Warriors on Cataract: Gratitude by the boatload

BOULDER — Fred Solheim believes veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq have served our country well. He also believes that the country they have served isn’t reciprocating. When it comes to showing appreciation for their service, Solheim is steering the boat.

Literally.

Solheim, vice president for research and development and chief scientist for Boulder-based Radiometrics Corp., takes soldiers on Colorado River whitewater rafting trips, starting in Moab, Utah, and ending up on Lake Powell.

“We ask a lot of our military personnel,” Solheim said. “They are giving of themselves and making sacrifices that you and I can’t even imagine. Then they come home — often severely wounded, and certainly struggling with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) — and we, our country and government, do very little to help them acclimate back into civilian life and society. This is wrong.”

Solheim knows about achievement. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics, a master’s in astrophysics and a doctorate in geophysics, all from the University of Colorado-Boulder. According to the Radiometrics website, he is an inventor or co-inventor on eight patents, with four more pending.

Still, Solheim was inspired by the story of Marine infantryman Mark Litynski, who sustained wounds in Iraq that resulted in the amputation of both legs and one arm amputated — but who then skied with the Disabled Veterans Program in Vail.

Solheim’s reaction was to start Warriors on Cataract, an all-volunteer 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that does its best to say “thank you” to men and women who fought in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

“Cataract is what John Wesley Powell named a bad section of rapids on the Colorado River,” said Solheim. Then he chuckled. “Well, maybe bad for some people, but great for us, and great for these combat soldiers. They’re all adrenalin junkies. They want to see the big water. … With snowpack melts, you can get 20-foot standing waves. That’s why we chose the name ‘Cataract,’ though maybe we shouldn’t have because people think it means something is wrong with your eyes.”

But Solheim’s original vision of giving veterans of these wars — which he deems unnecessary and pointless — an opportunity to have an adventure and re-establish the type of camaraderie they had when in the military became much more than a trip down the river. The strikingly beautiful and peaceful setting, along with the teamwork required to stay afloat, became a healing mechanism. It gave the soldiers an opportunity to open up to each other and share their fears, anxieties, difficulties, challenges, successes and personal coping tools. A Veterans Administration therapist who accompanied the troop later told Solheim that some of the Warriors confided in her in ways that were more meaningful than most office sessions.

“This is what they needed,” said Solheim. “Our Warriors need a place where they can work as a team — not just on the river, but in reaching those deep places that are often difficult to access.”

Warriors on Cataract partners with the Sierra Club’s Military Families and Veterans Initiative. Stacy Bare, the initiative’s representative, came home from a tour in Iraq with a cocaine habit, depression and suicidal ideations. A friend took him on a rock-climbing trip. Bare came off the trip feeling great and believing that “this is something that every veteran, every service member needs to have — an opportunity to get outside and push themselves again.

“The whole idea behind this (program),” Bare said, “is that ‘You fought for this country, now go out and enjoy this country.’ ”

The veterans come off the river feeling rejuvenated and, to a certain extent, healed. But one rafting adventure doesn’t solve all their problems. Many returning soldiers face nearly insurmountable issues when attempting to acclimate themselves back into society. Some of these issues take the form of criminal convictions, which add to the existing difficulties veterans face and make acclimation all the more elusive. Solheim recognized this and recruited Denver attorney Craig Truman to the Cataract team.

Like Solheim, Truman — whose experience includes serving in Boulder as a public defender and probation officer — feels that veterans don’t receive enough support upon their return.

“They have not been served very well by our country,” he said. “They have served us a lot better than we are serving them.”

Truman, who volunteers his time to help veterans facing felony and misdemeanor charges, is convinced they are in the criminal justice system because of their time in the military.

“They are all sufferers of PTSD, and that causes them to react to situations in socially unacceptable ways,” he said. “They may lash out during a dispute with far more anger than someone who hasn’t shared the same traumatic and devastating experiences they have.”

Violent reactions lead to arrests that impact nearly every aspect of their lives. One veteran was unable to get a lease because of his criminal record. Truman started working with Warriors on Cataract more than three months ago and has added three new clients to his roster, helping them through the often overwhelming and confusing legal system.

Initially, Truman was skeptical that a rafting trip could help make veterans better. Conversations with his Cataract clients have “… turned me around 180 degrees,” he said. “There is something about being with similarly situated men and women, back in a group setting with the adrenalin rush of the rapids that brings them together even though they come from very disparate backgrounds. I am now convinced that they come out of this raft trip with more balm on their PTSD than I had thought possible.”

The trips largely are funded through donations, with in-kind and monetary contributions. For instance, Radiometrics kicks in $1,000 a year, Boulder-based Estey Printing Co. donates printing services, Ball Aerospace & Technology Corp. matches employee contributions, and donations also come from companies such as Colorado Business Bank and Longmont-based Custom Microwave Inc. Moab-based Tag-A-Long Expeditions and Archway Inn provide the rafts and guides as well as accommodations at greatly reduced rates. More than $12,000 was raised by individual donors.

“The generous donations we’ve received make these trips possible,” Solheim said.

The Warriors tell Solheim what four days on the river does for them. One wrote, “The fellowship of the staff and other service members helping me to relax and enjoy this trip … was worth it and (that it) is truly safe to go outside. I’ve spent many days and nights inside my house not wanting to go out.”

In addition to two June rafting trips, Warriors on Cataract has scheduled rock-climbing outings in Breckenridge and water skiing on Boulder Reservoir this summer. Solheim hopes it’s just the start of the opportunities veterans can be offered.

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