Extreme sports help military veterans cope
Wikimedia Commons
The American government is now paying for skydiving lessons. And paint ball.
In what could be seen as reverse logic, the U.S. Army is hoping an adrenaline rush will help vets calm down.
With a wave of soldiers returning home from Iraq with mental health disorders and this problem has the military searching for new ways to supplement and redefine its counseling and self-awareness evaluation programs. Beyond your typical therapy, the Army is hoping thrilling terror of war home through safe outlets through a new program called “Warrior Adventure Quest.”
Warrior Adventure Quest sends soldiers just home from war on outings of paintball, mountain biking, scuba diving, sky diving, whitewater rafting, alpine skiing, snowboarding and rock climbing in hopes of overcoming the “Rambo Syndrome”– the emotional need for some of the tension and fear-tinged excitement of combat.
Army officials say they’ve learned that soldiers who are used to life in a war zone suddenly find life at home to be moving at a glacial pace and hope this program will reduce the anxiety of this shift.
Read the AP’s story: Army Using Extreme Sports to Help War Veterans