For many veterans, home, is no longer home once they have returned. It is a new battleground for dealing with the physical and emotion scars left from the past.
One organization is trying to help by having veterans experience the outdoors of Montana.
Warriors and Quiet Waters, a combat veterans’ program in Bozeman, Montana, combines sport with the state’s serene outdoors to provide camaraderie to those healing from battle wounds.
“You’re out here to catch fish. It gives you a release to be thinking about something other than maybe your past experiences in a deployment,” said Chris Bogner, deputy director of Warriors and Quiet Waters.
Participants have come here from 49 states, spending their days in natural beauty with a brotherhood of staff, volunteers, and new friends.
“It’s really nice for them just to be able to have a place to go to get it all out and be surrounded by a group of people that understands.” Said Faye Nelson, executive director of Warriors & Quiet Waters.
Veterans’ programs are crucial in Montana. Not only has more than 13 percent of Montana’s adult population served its country, the state also has one of the highest veteran suicide rates in America.
