Nicholas H. Dean
AFA Journal/Engage magazine staff writer
November 2015 – “It started off as a personal goal to conquer the trail, but about two-thirds of the way up I realized it was becoming a very transformative experience,” recounted Captain Sean Gobin, “and it could be a great benefit to other veterans transitioning out of the military.”
Gobin is a veteran with years of service in the Marine Corps, including three combat deployments following the attacks of 9/11. In 2012, Gobin laid down his weapons and picked up the trail as founder and executive director of Warrior Hike. While not defining itself as ministry, Warrior Hike is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that helps veterans transition from life on the battlefield to life back home through their unique “Walk of the War” program – appropriately titled for veterans who will walk thousands of miles on one of America’s National Scenic Trails.
The care Warrior Hike offers to veterans is crucial. Today’s returning soldier is usually home from combat within 72 hours. This means, within the span of a couple of days, men and women go from the throes of battle to a society more focused on who wears what than who’s been to war. Gobin noted the danger, explaining, “There’s really no time and space for you to process those experiences. It becomes a very abrupt transition.”
As a consequence, veterans are robbed of the opportunity to transition back into life at a healthy pace. Many experts link a veteran’s abrupt transition to the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a result of traumatic experience such as war. PTSD is characterized by anxiety attacks, heightened sensitivity to sensory stimuli, night terrors, mood swings, depression, and heightened suicide risk. In other words, PTSD results from suffering, produces more suffering, and too often ends the individual’s suffering via suicide.
Taking cues from history, Gobin believes Warrior Hike is “a system which mirrors the experience of ancient armies marching home, and all of the cathartic and therapeutic experiences that come with that.” In ancient days, soldiers would march home – sometimes taking months or even years. In the midst of this long journey home, soldiers would have time to reflect on their wartime experiences.
“That act of marching home with all of your comrades who you were fighting with, and having time and space to process those experiences with those people you were there with helped set people up mentally for that transition home,” observed the captain.
In steps Warrior Hike.
Warrior Hike gives veterans a six-month journey in nature, away from the distractions of daily life. While hiking, the veterans have the time their minds need to come to terms with their wartime experiences, all the while doing this with other veterans who have similar experiences of their own.
With all that veterans sacrifice for their nation, it is the civilians’ honor and duty to care for them when they return. Warrior Hike offers an effective avenue for grateful citizens to do just that. 
Warrior Hike
▶ No cost to veterans
▶ Hiking gear donated by corporate and individual supporters
▶ Care and support from trail towns along the way
▶ Help with employment opportunities
To see what towns the trails pass through, and to learn how you can help, visit warriorhike.org or email Sean Gobin at sgobin@warriorhike.org.
