One way to deal with the trauma of combat is to enter therapy. Yet another way: Scooping piles of pig crap.
On a 19-acre spread between Bend and Redmond, a group of Central Oregon military veterans are establishing their own non-traditional support group. Rather than receiving assistance in a clinical fashion, the vets have found a place where they can enjoy the camaraderie and support of other veterans—all while shoveling manure.
“I have severe PTSD, and I’d rather go scoop pig shit than deal with a lot of people in the community,” says retired Col. Pam Mindt, who served in numerous deployments in two combat zones. Mindt is one of several veterans we met at the Central Oregon Veterans Ranch, located near Highway 97.
Mindt voluntarily labors at many of the outdoor chores at the ranch, caring for the herds of sheep, pigs and other animals used as food and revenue for the nonprofit. “We have three hives of bees—Navy, Army, and Marines—for honey production,” Mindt points out, a smile on her face.
During a tour of the ranch, a group of veterans huddled around an outdoor stove grilling cheese sandwiches and enjoying the heat from the grill as heavy rain came down. Jim Montoya is a retired Navy Vietnam-era vet who moved to Central Oregon from Colorado. “I can do whatever at the ranch and it’s just nice to have the camaraderie of other vets,” he says. Montoya had volunteered with Central Oregon Veteran’s Outreach before volunteering at the ranch.
Wray Harris, who served in Iraq, says the rural setting feeds his soul. “This is a place where I can be around people who, when something goes wrong, they will actually do something in a hands-on situation to remedy a problem.”
Alison Perry, along with a financial partner, helped to found the ranch. Before this, she worked with the Veteran’s Administration in Portland, finding that the traditional clinical approach was not entirely meeting vets’ needs. Instead of more of the traditional medical model, Perry wanted a holistic environment that would help heal and nurture veterans. The former model, Perry says, was one “that looks at you as having a medical disorder and needing to be medicated and fixed.”
It might not scream “holistic,” but eventually Perry settled on a sheep ranch. Perry, along with her financial partner, closed on a Central Oregon ranch in April 2015.
In addition to its current function, Perry says the ranch has recently completed an application to become an adult foster care facility beginning in 2017. Plans include housing for up to four terminally-ill veterans or veterans who have no family. “Typically, some of these veterans want other veterans around at the end of their lives. They often see other veterans as their true family,” she explains.
The Central Oregon Veterans Ranch is one of only a few such organizations in the nation to receive a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help expand its outreach.
Central Oregon Veterans Ranch
centraloregonveteransranch.org
541-706-9062
This article appears in Nov 9-16, 2016.
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I found the title of this article AND this first sentence “One way to deal with the trauma of combat is to enter therapy. Yet another way: Scooping piles of pig crap”, to be disrespectful to our Veterans who have given so much for our country. I think an apology is in order.
Absolutely no disrespect intended. Look at the quote by the retired Colonel Pam. She says it succinctly. This writer has done other articles honoring vets and always will.
First of all, thank you to The Source Weekly for publishing the well written article “Where Old Soldiers Go to Roam.” This comment is composed in reference of “Maklie[‘s]” response to the aforementioned piece. I whole heartedly agree Maklie that you are correct, an apology is in order! However, the table should be turned; COL (Colonel) Pam Mindt deserves your apology, since the opening remark you referenced was drawn from her interview (detailed later in the article). She is a multiple tour combat veteran (Iraq/Afghanistan) who served her country selflessly for 38 years (yes 38!) in the US Army AND is a retired therapist who has helped countless vets for the past 3 decades. I know this because I am one of those vets whom her light and leadership has touched. But rest assured Maklie, the core audience of readers (those like me) do have the capacity to understand that her (COL Pam) comments were analogous to the undisputed benefits that animal husbandry can provide in trauma recovery; not as a literal implication that meddling with livestock manure should ever be a replacement for structured doctrinal therapy. I find it intriguing yet disturbing that you (Maklie) took it that way? In your misguided attempt to speak out against a combat vet’s “disrespectful” comments, you not only insulted and alienated one of Central Oregon’s greatest heroes but you also single-handedly reaffirmed the necessity for organizations such as the Central Oregon Veterans Ranch where vets can interface exclusively with other vets as a sanctuary away from the uninvited elitist misjudgments which your comments seemingly memorialize. So I guess I do owe you a bit of gratitude, thank you! Why do you think so many vets are apprehensive about speaking openly with the media? As a combat wounded Army Ranger veteran myself, COL Pam (the Ma’am) is both qualified and welcome to speak on my behalf any day; you (Maklie) are neither qualified nor welcome to be my voice. So next time you feel the urge to champion all displays of respect towards veterans, why don’t you try honoring OUR fallen heroes instead of erroneously criticizing those who are still living. The bottom line is this: the comment originated by COL Pam that you cherry picked from the opening line of this article was only the first part of her sentence. Leaving the impression that you didn’t even read the rest of the article as you made no mention of the last segment of her comment (where she referenced her affinity for the solitude of volunteering at the ranch), “…I’d rather go scoop pig shit than deal with a lot of people in the community.” You apparently missed the metaphor: her message is about avoiding people like you. Lastly, I can’t say that I empathize with the shock and confusion that you must be experiencing from thinking that you were part of the solution but instead finding out that in actuality, you are the problem.
RLTW – Thank you for encouraging our readers to read through an entire article before commenting. That always helps. And thanks again to the veterans who contributed to this report!
Thanks for highlighting this , and giving the ranch much deserved publicity!
As an avid supporter, veteran and volunteer , I couldn’t be more excited about the ranch, and it’s impact on the veteran community in Central Oregon.
I don’t agree that veterans go there to ‘roam’ or that they are characterized as ‘old’. I think ‘hospice care’ would have been a much better characterization of what the ranch is pursuing than ‘adult foster care’.
That said , those things are terminology, , and it’s clear the author meant no offense . Col Pam is a force of nature , and the extent to which she gives of herself and helps veterans all over
Cannot be overstated.