Left to Right: Bruce Kink, Makenzie Kink, Karington Tibbets, Corey Tibbets
1st CivDiv Warrior Foundation Inaugural Field Retreat
This past weekend Diane Kink’s husband, Bruce, and daughter, Makenzie, had a chance to participate in “sponsor day” for the 1st CivDiv Warriors Foundation’s inaugural Field Retreat.
“Mackenzie and I were captivated and spent an amazing Saturday on a secluded property in Milano, Texas for a special ‘sponsor day’ with Marine and Army Veterans,” Bruce said. “Corey [Tibbets] is such an awesome young man who now works for the Anadarko Petroleum Company, but was an active duty Marine who helped put on the event for his organization – the 1st CivDiv Warrior’s Foundation.”
The event was led by former Marine and Army Veterans and included activities like tactical field and medical evacuation training, automatic weapon firing on the live fire range, sponsor boot camp, and plenty of camaraderie.
The 1st CivDiv Warriors Foundation was founded to help Marine and Operation Iraqi Freedom Veterans transition to civilian life, navigate education and medical benefits, and aid in job search activities for the warriors who protected our freedoms. The camp, located 30 miles west of College Station, included military-style living accommodations and outdoor training areas in the peace and natural beauty of central Texas.
Veterans near and far were brought together in a small unit setting and given the opportunity to hone their rope skills, spend some time on the live fire range, and practice small-unit challenges among other activities. Aligning with the public charity’s mission to benefit veterans, all food and lodging were provided at no cost to participating veterans.
“What an amazing respect I have from watching them in “live” demonstrations and then taking us through the drills. We also had wonderful one-on-one conversations where we could better understand their activities and the challenges faced by veterans and returning warriors,” Bruce said.
At the conclusion of the retreat, representatives from employers, colleges, benefit providers, and other Veterans Service Organizations arrived to meet and interact with the veterans at the celebratory Warriors BBQ.
For more information about the 1st CivDiv Warrior Foundation, head over to their website. www.civdiv.org
Also, check them out on Facebook here -> facebook.com/1stcivdivwarriorsfoundation
Here are a few images to captured the scene at the inaugural 1st CivDiv Field Retreat.
