A dozen combat veterans stood Oct. 16 along the banks of the Chama River on Trout Stalkers Ranch near Chama. Fly rods in hand, some mid-cast, delivered the Frenchie and other flies to the trout below.
U.S. Marine Corp Sergeant (Ret.) Wes Dyer, of AWOL Angler, arranged the gathering as part of what’s known as “Veterans Outdoor Therapy.”
“We come from a hard-charging place,” Dyer said. “Every effort in combat is 120 percent. And then we transcend back to the civilian world. But we’re not civilians anymore. We’re veterans of war.”
He looked out across the Chama River toward the snow-peaked mountains.
“We’re veterans,” He repeated. “We’re veterans with our depression, our suicides. We lose direction and then we ask, ‘What do I do now?’”
The genesis of AWOL Angler spun out of that dilemma.
“I started the non-profit in 2018,” Dyer said. “Wanted to get my guys in a shinier light, spread comradery by doing something outside.”
He stopped and watched the unbent fly rods in the distance.
“It might be a little cold yet,” he said.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for post 9/11 veterans. Approximately 17 suicides occur among this group every day, according to the National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report.
Veterans aged 55 to 74 were the largest population subgroup. They accounted for 38 percent of veteran suicide deaths in 2019.
“It’s up to us to take care of us,” Dyer said. “Who would be better?”
All the veterans who come to AWOL Angler events attend for free.
“We had a nation-wide focus before COVID,” he said “(We) brought in vets from Alabama, Texas. But after COVID, we pretty much focus on New Mexican vets and almost all our fishing is up here in Northern New Mexico.”
Alone with
their thoughts
Stephen Daniel, a retired U.S. Army staff sergeant who deployed three tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, cast a blue fly into the air.
“Fly fishing gives me an opportunity to be alone with my thoughts,” Daniel said. “It’s a safe place to be alone with your thoughts. Sometimes being alone with your thoughts is not a good thing, but out here it’s OK.”
Bad thoughts can be displaced by fly-fishing.
“Our primary purpose is to teach them the art of fly fishing,” Dyer said. “But it’s more than that. Fly fishing is a difficult thing to do. It takes all your attention. Lots of things come together to get a fish to take a fly.”
Dyer believes there are three fundamental things to be happy: finding someone to love, finding something to do and having something to look forward to.
“We talk about new horizons—overlaying purpose to create something new, to embed their minds,” he said. “Fishing takes major space.”
Mike Lizzi, a retired Army combat engineer, now with two children, a wife and several businesses, including real estate sales and non-emergency ambulance transport, is also on the Board of AWOL Angler. He relaxed near the water’s edge.
“It’s a way to give back to my veteran family,” he said. “Fortunately, I found my spark after war. Now I’d like to inspire others.”
Jason Duncan, also on the Board and a sponsor, laughs at the incredibly beautiful landscape enhanced by the yellow glow of Aspen leaves.
“Trout don’t live in ugly places,” he said.
Dyer, who was caught in a 25-hour fire fight with the Taliban in an Afghanistan IED minefield, suffered spinal and skull fractures in 2009, when his truck hit a device.
He wrote a few years later, “I believe the greatest tragedy in existence, is to be offered the gift of life not only once but twice and not live to the very wildest of its potential.”
By mid-day fly rods were bending. The trout were warming up.
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