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Rick Kell and David Feherty’s organization, Troops First, also works with Craft to help as many wounded guys as we can. Hell, I’ve had a bunch of fun myself. We go hunting a couple of times a day, shoot a few rounds on the range, then at night trade stories and beers. It’s not so much the war stories as the funny stories that you remember. Those are the ones that affect you. They underline the resilience of these guys—they were warriors in the war, and they take that same warrior attitude into dealing with their disabilities. As you’d expect if I’m involved, there’s a lot of bustin’ going on back and forth, giving each other hell. I don’t always get the last laugh, but I do take my shots. The first time I had some of them out to one of the ranches, I took them out on the back porch before we started shooting and gave them a little orientation. “All right,” I told them, picking up my rifle, “since none of you are SEALs, I better give you some background. This here is a trigger.” “Screw you, Squid!” they shouted, and we had a good time from there on out, pushing each other and making fun.
What
wounded veterans don’t need is sympathy. They need to be treated like the men they are: equals, heroes, and people who still have tremendous value for society. If you want to help them, start there. In a funny way, bustin’ back and forth shows more respect than asking “Are you okay?” in a sickly sweet voice. We’ve only just begun, but we’ve had good enough success that the hospitals are very cooperative. We’ve been able to expand the