After spending nearly his entire adult life in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, Shawn Daniel of Little Rock established an organization with his parents to help his brothers in arms heal.
Daniel, a retired U.S. Army colonel and a 1987 graduate of Little Rock Catholic High School, commanded the Ranger company that began the United States's War on Terror in southern Afghanistan in 2001. He was one of the first 200 paratroopers to see combat, starting with a wild night action to open the war that started with an 800-foot leap from a MC-130. He served a total of seven tours in Afghanistan from 2001-16, and one tour in Iraq in 2005-06.
The cumulative stress of combat and the time away from his family imposed a profound mental and emotional burden on Daniel that only other special operators can comprehend.
"I've asked a lot of my family, moving them around, leaving our kids for year at a time, saddling my wife with all the responsibility of running the house and raising our kids. I've lost a lot of friends along the way. I've done a lot of horrible, horrible things to other human beings, and I struggled to reconcile that with what I learned in Sunday school as a kid."
Daniel found some peace in hunting, especially duck hunting, and he realized that hunting could be the foundation of a strong support community for combat veterans with shared experiences.
Daniel, along with his father retired Brigadier General Jim Daniel and mother, Julia Ann Daniel, formed Darby's Warriors Support, a 501(c)(3) organization named after Gen. William O. Darby, a Fort Smith native who founded the modern day Rangers. The idea germinated in 1999, when Daniel, then a captain, was assigned to the 3rd Ranger Battalion at Fort Benning, Ga.
"I loved to duck hunt," Daniel said. "I found some wood ducks on beaver ponds. It was perfect. They fly the first 30 minutes of legal shooting time, and I could kill a limit of three and be home before my kids were out of bed."
Daniel said he shared his discoveries with some fellow officers and senior non-commissioned officers.
"I kept telling them we've got to go to Arkansas," Daniel said. "They do duck hunting right in Arkansas."
In January 2002, after returning from his first combat deployment in Afghanistan, Daniel said that he and five buddies made a four-day duck hunting trip to Arkansas.
"We killed 17 ducks," Daniel said. "The boys had an absolute blast, but I was thinking, 17 ducks in four days is terrible! We have to go back next year and do it again."
That began a tradition, but after a few years, Daniel perceived a revelation.
"After the fifth year, I realized this isn't about how many ducks we can kill in a weekend," Daniel said. "This is about seeing friends, men I'd shared some really hard days with and making sure everybody's OK. People let their guards down, and you really see what's going on inside. We decided we need to start sharing the experience with other people because this war didn't seem to be coming to a close anytime soon."
By 2007, Daniel was staging hunts for 24-30 soldiers out of his parents' house. Now, it's up to 150-200 soldiers. They operate from two lodges, and the activities now include deer hunting, turkey hunting, goose hunting, and fishing.
Running Darby's Warrior Support has also become a full-time vocation, and Daniel needs help. Mostly, he said he needs all the things a group normally needs for an extended hunt. They need hunting attire and shotgun shells. They could even use a few extra places to hunt. Mostly, they need food.
"These boys put away a lot of food, especially bacon and sausage," Daniel said.
About 98% of the participants are special operations force veterans from all branches of the armed services. Special operations forces are a unique culture within the military, Daniel said, and the relationships are based on trust and understanding.
"Special ops guys are accustomed to and capable of operating under big boy rules," Daniel said. "If I bring them to our lodge or send them to guest lodge, they're going to be good ambassadors for the military. It's not that others wouldn't, but I'm confident any outsider would be amazed at the quality of men and women we have in uniform -- fighting our nation's wars."
It's a safe environment where hardened combat veterans can expose their humanity.
"I'm amazed at how many of them open up," Daniel said. "They're just looking for the right environment to be vulnerable. They have carried an awful lot over the last 20 years."
For more information about the organization, go online to darbyswarriorsupport.org.