SITREP
Field notes on adventure therapy, wilderness, and what actually works for veterans. No fluff, no clinical language.
The Boots That Actually Hold Up on a VLTAT (And How to Break Them In Right)
Every gear issue, someone asks what boots to buy. Here's what years of participants and team leaders have actually shown us about Kenetrek, Oboz, Salomon, Lowa, Danner, and Asolo, how that stacks up against independent reviews, what the research says about break in time and blisters, and the one specific model per brand we'd actually point you to buy.
Your Veteran Seems Different Since Coming Home. Here's What Actually Helps.
Your veteran seems different since coming home, and you don't know what to do about it. Start with the Veterans Crisis Line if this is an emergency. If it isn't, here's what actually helps, why a peer led trip is a real option, and the one thing you can do tonight.
Wilderness Therapy for Veterans: What It Actually Means, and Why We Call It Adventure
VLTAT is wilderness therapy for veterans, built as adventure and led by veterans, not clinical treatment. Here's what that actually means, how it differs from the wilderness therapy you've heard about, and why we say Montana is our therapist.
Cold Water Immersion: How We End Every VLTAT
On the final morning of every VLTAT, in the Smith River or a mountain lake nobody expected, the group closes the trip out with cold water immersion. Some walk in slow, some jump straight in, and everyone on shore is cheering either way. Here's how it actually happens, what the research says about it, and why it's the last thing we do before we go home.
Wim Hof Style Breathing: The Technique We Run Every VLTAT Morning
Every VLTAT morning starts around the fire with coffee and stories about the night before, then moves into a Wim Hof style breathing technique that ends in a breath hold most people have never tried on purpose. Here's the real routine, start to finish.
Why Crazy Creek Is the Newest Name at Every MVP Camp
Crazy Creek chairs are made in Red Lodge, Montana. MVP runs veteran trips out of Great Falls. They met at an archery event, and it didn't take long to figure out why that made sense. Here's how a fast, easy partnership turned into a chair you can't find missing from a single MVP camp photo.
Inside Montana Backcountry Immersion: Survival Training From Naked and Afraid Alumni and a Green Beret Medic
Laura Zerra and Steven Lee Hall Jr survived on Naked and Afraid. Tyr Symank kept people alive as a Green Beret medic. Together they run five days of real survival training in Montana, and every ticket funds a veteran's trip into the backcountry. Here's what Montana Backcountry Immersion actually is.
Should I Go on a Float or a Hike?
One trip puts you on the Smith River doing real conservation work. The other puts forty pounds on your back for four days in the backcountry. Here's what actually separates a VLTAT float from a VLTAT hike, so you're not guessing which one fits you.
FIND YOUR PLACE IN THE MISSION.
