Fifteen-years ago, three soldiers sitting on a mountaintop in Afghanistan talked about how they missed hunting and fishing and how they couldn’t wait to get back home so they could enjoy these peaceful pastimes. Once they were home they returned to the great outdoors but invited others to join them. And with every trip that followed, no matter where they were assigned, the interest among other service members and veterans looking to get in on these therapeutic excursions just continued to grow.
Until eventually, it became their mission. Now the trips are part of a program that’s funded through the Fallen Outdoors, a national nonprofit organization based out of Washington, D.C.
Since the organization was launched in 2009, thousands of men and women have benefitted from the group that has grown to a membership of 300,000 nationwide. “We’re in 42 states now,” said Micky Brooks of Chesterfield Township, event coordinator for The Fallen Outdoors Michigan chapter. “We’ve done 350 trips for about 500 veterans.
” The trips that Brooks and his team have taken range from bear hunting in areas across the state to fishing on Lake St. Clair, Tippy Dam and in the Upper Peninsula. “Everyone can enjoy the great outdoors as a way of finding their inner peace or tranquility,” said Brooks, who retired from the U.
S. Army Police Corps after 22 years and whose wife is also a veteran. The trips are definitely a great way to relax and unwind.
But for many others, they serve as an .