Warrior Ranch T-Shirt Fund

Mission

Warrior Ranch is a Veteran led project to provide healing, leadership, job, and coping skills to Veterans suffering from PTSD, substance abuse, and other mental illnesses. Through outdoor trips, retreats, and activities combined with non traditional and traditional healing methods we aim to provide Veterans a more sustainable and long lasting way to heal from the wounds of war.

Warrior Ranch will focus on developing programs that help Veterans heal and recover from PTSD and substance abuse through the outdoors, meditation/mindfulness practices, and nontraditional healing methods. Our goals will also be to raise awareness of the plight of veterans suffering from PTSD and substance abuse and providing non-pharmaceutical techniques that have proven to help.

Our three main objectives:
1. Provide rehabilitative services to Veterans suffering from PTSD and substance abuse .
2.Support Veterans in transitioning from military to civilian life.
3. Build partnerships with civilian organization to better provide services to Veterans.


Founder's Story


Returning from his 2nd tour in war-torn Iraq Robert Marshall found himself unable to transition back into the social stream of American regularity. Anxiety gripped his thoughts, hypervigilance claimed by nights, anger and irritability seized his temperament, and the exceptionalism that made me him lieutenant in the US Infantry made him unacceptable as a civilian. Memories haunted his waking moments, terrors stalked his dreams, and the nearest, most available therapy he could find in that condition was alcohol, which only accelerated his anxiety and left him dependent upon the liquor. Seeking help became a labyrinth of waiting lists, But that is not the end of the story. Determined to not be defeated, Robert found the teachings of mindfulness and meditation and through earnest practice and determination started the process of healing and became sober. He discovered the outdoors as a natural healer. The outdoors became a place where the sun warmed his heart, andthe sounds of birds opened his eyes to the goodness and greatness of life.

Wounded warriors return home every day to much applause and open arms, but the most debilitation wound of war is left untreated, much worse, often undiagnosed. The wounds of the psyche rarely heal because they are unobservable and unsympathized, causing the wounded to withdraw further into themselves.

Robert fell through the cracks of society upon his return from war and there determined to pad the fall for others returning from the call of duty with that terrible wound PTSD and substance abuse. Robert founded Warrior Ranch to be a refuge and sancuruary where Veterans could steady their minds, heal their hearts from the tragedies of war, and let nature be avenue to transition the Warrior back into the society he sworn to protect.