Two Old Ducks and a New Guy
Team Two Old Ducks and a New Guy...
SOCM Al Veasey is a 30 year veteran of SEAL Team. Al graduated from class 125. Al retired as the Senior Enlisted Advisor at SEAL Team 6
Kag Cagnoni graduated from class 129. Kag is currently the Commanding Officer of NRU SEAL Team 18.
Josh Benton is a class 277 graduate and is currently assigned to a West coast SEAL Team. Josh is on his training cycle and will complete the swim with his Teammates cheering him to the finish line.
This SEAL Team has been paired with the EIP Program at the Ladd Farm in Bridgewater, NH. Equine Immersion Programs (EIP) is a mobile therapeutic program for veterans struggling with the Invisible Wounds of War. EIP's team travels to horse farms across the nation to provide 1-Day, 2- Day and weekend retreats where they facilitate services focusing on Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Military Sexual Trauma, Grief, Moral Injury, Family Discord and other service related issues. Equine assisted activities and therapies include horseback riding, trail hikes, therapeutic carriage driving, groundwork and horse/human energy sessions.
Equine Immersion Programs have allowed veterans and their supports to start believing life can be better. Powerful moments occur during the program, which offer hope to those who feel the weight of service to our country. In the 600 plus veterans who have participated over the last several years, no one has left unchanged. As the numbers of veterans in need of care grows, EIP knows that seeking alternatives to traditional therapy is key to meeting the needs of the whole person. The EIP model provides a community aspect that many veterans say they miss since their military service ended.
Research supports Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies as a complimentary alternative to traditional treatment for service related injuries- physical, emotional, social and spiritual. The EIP model of full day immersion is innovative providing important social aspects and bonding that many veterans and family members seek after service.
EIP is honored to serve those who have served all branches; all eras, all family members, all support persons and all care givers. All programming is provided at no charge to the veteran and supporters. The compassionate and professional staff are trained, certified and licensed to facilitate with tremendous experience and understanding of issues including Post-Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Depression, Anxiety, Family Discord, Addiction, Military Sexual Trauma, Suicide, Moral Injury and Loneliness. Equine Immersion Programs continue to proudly serve those who have sacrificed so much in service to our country.
All money raised by this team will go to the EIP Program.
Swim With A Mission
The 4th Annual Swim With A Mission, an Open Water Swim Race and Festival was scheduled for Saturday, July 11th at Wellington State Park in Bristol NH. Unfortunately due to COVID-19 we have shifted our event to a Virtual Event. We would much rather have our live event and are disappointed about the change but we know that it is necessary at this point. Even in these tough times, we hope you will help us stay true to our mission to raise money to help Veterans and inspire others to help.
Virtual Events are open to everyone and will take place from July 1-31. Participants can choose to swim (1K, 5K or 10K), paddle (1K, 5K or 10K) or take on the SEAL Team NH Challenge. All participants are encouraged to raise funds that will go to our Veterans who need our help more than ever. Swimmers can also choose to swim more than once during the month of July and they will be able to record distances and times. Go to www.swimwithamission.org for more details.
Swimming With A Mission Inc.
Since our formation in 2017, we have donated over $8 million to honor and support local, regional and national veteran support organizations that provide critical services to our Veterans. These include supporting Veteran organizations that provide housing, take care of our homeless, support day to day services, provide service and support K-9’s, scholarships, jobs, create equine immersion programs and support art programs. Please explore www.swam.org to get more details about how you can get involved with us and our mission.