Downrange Warriors are here to help

For seven years running, the Downrange Warriors organization has supported veterans and first responders in the oftentimes stressful aftermath of performing the challenging duties of their chosen careers. 

The term “downrange” in military slang refers to being in the war zone. Whether it’s a war zone that was experienced in a literal sense as a solider or it just felt like a war zone, like it often does for some first responders, the experience has lasting effects on those involved.

Since its creation, the Downrange Warriors organization has served about 200 veterans and first responders and their families in the area. The organization provides workshops, meetings and an empathetic ear to anyone currently or formerly in the military or a part of first response teams.

Todd Bray, a Vietnam veteran, and Josh Foster, a former corrections officer and special forces officer in one of the toughest prison systems in the country, run the Cody office, helped by 15 to 25 volunteers. The organization also provides services in Sheridan and Knoxville, Tenn.

The group focuses on suicide prevention and post-traumatic stress support. Social interactions and education play a big role in serving the group’s clients.

“Suicide is very common with veterans and in law enforcement, especially nowadays with what law enforcement is going through and what first responders are seeing on a daily basis,” said Foster. “In law enforcement, you deal with a lot of things that involve kids and families. It’s stuff you see that normal people shouldn’t see. When an incident happens, you’re not allowed to cry or show emotion. We’ve had former EMTs go through our programs, former firefighters and even physician’s assistants.”

Downrange Warriors offers a 12-week program called “reboot” that deals with post-traumatic stress experienced by individuals working in these fields. Foster said he doesn’t like to use the “D” in PTSD, because to him post-traumatic stress is a normal reaction to abnormal experiences. The organization hosts two different reboot programs, one for veterans and one exclusively for first responders.

Foster explained that the two programs are slightly different because the experience is different for first responders who may experience the stress for a shift or two compared to military personnel who experience it for months.

“To deal with the PTS side of things, we have different tools and different ways to manage and cope with the stresses of what people see when they are in uniform,” Foster explained. “Week by week, we work together, and we teach them the skills to deal with these things. We also have the credentials because we’ve been through it, too.”

The group also hosts outdoor activities like motorcycle and ATV rides, hikes, barbecues, ice cream socials and even valentine date nights. The idea is to get fellow veterans and first responders and their families out and having fun with like-minded individuals who have shared some of the same experiences.

“A very important part of this is that we include spouses in our activities,” explained Foster. “We also provide free childcare so there is always an opportunity for spouses to participate. That way there is no excuse not to come, because when you’re dealing with this kind of stuff there’s always an excuse not to deal with it.”

Foster said the organization is currently looking at various locations in Lovell to start what he calls a “veterans talking to veterans” group. He noted that the group is not structured the same as the bootcamps and provides a different kind of support. The structure of the conversation groups is based on a program called “mental agility” out of Jackson, Wyoming. The leaders of the group, including Foster, are certified life coaches.

“You can come for a couple of weeks and then skip a week,” he said. “It’s ongoing, so you can just come and go as you please. It’s a good follow-up for people who have graduated from the bootcamp course, but they don’t have to take that course to attend. It’s not structured like you have to be there every week, but we have a structure we follow as coaches that allows it to be a fluid meeting. It allows us to talk about issues from that week, or from the past, or stuff from the future. It’s more about learning to deal with issues as they come up, because healing is a long-term thing. It’s not a 12-weeks and your done sort of thing.”

Foster said all of the programs the group offers are free to the participants and their families. The organization is a 501C non-profit entitly, funded entirely by donations.

Foster said participants can attend meetings or workshops in person or by Zoom, though he thought there was a great benefit attending in person.

Downrange Warriors is a “faith based” organization.

“We can help the person on the outside,” he said. “We can meet with them. We can do a lot of one-on-ones, but truly God has to work from the inside. Only God can heal from the inside.”

Foster said though the group is not religious, its members have a close relationship with Jesus. He said, for himself, it was his faith in God that helped heal him.

“We harness the power of Jesus to help people,” he explained, “because, one of the first things that goes in trauma is the belief in God. You see atrocious things in uniform, both in country and out of country. The last thing to come back is your faith. It takes time for people to come around from the horrors they’ve seen and to bring them back from that darkness into the light. We are here to help them with that journey.”

The next boot camp for first responders is scheduled to begin on August 27 in Cody. A similar course for veterans in the Sheridan/Dayton area is scheduled for September 5. The “veterans talking to veterans” group in Lovell will be announced once a location has been secured for the meeting and will be announced on the group’s website. That information and more is available at www.downrangewarriors.org.