A Mission to Serve: Veterans Green Corps

Once upon a time, George William Curtis, an American writer and public speaker, said, "A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle and patriotism is loyalty to that principle." I find this quote to be quite apropos in application to the mission and vision of the Veterans' Green Corps (VGC) and SCC. The seven men that comprise this spring's VGC crew traded in their cammies for Carhartts, their M16s for chainsaws, and their combat boots for logging boots in the name of patriotism and national service. National service is obviously not a new concept to any of the guys as all proudly served overseas as a member of the Armed Forces; as a group we represent the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard and collectively served ten combat tours. Now though, we work with public land managers to combat overgrowth in the National Forests of southwest Colorado by means of fuels reduction and fire mitigation projects. It's tough but rewarding work and the camaraderie left behind when we separated from the military has been reestablished.

Up front, the VGC crew received S-212 chainsaw training and S-130/190, wildland fire training, and for six weeks has worked in the Pagosa and Columbine districts of the San Juan National Forest assisting the fuels foresters with forest thinning projects. In that time we have treated over 10 acres of very dense forest and built well over 500 slash piles to be burned next year.

This entire season, we've had outstanding program and project partner support which was indicative last Saturday, April 24, when the crew met at the East Animas Bunkhouse, just north of Durango, to work with members of the Forest Service fire crews. We got some good work done, but also had the opportunity to pick the brains of the experienced and get a glance into some of the potential opportunities that are available down the road. And, despite the bureaucratic bully, the great folks at SCC and San Juan National Forest took on the fight and were able to Red Card certify the members of our crew to be Type II Wildland Firefighters. Many thanks to all that were involved in securing that objective.

We also had the great privilege that Saturday to be visited by US Senator, Mark Udall. It was great speaking with the Senator and knowing that our hard work hasn't gone unnoticed. Also, it really speaks highly for the program and partnerships to be recognized at such a high level. More info on the Senator's visit can be found at the link below.

With only two weeks left in the season, it's a little sad to recognize that the end is near, but the friendships formed and the experienced gained will continue on with all of us, no matter where we go or what we do, and as Robert Frost said, "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."

Lew Sovocool, VGC Crew Leader
US Army, Combat Engineer - 2004-2009
Read the VGC article in the Durango Herald