Being a veteran from the Iraq war, I was able to attend a veteran retreat called Huts for Vets located in Aspen, Colo. The founder, Paul Anderson, is very supportive of veterans and is helping them heal by using literature and the wilderness.

While there, I was able to share my combat experience and get heavy burdens off my shoulders that I carried for a good 10 years. A few of the experiences they offer are sleeping in teepees as well as doing a 10-mile hike up and a 10-mile hike down the rigorous terrain. Another session was pretending to be Sacagawea and Lewis and Clark. We would spend about two hours exploring the environment, writing about what we encountered and how we felt during the exercise for mental and spiritual health. Doing this gave me a great respect for the frontiersman before me. I gained much interest in legendary icons, such as Jedediah Smith and John Colter.

We also participated in another exercise where we were left alone in the mountain wilderness and had to write our thoughts or be in deep meditation. I drew my surroundings in my journal, including full details about the terrain, distance and anything that would be landmarks; I also added scripture. When I reported back to share what I did, others asked me if I was a sniper. I didn’t know what to think about that, but I was not. I was a truck driver and a machine gunner, nothing like a sniper. But when we were on tower guard in combat, we would draw our sectors and share them with the next person on the watch.

Coincidentally, after returning home to Nebraska from the retreat, the state of 

Nebraska added fur harvesting to the Resident Disabled Veteran Lifetime Legacy Permit, which is free to Nebraska resident veterans rated at 50 percent or more for Veteran Affairs disability. I do not believe I would have attempted trapping if the permit were not offered and I had not attended the retreat.

My two sons enjoy hunting and fishing greatly. I know I can shoot a deer and catch a fish, but I would rather watch others enjoy doing it. Trapping fits me just right. I play chess, which helps me understand the skills of finding footprints, trails, dens and areas of food and water—in other words, understanding animal habitation.

After scoping them out and asking permission from the landowner, I put up trail cameras. I have captured raccoon, opossum, skunk, badger, mink, rabbit and a coyote. I joined the National Trappers Association and ordered subscriptions to Fur Fish Game, The Trapper, Trappers Post and Nebraska Fur Harvesters. I proudly wear the patch on my vest. All this is to further the education and knowledge of what others have done and are willing to share.

Next, I cleaned out a space in my barn and called it the trapping room. It is the command center of the four-month trapping season. It starts at midnight on Halloween and ends on the last day of February (my birthday). I have the traps hanging on the wall with a work bench for daily tools and equipment. There is also a cabinet for frontier books and trapping magazines. I even learned how to walnut dye traps for seasonal preparation.

Formerly, I was a sergeant in the Army, and I miss leading and training soldiers. So the next step was for me to share my knowledge and passion that has helped me heal from combat trauma. I did what it took to become a Nebraska Hunter Education Instructor. Being a volunteer with Nebraska Game and Parks is quite an experience. It allows me to stay calm and teach youth or even at times young adults the skills of outdoor adventures using guns, bows, traps and overall safety.

Speaking about safety, my very first animal in a steel foot trap was a raccoon. I baited it with Skittles. I attempted to hold the animal down and release it. However, that did not go too well. With its back legs it scratched and clawed me on my right forearm, laying it open. Also, he bit a few of my fingers. Somehow, I dispatched it and then went to the emergency room. I got a rabies shot and had an allergic reaction that put me back in the ER a few days later. That prepared me for trapping. I was not hindered by the blood and scars from the raccoon. It made me be more mindful and in the moment of the life of the animal.

Dispatching and skinning does not bother me. It is very therapeutic and relaxing. You want a clean kill so there is no suffering and no damage to meat or fur. I say a prayer before dispatching to show I am thankful and it is not just a kill. I will cook something from it to avoid waste. What is left over will be bait for other traps.

Thank you for allowing me to share my story of how trapping has helped me heal from combat. It keeps me close to God and allows me to enjoy the outdoors.