Bounty Hunters: Wounded Warriors claim their prize

  • Published
  • By By Airman 1st Class Mozer O. Da Cunha
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Barksdale's 4th Annual Wounded Warrior Hunt took place on the East Side Reservation here Nov. 6 - 8.

Barksdale's Wounded Warrior Foundation, partnered with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Warrior Foundation, hosted a weekend hunting trip for seven wounded service members to promote rehabilitation, camaraderie and sportsmanship.

"The hunters who are coming to this particular event are from all over the country all branches of service," said Bill Lee, Barksdale Wounded Warrior Association president. "All the guys coming are EOD guys who have been injured in the line of duty."

By partnering together, Barksdale Wounded Warrior Foundation and the EOD Warrior Foundation provide a wide number of warriors access to programs like hunting, fishing and others.

"The EOD Warrior Foundation reached out and told us about Barksdale's program," said Brandon Moore, wounded warrior. "That's how I found out details about the hunt."

The event gives wounded warriors an opportunity to get together and network with each other.

"This was a great opportunity to meet other EOD technicians from all walks of life," Moore said. "It makes it feel like home again for those of us who have been out for a while. We are a really tight community."

Hunters were partnered with volunteers serving as guides for a more in-depth hunting experience.

"Wounded Warrior Hunt provides experienced guides to help us," Moore said. "The program also accepts applicants with various levels of experience and takes them out in the woods. If you need to be taught how to use a firearm again through prosthetics, they will figure out a way to get it done."

The hunters broke last year's record of animals harvested, and no hunter was left without a bounty.

"This year we harvested 14 deer and it was the first year every hunter was able to get one," Moore said.

Activities like the Wounded Warrior Hunt provide veterans an opportunity to reengage with society.

"The most challenging issue I had after my injury was reengaging with society," Moore added.  "Getting back out there and doing day-to-day things, not shutting yourself in, knowing life is not over. There is more to life after you get hurt. There comes a time you realize you are not who you used to be, and you need to find something to help you fix that. Hunting does that for me."

Barksdale's Wounded Warrior Foundation gives veterans the opportunity to get out and participate in activities tailored to their needs.

"The program is very accommodating to your needs. If you wake up one morning hurting, and you don't feel like hunting, you don't have to go," Moore said. "You come here and no matter what your disability is, you won't be judged. Nobody bats an eye when you have a migraine, and you have to lie down or if you can't get up for a hunt in the morning. Whatever your needs are, they will do their best to figure out a way to accommodate it."

With the support of the community, Barksdale's Wounded Warrior Foundation recently had the opportunity to expand programs provided to injured veterans.

"We started the program with the hunts and with the support of the community we were able to expand and add family fishing trips," Lee said. "We just had our first family fishing event last year, and it was a blast."

"It's pretty amazing what Barksdale Wounded Warrior Foundation and EOD's Warrior Foundation have done here," Moore said. "There are many people here who care. Getting a chance to hunt here, meet other warriors, it's just a great opportunity to unwind and make some friends along the way."