Bryon Gustafson

Now you go, now you go.

A lot of that stuff just happens kind of organically where being in the back country is,

for lack of a better term, just magical.

When you're back there for three to four days and you're decompressing, you don't have your cell phone, but now you're actually getting to, you actually hear things that you weren't hearing day one, day two, like you're thinking things that you weren't.

I always say that it's similar to being on a boat and falling out into the water.

When you're in the back country, you can't help but be immersed like you would be in the water from the boat that you fall out of.

It's just...

you're back into a frequency of light, energy, and sound that does something to your brain.

And so when folks start opening up and sharing stories, making fun of each other and the first sergeants, petty officers,

Of which tons of laughter actually happens, you know, like the amount of endorphins that are released just because folks laugh in a way that I would say that that's actually probably the most prominent and profound thing that I've experienced on all of these trips.

And I didn't anticipate it from day one.

It was just do hard shit and suffer and all this shit.

But the reality is, is from that comes laughter and joy.

when your brain has kind of been soaked in that for a couple days and you've got some team leaders who are willing to share and be vulnerable, people open up and stories come out or feelings come out or discussions happen.

And so being able to make sure that we cap that off, number one, with something ceremonial that we're pretty good at in the military, we're good at doing that, but then also get done with the trip, send them on their way, goodbyes happen.

follow up is something that we are working on getting better at because it is something very important.

But one of the neat things that we see frequently is that

The groups, the teams that come together, the trips will have a little chat thread or messenger thread.

And they all stay in contact with one another and end up having friendships and kind of continuing on.

And so making sure that we're communicating still.