Episode 219: Flight for Combat Veterans
Today we have a quick update conversation with Kurt Dugger about his Dark Horse 450 flight (that is 450 miles) with a paramotor across Tennessee. Because the weather is so very important to flight success, Kurt has decided to start tonight in the hopes of beating the rains that may come toward the end of the weekend.
This flight is to raise awareness of the issues facing combat veterans when they return and face the challenge of reintegrating into normal society and he is hoping to raise $6,000 for the Dark Horse Lodge so that they can get closer to completing their retreat for veterans and begin the hosting process.
When asked why the retreat is so important this morning in the Mewe chat, I handed the mic over to the Tactical Redneck because he is a returning combat veteran himself and know much more about this topic than I do. Here is what he said:
“Most vets feel alone because they can’t talk to other people about what they’ve been through. Speaking from experience, it’s nowhere near as hard to talk to another vet.”
Then I was talking to Jack Spirko from The Survival Podcast this morning and he explained that his three years in the Army were all overseas so he found it really hard to do simple things, like stand in line at the grocery store because he had gotten very used to being mostly on very small and remote military bases. And as he tried harder to reintegrate, simple things began to make him feel angry so he took a long walk on the Appalachian Trail to get his mind back into the right place to be back home with his loved ones.
Places like the Dark Horse Lodge are one way that space can be made for our returning combat veterans and that is why I made a donation to them today in support of both the lodge and of Kurt’s flight (which is not costing the Lodge money).
Would you like to help too? Here are some ways to do so:
- Follow Kurt’s progress and meet him at one of his stops. He could use encouragement, and probably food and beverage though his wife is meeting him along the way as well.
- Offer Lodging if he ends up overnighting near you (See resources above to track Kurt!)
- Raise awareness of his 450 mile paramotor flight, why places like the Dark Horse Lodge are so important, and how people can get involved
- Consider a donation
- Facebook campaign: https://www.facebook.com/donate/2343924885922771/536974993736779/
- Direct donation to the Lodge: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?token=EYgEl_aDO4kgak8Ynvec7iMFqDDO0ONeOnGGK8TDZ15W-WVI82_zDYbTuSmPoAInAaytrW&country.x=US&locale.x=
I will update this page as video/more information is released over the next few days and thanks for listening.
Make it a great week!
