Squad Recon highlight reel by Ryan Gwiazdon.

Last month, Danny and I were fortunate enough to host a group of guys from the 1-32 CAV RSTA for a Squad Recon in Atlanta, Georgia. Danny is our chairman of the board, and we were joined by Dan Loughry, our Chief Operations Officer. Here's a recap of our time in Georgia with the guys from th 1-32 CAV RSTA.

What is a 'Squad Recon'?

The Squad Recon is the first step of Warfighter Overwatch’s programming. It is a squad-sized element reunion that focuses on reconnecting and strengthening the bonds of brother/sisterhood through outdoor activities and retreats. These are typically weekend-long trips culminating in a hike, surf trip, or another similar physical activity. Once we get our blood pumping, we start to discuss and unpack some of the trauma they’ve been carrying and remind them that they are still the physically and mentally strong individual they’ve always been. These are open only to members of the squad – spouses and caretakers are invited to the next step in our programming – Battle Buddy for Life.

The Unit

The 1-32 CAV deployed in September 2005 to Diyala Province, Iraq, and operated out of FOBs Caldwell, Cobra, and Normandy. Sadly, SSGT Thomas B. Turner Jr. from Cottonwood, California died on July 14, 2006 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained on July 13 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Bradley Fighting Vehicle in Al Muqdadiyah, Iraq. By all accounts, it was a tough deployment.

Sunday was get-out day, but we planned a visit to the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center at Ft. Benning. This is not your typical museum – it’d take about a week to experience everything there. I highly recommend stopping by if you ever find yourself in the home of the Infantry (you don’t need to enter Ft. Benning, either). After a few hours of wandering and combat simulators, we headed to our farewell dinner at Grayson’s Steak and Seafood – another place I could not recommend more

My Thoughts on the Experience

No exaggeration: I think this is one of the most important and impactful things we can do for our service members, and I’ll tell you why. As a new board member of Warfighter Overwatch, I’d never been on one of these trips and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Because I’m our Chief Comms Officer, I spent a lot of time over the weekend observing through the lens of my camera. Here’s what I found:

The military does a fantastic job of preparing an individual for war. They have perfected molding an individual into a competent member of a team, with a task and purpose that each individual is willing to lay their life down for. The highs, lows, successes, failures, and trauma are shared as a team – then you get sent home. You’re an individual again, left to process your trauma and guilt alone. Some are equipped for it, and some are not. This is exactly why more service members die to suicide than die in war. After this experience, I sincerely believe that if more of these groups got together and established accountability for their battle buddies, we’d see a lot less despair in the Veteran community.

Cameraderie never dies. It’d been 16 years since these guys last saw each other. Every one of them has their own aches, pains, and scars. They’re older, greyer, and can’t move quite like they used to. They have families now and are spread out across the entire country. It wouldn’t be wrong to assume it might be a bit awkward, or nerve-wracking seeing everyone for the first time in so many years. None of that mattered – there was no judgment, no sense of having to “get to know” one another again. It was as if we jumped into a time machine and turned the dial to 2006. It speaks volumes to the camaraderie and rapport these guys build with one another. Relationships like these, especially within a group, are rare. This reinforced the importance of fostering them in my own life, and others.

Warfighter Overwatch understands what our veterans need. If you were to ask me a year ago about making an impact in the Veteran community, I probably would’ve given you a spiel about mortgages, the importance of homeownership, and how I can help Veterans establish intergenerational wealth – something few of them have. While those things are true and are important, these relationships are the most important – especially the one we have with ourselves. There are many organizations that do tremendous work to help Veterans in need, but I think our approach goes beyond just helping Veterans – it helps them help themselves.

Trip Recap

This Squad Recon was a huge success. The guys had a blast reconnecting, and it’s my sincere hope that this becomes an annual reunion for them. I can certainly say that I will be horning in on every one of these I can, camera in tow. We rely entirely on donations to make these trips happen, so if you’re so inclined, support our next Squad Recon by clicking the button below!

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