Adventurer Takes Fellow Vets to New Heights
Nick Watson gets around. For five years, he served in one of the most elite U.S. military units, the 75th Ranger Regiment. As a civilian, he has climbed countless mountains across the country, including Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America. And he was named one of National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year for 2014.
Since 2010, Watson, executive director and co-founder (along with fellow veteran Stacy Bare) of Veterans Expeditions (VetEx), has been leading an almost entirely volunteer-run nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the lives of veterans through outdoor expeditions. (Visit vetexpeditions.com for more information and to donate.)
Whether veterans are coping with PTSD, physical injuries or the difficulties of transitioning to civilian life, Watson understands firsthand how difficult the struggle can be.
From Soldier to Civilian
“When I was 18 years old, all I wanted to be was an Army Ranger,” says Watson, now 44. “That was literally as far as I saw my future.” He joined the Army just a few months after high school graduation and “grew up in Ranger battalion,” he says. Whether jumping out of airplanes or deploying halfway around the world, Watson lived and breathed being an Army Ranger.
After more than 10 deployments in a five-year span, the mental and physical demands of service took their toll and Watson left the military life.
“That transition [to civilian life] is pretty major,” he says. “When I decided to get out I was a bit lost. I didn’t really know what direction to turn.”
The outdoors provided just the therapy and direction the Colorado resident needed, he says. “It saved me in many ways. I hope through VetEx it can do the same for others.”
Inspiring Vets to Achieve the Impossible
Ever since its first expedition, on the ninth anniversary of 9/11, when eight veterans scaled Longs Peak in Colorado, VetEx has been providing the opportunity for vets to tackle incredible physical challenges while rebuilding their confidence and finding a new community along the way. Seven years later, the organization has led nearly 250 expeditions, ranging from fly-fishing in Alaska to mountain biking in Colorado, and helped more than 3,000 veterans, including Jimmy Ford, who lost his leg in an IED attack in Iraq.
With VetEx’s help, Ford set out to hike the entire Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,659-mile trail stretching from Southern California to Canada. Although Ford was unable to complete the entire distance due to an injury, the experience changed him.
“He doesn’t see [his missing leg] as a disability,” Watson says. “I think he did for a while. But he doesn’t now. I have seen this in a lot of men and women that come out with us. You see the light bulb go on. And that light bulb is confidence coming back into their life.”