This is the story of a 19-year military policeman, Jason Austin, who was injured in an explosion when his vehicle hit an IEDs. On top of the serious physical injuries he faced from the accident, he suffered from post traumatic stress. A phone call inviting Jason to go kayak fishing forever changed his life. He was able to leave his troubles on shore and gain his freedom back through nature.
Heroes on the Water helps our nation’s warriors and veterans decompress from the stresses associated with combat and the physical rigors of rehabilitation. The organization serves 29,619 warriors and family members and has reduced overall stress by 56%. To learn more, visit www.heroesonthewater.org.
Thank you to Wilderness Systems, a premium kayak fishing brand and a long-time supporter of the nonprofit organization, Heroes on the Water for sharing this story with us.
CMSgt Frank Dailey (USAF, Ret) and I have known one another for many years. He is, among other things, both an avid fisherman and an avid humanitarian. I’ll tell you, Frank is one of the best NCOs I ever worked with and has always went out of his way to take care of the troops.
He recently retired and has been doing a lot with the organization Heroes On The Water. It allows him to combine two of his passions in order to help make the lives of our wounded vets a little better. Several times per month, Frank is out on the water in a kayak communing with nature through exercise and introspection. Even better, he does it with other veterans, some of whom are wounded.
…many of the wounds are invisible: 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan Vets show signs of Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or depression.
From 2003 to the present time (2010), there have been 5,773 U.S armed forces deaths and 31,902 ‘visible’ wounded from hostile fire, IED amputations, burns and other injuries.* In addition, it is estimated that there are 300,000 suffering with PTSD and 320,000 with Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). Reports indicate that the numbers of injured military personnel is increasing by 50 per month since mid-2008.**
Alarmingly, there are 950 suicide attempts each month by veterans who are receiving some type of treatment from the Veterans Affairs Department with an average of 18 veterans committing suicide each day.
Programs like HOW are very important for our Wounded Warriors. Please, take some time to visit their site to learn more. Maybe you are in need of help, or want to spend time with these recovering men and women. Or, you just want to donate. Regardless, this is a fantastic way to help out, especially for those of you interested in fishing.
