Veterans Journey Home: Leaving it on the Land by Warrior Films

Veteran Rites invites you to step off on a journey as old as humanity itself. From Co-Founder and Army Combat Veteran Mark Oravsky…

Upon leaving military service, many of us are caught at a threshold, no longer a Service Member and yet not a Civilian. We are unable to fully “return”, or reintegrate into our communities. The lack of shared experience separating “us” and “them”, stands as a seemingly insurmountable abyss. This chasm between the close bonds and brotherhood we experienced as soldiers and the lonely alienation we experience as civilians can feel impossibly wide. We know the statistics.

We feel it in our bones and many of us have walked the cliff edge between suicide and one more day. For centuries, civilizations and communities across the globe have utilized ceremonial rites of passage to welcome returning warriors home from battle. In most cases, elders who had been to war met combatants outside the village. They understood that to re-enter the village too soon, without a proper rite of return or cleansing ceremony could be harmful to both the warrior and the community.

These elders also understood that once cleansed from battle or service, each warrior carries insight and wisdom from their experiences which are invaluable to the long term survival and sustainability of their community.

Fellow Veterans, it is time to reclaim our Whole Selves. The Warrior,The Veteran, and the member of community.

It is time to re-establish who we are in this world after military service. The Veterans Rite of Return serves as an initiation for veterans who are looking for a way to reconnect with themselves, their place in the world and in their communities.

The roots of the Rite of Return are pan-cultural, and offer a model of human development that acknowledges the changes and transitions inherent in being alive. It marks an individual's passage from one stage of their life to the next.

Learning to Fly After MST, USAF Veteran Felicia Dihel

Our Veterans Rite of Return is a guided ceremony that is not based in any religion or dogma. It relies on each individual’s background, creativity, culture, and unique perspective to "self-generate" a ceremony that is meaningful for their life circumstance and a successful return home.

The ceremony is held in a wilderness setting with trained veteran and non-veteran guides. Participants experience time in community with other vets, four days of solo time, fasting in the wilderness, and a marked return where their stories are shared and witnessed in a“council of elders”. This return marks the beginning of a veteran’s process of incorporating that which they have gained and learned during their time in service and explored in the context of time alone in the wilderness, so they may bring their gifts home, able to participate more fully, in service of their families and their community.

War Mode to Wholeness, OIF Veteran Mitchell Brookman

The Veterans Rite of Return is a unique opportunity for the military family seeking long term solutions to PTS, Moral Injury, Military Sexual Trauma, Compassion Fatigue, and Suicidal Ideation.

Answer the call for deep healing in the wilderness, separated from society, in solidarity and solitude, to cross the line to your true self.

Eligibility

The Rite of Return is available to Current and Prior Military Service Members, Spouses, Partners, Gold Star (18+), and Dependent Survivors of Veteran Suicide. Veteran Rites will work with every warrior called to the land to fully prepare physically, mentally, and spiritually for their Rite of Return journey and address unique barriers and conditions that may prevent participation.

COVID-19

Veteran Rites has adopted enhanced safety protocols and practices to prevent and mitigate transmission of the coronavirus among participants, our loved ones, and communities before, during, and after the ceremony.

CLAIM YOUR SEAT AND STEP INTO A NEW STORY

Rite of Return Ceremonies are limited to 8 participants from the military family. Cross the line and claim your seat!