CAMO's Story
War changes people. Sometimes the hardest part isn’t the deployment. It’s coming home and trying to feel normal again.
Too many combat veterans carry the weight in silence, disconnected from purpose, brotherhood, and themselves. CAMO exists to get veterans into the outdoors, back around people who understand them, and back into moments that remind them what it feels like to be alive.
Where CAMO Began
In 2019 while guiding a turkey hunt at the E3 Ranch in SE Kansas, I was introduced to the men that would eventually become the foundation for CAMO. I had volunteered to be a guide for a turkey hunt and I saw the impact the event had on the hunters as well as the guides. I was so motivated to serve, that same year I accepted a direct commission as an officer in the United States Army.
Grandpa’s Legacy
My family has always had a unique view of the military and everyone is absolutely patriotic. My grandpa was an Infantryman-turned POW in Germany during WWII and his experiences caused him to remain isolated, living a life of solitude in the mountains of northern Arkansas. Perhaps my grandpa's favorite thing to do was to go deer hunting. I got to see first-hand the impact sitting in a deer stand can have on a combat vet, and as a young boy I developed a love for the outdoors just like grandpa.
More Than a Hunt
In 2021 I was mobilized for Operation Allies Welcome and I worked with a guy who had some deer pictures on his phone. Being obsessed with deer hunting, I had previously secured a local spot to deer hunt, so I invited my new buddy with the deer pics to hunt with us. That same friend told me 2 years later he had planned to take his own life the same weekend we went deer hunting. He told me that our adventure changed the course of his life.
I knew I had to do something and
that's what started CAMO.
