Soldiers On Sleds

To identify the soldier needing help in the area of mental stability. We aim to provide each individual with a weekend of relaxation in a group closed environment. We intend to train them in the proper operation of a snowmobile, proper winter survival techniques in a cold harsh environment, By completing tasks and exercises as a team we hope to provide some mental relief of the stressors of returning from war. To help the soldier focus on their mission at hand and leave those unpleasant memories behind them. The main goal is to have them leave us in a better mental state than when they arrived. This is not to say that each participant is in need of help mentally, but we hope to identify that area that might be suppressed. By identifying the problem our train staff can steer the individual in the right direction to see additional counseling, etc.

The Soldiers on Sleds organization reaches out to the military community to seek applicants who have recently returned from a combat assignment and have leave time during the dates of our yearly event. They apply for inclusion via an application located on our website. This process is supplemented with follow up phone calls, emails, and interviews to see if the right fit is possible. We can take up to ten individual soldiers on our weekend ride. Our volunteers make sure that the facilities are ready to accept them. Our patrons donated the needed goods to sustain them with food and lodging. Our team building exercises, although to some might not seem like much, get them all working together as soon as they arrive. They are eager to pitch in to tackle the needed tasks to make for an exceptional week-end. This could be anything from removing sleds off of trailers, preparing meals, learning how to dress in layers to keep warm, and participating in group meetings during the evening cabin hours. This affords the individuals opportunity to share experiences with one another.

With the current expertise we have in our staff, they are well trained in this process. We work in conjunction with many outside facilities that we can refer them to. Some of these include the Veterans Hospital programs, Camp American Legion for additional respite of a different kind, and various civilian and military operations that deal with any issues that have been uncovered. Our organization does not provide any treatments to the individuals. We provide guidance, direction to additional resources, and group activities.

Next year (2020) will be our fifth anniversary in performing this function. When we started we only had two volunteer staff individuals. To date we have five volunteers to our program. Each one of them brings with them a specialty that is important to our program. That growth alone ensures that our participants are getting the training and attention that they need. We continue to enlist the help of our local business community. That participation has continued to grow year after year. One of our long term goal would be to increase the size of our snowmobile fleet of sleds. This would allow us to not have to borrow dealer sleds. This is important, because we are limited on how many participants that we can take by the number of sleds we have access too. We have also fostered fifty participants to date, with more wanting to come year after year. This demonstrates we are doing something right. After our 2019 event we received a letter from the spouse of one of our soldiers. In her letter she thanked us for allowing her husband to come along. He came back from combat very different and was becoming a recluse in his own home. With our help he is now seeking treatment from the trauma of his experiences overseas. Our next goal would be to continue to expand our program to hosting possibly two rides per year instead of the one we currently have. We need to explore more places to venture to in different areas of Michigan by providing more challenging activities for them to participate in. And we need more volunteers in specialized areas. We are looking into how we can achieve those goals on an on going basis.