Comfort in the cold
Snow and sled dogs, medicine to the soul
Story by Staff Sgt. Jette Carr // Photos by Master Sgt. Brian Ferguson
10 May 2016
Rick Casillo and his wife, USAF Lt. Col Jennifer Casillo, facilitate an outdoor therapy camp in Anchorage, Alaska.
Their Organization, Battle Dawgs, empowers veterans dealing with post traumatic stress disorders or traumatic brain injuries through therapeutic and exhilarating experiences by harnessing the natural splendor of Alaska’s landscape and the majestic healing power of sled dogs. All of the Battle Dawg camps are mission oriented. When veterans arrive to the camp they are briefed, issued essential gear, and then head to their assigned living quarters. Each night veteran teams are briefed on the next days task, given a starting point time, route to target, and a target engagement brief. Iditarod camp takes place each year since it began four years ago. In 2013, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs released a study that covered suicides from 1999 to 2010, which revealed that roughly 22 veterans were committing suicide per day, or one every 65 minutes. Battle Dawgs aspires to reduce this number through their organization.
(U.S. Air Force Video by Andrew Arthur Breese)
http://airman.dodlive.mil/2016/05/comfort-in-the-cold/
