Nobody wants to be point man,” he remembers saying. “It’s time for us to step up.”
Lance Cpl. Voie took the metal detector and moved to the front of the patrol. Sgt. Tippett walked behind him with a long pole to probe for mines. The others fell into line.
“You sick to your stomach?” the sergeant asked Lance Cpl. Voie.
“Yes, I am, sergeant,” Lance Cpl. Voie answered. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
In the days immediately following Cpl. Wade’s death, Sgt. Tippett checked in frequently on Lance Cpl. Voie. He saw nerves and tears, but he didn’t believe the problem so severe that it had to be passed along to the regimental psychiatric nurse. Nor did the sergeant seek the intervention of his platoon commander, Capt. Nicholas Schmitz.
The wall between officer and enlisted man can be thick, and the 28-year-old Capt. Schmitz, the only officer regularly at the base, had to watch from afar as his men struggled with Cpl. Wade’s death.
The captain thought his men took heart from a series of missions later that month in which the Marines killed Taliban fighters, including two they thought had placed the bomb that killed Cpl. Wade.
During that time, one of the squad’s toughest Marines, Cpl. Spratt, rallied to the aid of Lance Cpl. Voie. Military mental-health experts say soldiers recover faster from combat stress if they’re accepted by their peers, just as being shunned has the opposite effect. Cpl. Spratt was known as a “man’s man,” in Lance Cpl. Voie’s words. He had been working on the assembly line building Bluebird school buses when he enlisted.
“I always wanted to see combat,” Cpl. Spratt says.
The corporal thought Lance Cpl. Voie was still in shock. Cpl. Spratt called Lance Cpl. Voie on the radio when they were apart. At the patrol base, he visited Lance Cpl. Voie’s hooch, where they worried together about how Cpl. Wade’s mother and wife were coping with his death.
“Keep your head—we’ve got to make it home for Cpl. Wade,” Lance Cpl. Voie recalls Cpl. Spratt saying. “If you focus on the bad out here, it will eat you alive.”
Over the next week, Doc Presley conducted a vigil of sorts, watching Lance Cpl. Voie for signs of a downward spiral. He found it a Catch-22: He wanted Lance Cpl. Voie to talk about what had happened, but didn’t want him obsessing about it.
It helped that Doc Presley was on his third combat tour. He told Lance Cpl. Voie about treating—and losing—two badly wounded buddies. One had lost both legs and an arm, and died on the operating table. The other was injured so badly that there was nowhere to start.
He said he was plagued by the same questions now troubling Lance Cpl. Voie about Cpl. Wade’s death: “Why was it his time? Why wasn’t it my time?”
Lance Cpl. Voie prayed a lot. He was angry a lot. He slept a little. But he slowly assumed a more fatalistic approach. “I just realized if it’s my time, it’s my time,” he says.
More than anything, he wanted to remain with the platoon. “You couldn’t ask for a better family,” he says. “Obviously, they’re not my real family, but they’re all I’ve got out here.”
Doc Presley decided against sending him to the rear for help. “I didn’t feel he was so far gone,” he recalled.
During a routine patrol two months after Cpl. Wade’s death, Lance Cpl. Voie returned for the first time to the spot where his best friend was fatally wounded. He wore Cpl. Wade’s name patch on his flak vest. He sent Zoom bounding ahead to sniff for explosives on scrubby paths.
The Marines found one booby-trap, a yellow-wrapped trigger system just below the surface of the path. Then another. And another. All told, they found five hidden bombs near where Cpl. Wade was hit.
“That’s where it detonated,” Lance Cpl. Voie said, motioning towards the empty crater.
Then the ditch. “That’s where he landed.”
Twenty-five yards away, Lance Cpl. Voie noticed a scrap of cloth, blue and yellow plaid, caught in the dried grass.
“That there, that’s part of Wade’s boxers,” he said.
The sight shocked him.
But he also discovered he wasn’t frightened anymore.
Local Outdoorsman Honors Wounded Vets
WKRG
Randy Patrick
MOBILE, Alabama – Four purple heart winners from the U.S. Military are visiting Mobile this weekend thanks to the generosity of Steve Lambert. He donated weekend deer hunts to the Wounded Warriors in Action organization. Steve said its his way of saying thanks to service men and women.
Wounded Warriors In Action scores hunt in North Mobile. See Randy Patrick’s report.
Wounded Warriors Bass Fishing Weekend
Airboating Magazine
Duane Wallace
Numerous sportsmen and professional bass fishing guides joined forces with the Wounded Warriors in Action Foundation (WWIA) www.wwiaf.org to sponsor an outstanding bass fishing trip on Rodman Reservoir, in Palatka, Florida, during the weekend of Feb. 5 – 6, 2011. Rodman has been designated one of the 10 best bass lakes in the state by Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Commission. The event was an outstanding success with 60 bass caught over a day and a half. Lt. Col. (Ret.) John McDaniel, founder and CEO of the WWIA, summed up the weekend’s activities with just a few words: “Awesome time, awesome fishing, and awesome folks!”
One may ask, what made it a success? It was the guides, fishermen and neighbors who came together to show their respect for a few of those individuals who were wounded in combat when our country called upon them to protect us here at home. It’s too easy to go through our daily routines and not think about those who are in harm’s way to protect our way of life.
The wounded warriors participating were Hubble Hainline from Athens, Alabama; Jake Whipkey from Boswell, Pennsylvania; and Storm Litzler from Cape Coral, Florida.
The WWIA sponsored the event, and United Sportsmen and Airboaters Alliance member Charlie Lawson and his wife Jackie, hosted it at their home in Orange Springs. Several other USAA members generously gave their time and resources to make this weekend special. Included are: Brian Gotcher, who assisted Jackie with breakfast and was the chef during the two days of delicious cookouts; Allen “Cajun” Perry, Sean Rush and Bill Snyder, the professional bass guides; and Jerry Wetherington, president of the USAA, who arranged the Sunday afternoon cookout.
The alarm clock started Jackie and Brian’s day at 4 a.m. Saturday in order to have breakfast ready by 5 a.m. By 5:15, 16 people were enjoying coffee, sausage, eggs, biscuits and gravy. By 6 a.m., everyone was on their way to get wild shiners for a day of fishing. Hainline caught the largest bass weighing 9.5 pounds. He and Litzler were fishing with guide Rush. Between the two of them they caught 22 bass the first day, several between 6 and 9.5 pounds. Whipkey managed to catch nine the first day while being guided by Snyder. The second half day of fishing wasn’t as active.
Wounded veterans enjoy hunting gators
Gainesville.com
Cindy Swirko
Josh Krueger and Aaron Houser enjoy hunting deer, but for the two Northerners who were wounded by explosives in Iraq, the anticipation of Saturday night’s hunt for alligators on Lake Lochloosa was almost too much.
“It’s the adventure of it, the whole thrill of it,” said Krueger, who is from Wisconsin. “It’s always fun to hunt something that will actually eat you.”
“Something that hunts back,” added Houser, who is from Indiana.
Houser and Krueger were among six veterans and Purple Heart recipients who got to hunt alligators Saturday night in a trip arranged by Wounded Warriors in Action and the United Sportsmen and Airboaters Alliance.
Wounded Warriors is a national nonprofit organization that provides free hunting and fishing trips across the country for Purple Heart recipients from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in conjunction with local groups such as the United Sportsmen, said John McDaniel, the founder and president.
The goals of the organization are to increase self-reliance and self-confidence in participants, enable the veterans to enjoy the outdoors, promote spiritual healing and wellness and to instill a sense of belonging.
Wounded Warriors sponsors deer, duck and pheasant hunting trips in Wisconsin, New York, South Dakota, California and other states.
McDaniel said the alligator hunt — the second year it has been held — is the second-most requested after the Wisconsin hunt.
“We help heal the wounds that doctors can’t fix,” McDaniel said. “With alligators, they are hunting a dangerous animal here, and they are amped about it. They are in their element. People will go, ‘Why do you want to go hunting with them, they just came out of combat?’ The reality is that this is where they are comfortable. Being out here hunting a dangerous game animal is something that is very attractive to them.”
Florida’s alligator hunting season is currently under way. Members of the United Sportsmen received hunting permits for the veterans, club president Jerry Wetherington said.
The hunts were done from airboats, and several members of the group acted as guides. Members also showed the veterans how to skin and process the meat.
Before the hunt, the men were given instructions on hunting alligators, airboats and lessons in using harpoons and, in one case, a crossbow. They also received airboat rides and were treated to a barbecue with alliance members.
“We’re just proud to be able to help and do this,” Wetherington said. “Our airboat club partners with them, and everybody has had a real good experience with it. They really love it.”
The hunt was the first time the veterans had hunted alligators and, for some, the first time they had seen one.
Bill Colwell and Emil Walsh said after a spin around the lake in an airboat they were psyched.
“We saw some out there. I’ve seen them before, but never this close,” said Colwell, a Missouri native.
“I’m excited,” added Walsh, from Pennsylvania. “I can’t wait to get back out there.”
Wounded warriors are getting to enjoy outdoor adventures
Daily Messenger
Len Lisenbee
There are few organizations that are more highly respected than the Wounded Warriors. While all of our veterns are a national treasure, those who have been wounded in action while defending our nation and who are partly or totally disabled because of those injuries, deserve special praise.
Wounded Warrior Alligator Hunt
The AW2 Blog
AW2 Veteran Derek L. Duplisea
Wounded Warrior Alligator Hunt
I received an email in my AKO account from LTC (Retired) John McDaniel the first week of September inviting me to northern Florida for an alligator hunt. John is a close friend of my old squadron commander, COL Art Kandarian, who connected us through email a few months ago. John is the founder of the Wounded Warriors in Action Foundation- a non-profit organization that provides Purple Heart recipients with world-class sportsmen activities.
AW2 Veterans participate in alligator hunt.
The hunt was set for 20 September. John had also invited two other Wounded Warriors – CPL Brian Knapp, an active duty Marine and fellow AW2 Veteran, SGT (Retired) Robert Leonard. All three of us arrived late Saturday night and met John at the Jacksonville International Airport and after a short ride to our hotel, we were treated to freshly cooked fried alligator meat. After introductions, we chatted for a while and told war and hunting stories then headed to bed. It was going to be a busy day on Sunday.
The next morning we drove down to Lake Lochloosa outside of Gainesville and met up for a large BBQ lunch with the Airboat Association and our guides for the hunt. We enjoyed some good old fashioned Southern Hospitality and food (more gator meat!). Then we were treated to Airboats rides on the lake and through the marshes.
Around 5:00 pm we started to get ready for the hunt – prepping our harpoons, bows and Airboats – kind of reminded me of doing Pre Combat Checks before a mission. When the sun went done, we hit the lake looking for alligators.
It was a great time had by all. The guides were great, the pilots were awesome and we saw plenty of gators. It was a different kind of hunt, having to get up close and personal with the prey. But we quickly learned the art of the harpoon and alligator bow hunting and all three of us netted alligators from 3.5 feet to 6 feet.
Because of the selfless efforts of one retired Ranger Lieutenant Colonel, three of America’s Heroes got to enjoy a special kind of trip. I’m not just talking about the hunt. The best part of the weekend was getting to know two other Wounded Warriors and hearing their stories. And to top that off was the countless “Thank You” comments from the men and women who made this all possible for us.
The true Hero that weekend was John McDaniel. He did not have to start an organization to help our wounded heroes, he did not have to contact each and every one of us personally to invite us to Florida, he did not have to pick us up at the airport and lodge us, he did not have to take care of organizing such an event but he did. He does this for the love of the Soldier, Marine, Airmen and Sailor who bled for their Flag and Country. True leaders take care of their Soldiers no matter the price and the Ranger motto of “Never leave a fallen comrade” are words that epitomize such a man as John.
Thanks John for the unforgettable memories!
VETERAN TAKES CARE OF WOUNDED BRETHREN WITH WELCOME RETREATS
THE PALM BEACH POST
SAMANTHA FRANK
Memo: Delray Beach
MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR: John McDaniel, 43
John McDaniel, shown here with arrow drawn, is retired from the military after serving more than 20 years. “I’m not done serving,”he says when speaking about his hunting and fishing retreat in Wisconsin for wounded veterans. “We can’t do enough for these guys,” he says. After spending 26 years in the military, John McDaniel isn’t quite ready to let go of that important part of his life.
That’s why the Delray Beach resident recently started a nonprofit called Wounded Warriors in Action, which provides injured veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom with a three- to four-day wilderness retreat, where they can participate in outdoor activities such as archery and hunting.
“It’s a way to help welcome them home and begin the emotional healing process,” said McDaniel, 43. He and his wife own property in Phillips, Wis., where they are building a lodge for the veterans to stay.They hope to have the lodge ready by summer and begin the trips this fall. In the meantime, McDaniel often takes local veterans on saltwater fishing trips in Key West. And he recently took veterans from the Veterans Administration Hospital in Tampa to a Van Halen concert.
McDaniel grew up in Oshkosh, Wis. He remembers his mother being thankful for his flat feet because she said then the Army would never take him. So it’s ironic that in high school, McDaniel met a 1st Airborne ranger who inspired him to pursue a military career. “I said, ‘That’s what I want to be,'” he said. “My mother just gasped.”
He and a friend enlisted in the Army in 1982, and at the time, McDaniel thought it would just be for a few years, as a way to pay for college. After basic training, he joined the ROTC at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he received his bachelor’s degree in economics in 1986. From there, he wasn’t sure what to do with his life, so he went on active duty in the Army. “I was an unguided missile,” he said. But everything changed when he fought in Panama for six months as part of Operation Just Cause, beginning in December 1989. “My life changed,” he said. “I realized this was my calling.”
After that, he joined the 75th Ranger regiment, the premier light-infantry unit in the U.S. Army in 1990, where he stayed for three years. He even spent some time as a ranger instructor, commanding two units in Alaska. “It was the best job I ever had,” McDaniel said. “I spent the rest of my career trying to achieve that level of greatness.”
The last three years of his career were split between business ideas and fighting the Global War on Terrorism in the United States Special Operations Command in Tampa. Being in the military, McDaniel spent most of his adult life moving every two years or so, making it difficult for him to settle down.”I never wanted to drag a family through that,” he said. But 3 1/2 years ago, he met his wife Kellie in the Florida Keys. Together, they raise Kellie’s son Justin, 12.
Although McDaniel is retired from the military, he’s still hard at work. Today he is CEO of Northstar Group in Boca Raton, and his wife is president. Northstar Group is the umbrella company for Northstar Aviation, a full-sale private aircraft brokerage, and Shining Star, an aircraft detailing company.”Kellie and I think a lot alike,” he said. “She and I feed off each other. We’re very driven people.”
Becoming a leader in the business world was nothing new for McDaniel. “In college, I was captain of all my sports teams,” he said. “But it was the military that provided me with an opportunity to take my leadership skills and hone them.” He received his MBA in 2002 from Baker University in Kansas.
Right now, McDaniel and his wife are paying for Wounded Warriors in Action with their own money, and they are looking to the community for support. McDaniel’s ultimate goal is to turn the lodge into a year-round “healing center.”
How I Hunt
Field and Stream
CJ Chivers
Acknowledgments: We would like to thank the following organizations. all of which provide free hunting and fishing trips to wounded veterans. for their help with this story: Hunts for Heroes (huntsforheroes.com). Project Healing Waters (projecthealingwaters.org), and Wounded Warriors in Action (woundedwarriorsinaction.org).
Army veteran still finds way to serve country
GM (Greater Milwaukee) Today
by DAN DURBIN
When Lt. Col. John McDaniel decided to retire from the army after 23 years, the decorated combat veteran, airborne ranger, master parachutist and special operations man knew that he still wanted to serve his country – just not in quite the same way, even though guns would still likely be involved.
“You know that we are now at about 35,000 soldiers who have been injured in a war that is five years old,” McDaniel said. “That’s a lot of people who have made great sacrifices for all of us. I wanted to do something for them.”
A long-time hunter and angler who will now split time between his Philips home, and his fishing camp down in the Florida Keys, wanted to get these vets out on the water or in a treestand to help speed up the “healing” process.
“Through all my years in the military I have met just (a) ton of people,” he said. “And a huge portion of them enjoy hunting and fishing. I wanted to establish an organization that provides our wounded warriors with outdoor sporting opportunities they would otherwise never have. It’s our nation’s way of giving something back. It will show our collective gratitude for their service.”
That’s when The Wounded Warriors in Action (WWIA) was born; well, at least conceived.
“What I didn’t really know was how to run a nonprofit group or how to ask people for help,” he said. “For one thing, I don’t like asking people for help. Also, I’ve never gone after sponsors or donations.”
McDaniel also knew that he had to file for a 501C3 nonprofit status if he was to get the funding and recognition he thought he would need to get the good idea to a real entity.
“It took about a year with counsel from an attorney to finally get the paperwork settled,” he said. “We’re still waiting on the official 501C3 status but that’s just because it takes a few months to get. We’re almost there.”
McDaniel’s main idea was to get people to offer to take these wounded soldiers out in the great outdoors at first just at “Camp Hackett,” his 400-acre property in Philips, and his fishing camp down in the Keys.
“I talked to a lot of people about the idea and every one of them loved it,” he said. “Experiencing the great outdoors provides more than simply physical healing powers. It also helps people heal emotionally as well. People loved the idea.”
He didn’t realize how people would really respond though until a small mention of the group was mentioned in Field and Stream magazine.
“At that time we didn’t even have our web site up and running so I just gave the reporter my cell number for people to contact,” he said. “The phone calls were nuts. People were offering the use of the boats and equipment for free. I had another family offer up the use of their 1,400-acre farm in Mississippi because their grandfather had been a WWII wounded vet and the farm was already set up for wheelchair access hunting. It really motivated me even more.”
He got the help of his wife Kellie, fellow Lt. Col. Rich Wheeler, and old school buddy, Tim Macht.
“Rich is my right hand man or sorts,” he said. “I never say “I” am the organization because it’s not about me taking credit for it. It’s about helping out these people.”
The goal is to have four, fully functional, self-sustaining regional outdoor sporting centers serving Wounded Warriors. Select Wounded Warriors themselves, providing employment opportunities for those who expressed desire and capability, will run the regional centers.
“My goal is to have this thing to that level by 2015,” he said. “It’s going to take some time. I’m really have never ran a nonprofit organization before but I believe this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I could have kept going in the military for more time but I really I think I can serve my country better by serving those who were wounded protecting it.”
So what does he need from us?
“Honestly, I’m not sure yet,” he said. “Money, sure, that would be nice. People to take the guys out fishing and hunting, yup, I need that, too. Corporate sponsors would be great. I’m up for almost anything.”
There are a ton of worthy groups out there that are asking for money or time from volunteers. But how many of them allow you to shake the hand of a hero?
Count me in.
Wounded Warriors in Action Provides Healing for Injured Veterans
THE PHILLIPS BEE
ERIC KNUDSON
THE-BEE
Last updated: Thursday, December 20th, 2007 03:03:31 PM
John McDaniel, retired Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, recently founded a non-profit organization called Wounded Warriors in Action (WWIA). This non-profit organization’s mission is to provide world-class outdoor sporting opportunities to our nation’s wounded veterans and aid their healing process, welcome them home, and repay a debt of gratitude for the great sacrifices they have made.
McDaniel recently purchased and donated 410 acres of land near Phillips, entitled Camp Hacket, located in the town of Emery. Camp Hacket will serve as the epicenter for the organization and a base where veterans will have the chance to bow hunt trophy whitetails. McDaniel is also a professional fishing guide in Florida where he will provide veterans the opportunity to pursue saltwater species in Tampa Bay, the Florida Keys, and eventually the Bahamas.
McDaniel hopes the outdoor experience will help heal and aid returning soldiers in several ways. The first is to assist them in re-integrating themselves back into society. Through the experience of high-quality, professional grade outdoor sporting activities, McDaniel intends to re-enforce the communal aspect of hunting, fishing and life to teach and promote conservation and preservation of natural resources.
As the WWIA continues to grow, McDaniel envisions father and son hunts, spouse retreats, land conservation seminars, 3D archery shoots, fresh water fishing opportunities and quality deer management workshops all converged in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.
Ultimately, McDaniel foresees opening four regional WWIA centers which will be run by select wounded veterans. The organization would employ them to manage the facilities and ensure their growth.
The groundwork for Camp Hacket has begun, more progress will continue in the spring with the construction of a hunting camp style lodge. McDaniel hopes to have it completed in late summer 2008.
The WWIA is hosting a 3D archery shoot in the Phillips area in August. McDaniel said he hopes to attract over 100 competitive archers for the event.
McDaniel spent 23 years in active military service. He is a combat veteran who spent time as a soldier with the Army Rangers and Special Operations command. McDaniel is a native of Wisconsin and graduated from the UW Madison. He spends time in Florida and Wisconsin developing and promoting WWIA.
McDaniel said, €œMany returning soldiers have suffered not only physical wounds, but also emotional trauma. The soldiers and their families truly need and deserve such a place. Camp Hacket will not only provide them with the chance to pursue an outdoor interest but also a chance to talk with fellow veterans who may have experienced many of the same difficulties. It€™s a place for them to relate, relax and hopefully heal.
For more information, people can go to www.woundedwarriorsinaction.org or they can email McDaniel directly at john@woundedwarriorsinaction.org.