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WarHawgs provides outdoor recreational opportunities for veterans

Dothan Eagle - 8/5/2017

Disabled and non-disabled veterans, active military, law enforcement officials, first responders ? the general public does not know what their life's experiences have been and continue to be. Only members of this special group of individuals understand the dangers, the trauma and the loss they have sustained. It is for that reason that founders Toby Cochran (disabled veteran, U.S. Navy) and David Cochran (USN) and board members James Cochran (USN retired), Kenny Long (USN, Army retired, Dothan Police retired) and John Hodgson (Army) decided to organize a nonprofit agency ? WarHawgs- whose aim is to provide "healing through hunting" and other adaptive sports.

"Being active duty military, it's hard to find places to hunt or people to take you hunting," Toby Cochran said as he began to explain how WarHawgscame into existence. "When you think about it, there are six military installations within an hour or so drive from us. And then there are a lot of disabled veterans and veterans in our area. There are two million in the tri-states area alone. There are 125,000 who are severely disabled (70 percent or more disability)."

Cochran, a disabled veteran as well as an avid hunter, says it didn't take long for him to realize something needed to be done to help veterans, law enforcement officials and other first responders.

"I called a couple of my buddies about it," Cochran said. "Kenny Long, retired military, retired law enforcement, well, let's just say he was both feet in and ready to go, when I contacted him.

"We want to give folks the opportunity to go (on a hunt) who wouldn't have the opportunity to go otherwise. Not many people are willing to take the risk to take them. Many of them suffer from PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), TBI (traumatic brain injury), spinal cord injuries and blindness. If they want to go, we will find a way to get them there.

"I'm a disabled veteran. Everybody on our board is either retired, a veteran or a retired law enforcement officer." He notes their shared experiences let them easily relate to the participants they serve. "We can talk on the same level," he continued. "We can talk about the demons that they need to put to bed. We can talk about what helped us. The demons don't go away, but it takes a lot to bring them back. Until you've picked up a weapon, until you've kicked in a door (not knowing what's on the other side), you don't know what his (veteran, law enforcement, first responder) mindset is. You don't know what he feels, when he sees two of his buddies fall, but he doesn't. In their case, they have to have their head on a swivel (because they don't know what could be coming next)."

The first official hunt for WarHawgs was held May 1, 2016. Cochran notes it was a special event for the nonprofit agency's members.

"The first guy we took was in a wheelchair," Cochran said. "We didn't have an off-road-type of wheelchair. But, he had a buddy willing to help us. We had to carry him into the stand and set him up for the shoot. That was a wonderful experience for me. I had never seen someone with the sense of humor that he had.

"A couple of other guys, one was a Marine who had TBI and PTSD, his wife saw more of an effect of the hunt on him than we did. She said all he could do was talk about the hunt."

Cochran also talked about a hunt that included two Marines and a law enforcement officer. The hunt took place over Memorial Day Weekend.

"They were troopers," Cochran said as he recalled the hot and muggy weekend. "When the hogs came out, a heavy rain of metal came down. It got exciting pretty quick."

He noted the Marines suffered from PTSD and TBI. But, he says, not many people consider what happens to law enforcement officials and first responders on a daily basis.

"Law enforcement officials are not talked about," Cochran continued. "All they see on the job has to be traumatic."

Service dogs and family members, he says, are allowed on the hunts.

"We had a veteran with PTSD who had a service dog with him. He also brought his grandson on the hunt. The (wild) hogs came out a couple of times. That made for a great weekend."

The popularity of the hunts and events provided by WarHawgs has spread quickly through the veteran community. Cochran says they have a large number of potential participants on a waiting list.

"There is no charge for the participants," Cochran said. "We take care of the hotel expenses, the license, the food, and we supply their equipment. If someone harvests an animal, we pay for the processing."

WarHawgs is a 501c3 agency. It provides these services through donations and grants. The equipment used belongs to Cochran.

"Right now, our biggest issue is trying to drum up support locally," Cochran continued. "We beg a lot. We do deer shows, gun shows, the Peanut Festival. This year we've added Thunder Beach, and we've dropped off letters to every Wiregrass business.

"We have 76 veterans on the waiting list. We have six hunts already scheduled. We take two to three participants per hunt. So far, we've done 48 hunts since May 1, 2016.

"Our usual hunt costs us $350 ? that includes the kill, bait, batteries and game processing. If the hunt takes place out of this immediate region, the cost is anywhere from $750 to $1,000. If a veteran can get to us, we're not going to turn them away. I've hunted since I was five years old. I've hunted most things in North America. Everybody on our board is an avid hunter. Nobody else does it like we do. Some do it on a limited scale, maybe three to seven hunts a year. We want to do it every week. Our goal is to take 200 to 300 veterans and first responders hunting every year. The first responders took care of our families while we were deployed."

Funding is a big hurdle, but, notes Cochran, there is another piece to the puzzle ? land.

"If a landowner has a wild hog problem, we will come and hold a shoot to take care them," he said. "Right now, we have 400 acres leased in Barbour County. We also have land in Henry County where we shoot. We've killed 37 or 38 hogs off those two pieces of property."

In addition to holding wild hog outings, WarHawgs also holds deer hunts, paint ball competitions and skeet shooting.

"The paintball matches, which last three to five minutes, are held at Dothan Survival Games," Cochran said. "The owner is a retired Marine. We just started with paint ball. It will begin in September. The skeet shooting is held in the middle of October at Ravenwood in Headland. We do that just before deer season starts."

For a multitude of reasons, Cochran says the wild hog hunts are the most popular among the four activities WarHawgs offers.

"The hog hunts are nighttime hunts," Cochran said. "It's more relaxing to the participants. Unlike deer hunting, the guys can move around. Also, our guy and a participant can talk about anything in those 16 hours of the hunt. They get almost a year's worth of (counseling) service in 16 hours."

For some participants, overcoming memories is a hurdle. Cochran says the hunts help them do that.

"Shooting a gun, that's one of the things they are most used to doing," he said. "Most of my guys (participants) are reluctant to look through the scope. That's why one of my guys (from WarHawgs) is with them ? to let them know nothing bad will come out of this.

"Based on studies that have been done, outdoor recreation significantly improves sleep patterns, helps with depression and PTSD symptoms. It improves their overall quality of life. During these hunts, they talk to someone who understands the mental aspect of what they've faced. I get the same reaction when I take them hunting ? like when I take my kid hunting. There's no other experience like when your kid gets to shoot. The adrenaline, it's an awesome feeling."

Now, what about that name ? WarHawgs?

"It's the Southern spelling of hogs," Cochran said. "It just rolled off (the tongue) pretty easily."

For more information about War Hawgs, call 855-WAR-HAWG (927-4294) or visit www.warhawgs.org.