Veterans' Denali Summit Attempt
Donation protected
I am Demond Mullins, PhD, a combat veteran, activist, climber, and sociology professor. I grew up in the Coney Island and Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhoods of Brooklyn, New York. In 2001 I began serving in the New York Army National Guard. In September of that year I was completing basic training as an armor crewman in Kentucky when the World Trade Center attacks transpired. I returned to NYC shortly afterward and was activated in support of the increased security measures taken after the attacks. In 2004 my unit, the 101st Cavalry, was retrained as infantry, attached to the 1st Cavalry, and deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During my tour in Iraq I ran combat operations in and around Baghdad. Although we were hit hard at various points during this tour, you might say, we experienced the worst of it during our support of the Fallujah cordon and the first U.S.-sponsored Iraqi elections.
When I returned home in late 2005, I began to have some difficulty adjusting to civilian life. These difficulties strained many of my personal relationships and, in retrospect, I believe I dealt with that stress by devoting myself to work. I completed a baccalaureate degree a year after returning home and became an activist during that time. I committed myself to ending the occupation of Iraq and supporting other returning veterans as I began serving as a national spokesman and lobbyist for Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). These activities landed me an offer to serve on then-Senator Obama's Veteran's Affairs team on Capitol Hill (2007). I worked as a staffer for approximately four months before being admitted to the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where I attained my PhD in sociology (2013).
I remained active in the veteran's community while I was in graduate school, although I had already resigned from IVAW due to differences concerning ideology, tactics, and agendas. In 2009 I had been serving on the board of directors of Veterans Green Jobs (VGJ), a Colorado-based not-for-profit, training and placing veterans in green technology jobs. The summer of that year I was invited to climb my first mountain, Grey's Peak--a 14'er, with Stacy Bare, VGJ's then-Director of Operations and soon-to-be co-founder of Veterans Expeditions (Vet Ex). The experience was exhilarating and I had not endured a physical challenge of that degree since I had left military service. I loved it!
Once Nick Watson and Stacy Bare started Vet Ex I participated in as many trips as I could each year. Since its inception, I've climbed several 14'ers with Vet Ex and I've cultivated a love of rock and ice climbing, as well as mountaineering. In the past five years I have clocked many hours climbing rock and ice with Vet Ex and several veterans and professional climbers I've met through the Vet Ex network. Some of my favorite climbing pastimes with Vet Ex have been days spent multi-pitch ice climbing with Conrad Ancker in Hyalite Canyon. Through Vet Ex I had the opportunity to meet Conrad and this year will be the third year in a row that I'll have the pleasure to ice climb with him.
Had it not been for Vet Ex I would never have discovered my love for outdoor sporting, nor the tranquility and focus that it lends me throughout the year. As you might imagine, for someone from my background these are, perhaps, the most uncommon of hobbies. I am deeply grateful to Vet Ex for the opportunity.
As a result of my gratitude, I have undertook a study of Vet Ex's manner of facilitating community outdoor recreation for veterans. The study is largely qualitative and exploratory at the moment. I intend to use the data from this pilot study to inform the creation of a larger, funded, mixed methods project investigating the benefits veterans garner from outdoor community recreation with other veterans. Our Denali (Mt. McKinley) summit attempt is the focal point of the current pilot study. Because we will begin this expedition in May, we have spent the last year training, practicing our mountaineering skills, enduring physical conditioning in preparation.
Your donation will help me afford the gear necessary to participate in the Denali expedition. For me this challenge is as spiritual as it is physical. And due to my research it will mark a huge professional step as well. As an activist and civic-minded individual I am also a giver, so I do not take asking lightly. I hope you will support me in this endeavor. And most importantly, I hope that my research will enable Vet Ex to attain the support necessary to give other veterans the outlet it has given me.
When I returned home in late 2005, I began to have some difficulty adjusting to civilian life. These difficulties strained many of my personal relationships and, in retrospect, I believe I dealt with that stress by devoting myself to work. I completed a baccalaureate degree a year after returning home and became an activist during that time. I committed myself to ending the occupation of Iraq and supporting other returning veterans as I began serving as a national spokesman and lobbyist for Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). These activities landed me an offer to serve on then-Senator Obama's Veteran's Affairs team on Capitol Hill (2007). I worked as a staffer for approximately four months before being admitted to the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where I attained my PhD in sociology (2013).
I remained active in the veteran's community while I was in graduate school, although I had already resigned from IVAW due to differences concerning ideology, tactics, and agendas. In 2009 I had been serving on the board of directors of Veterans Green Jobs (VGJ), a Colorado-based not-for-profit, training and placing veterans in green technology jobs. The summer of that year I was invited to climb my first mountain, Grey's Peak--a 14'er, with Stacy Bare, VGJ's then-Director of Operations and soon-to-be co-founder of Veterans Expeditions (Vet Ex). The experience was exhilarating and I had not endured a physical challenge of that degree since I had left military service. I loved it!
Once Nick Watson and Stacy Bare started Vet Ex I participated in as many trips as I could each year. Since its inception, I've climbed several 14'ers with Vet Ex and I've cultivated a love of rock and ice climbing, as well as mountaineering. In the past five years I have clocked many hours climbing rock and ice with Vet Ex and several veterans and professional climbers I've met through the Vet Ex network. Some of my favorite climbing pastimes with Vet Ex have been days spent multi-pitch ice climbing with Conrad Ancker in Hyalite Canyon. Through Vet Ex I had the opportunity to meet Conrad and this year will be the third year in a row that I'll have the pleasure to ice climb with him.
Had it not been for Vet Ex I would never have discovered my love for outdoor sporting, nor the tranquility and focus that it lends me throughout the year. As you might imagine, for someone from my background these are, perhaps, the most uncommon of hobbies. I am deeply grateful to Vet Ex for the opportunity.
As a result of my gratitude, I have undertook a study of Vet Ex's manner of facilitating community outdoor recreation for veterans. The study is largely qualitative and exploratory at the moment. I intend to use the data from this pilot study to inform the creation of a larger, funded, mixed methods project investigating the benefits veterans garner from outdoor community recreation with other veterans. Our Denali (Mt. McKinley) summit attempt is the focal point of the current pilot study. Because we will begin this expedition in May, we have spent the last year training, practicing our mountaineering skills, enduring physical conditioning in preparation.
Your donation will help me afford the gear necessary to participate in the Denali expedition. For me this challenge is as spiritual as it is physical. And due to my research it will mark a huge professional step as well. As an activist and civic-minded individual I am also a giver, so I do not take asking lightly. I hope you will support me in this endeavor. And most importantly, I hope that my research will enable Vet Ex to attain the support necessary to give other veterans the outlet it has given me.
Organizer
Demond Terrell
Organizer
Pittsburgh, PA