Jeremy Cook, a 37-year-old Army veteran, doesn’t leave his home in Columbus, Georgia much now. He served in the Army from 2003 through 2015, and was sent on multiple deployments with the 75th Rangers to both Iraq and Afghanistan.

While serving his country, he suffered an injury that would affect him for the rest of his life.

“The primary injury for me was a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) from multiple head traumas” Cook said. “It causes severe losses of short-term memory, focus issues and it causes enough issues in my life to make it difficult for me to even get out of the house on a regular basis.”

His symptoms turn simple tasks into arduous burdens, and makes leaving his home a risk.

“I can go to the grocery store and forget where I’m going and why,” he said. “Just basic stuff that I used to take for granted.”

TBI can be stressful and frustrating, but Cook found an outlet in hunting when he was selected for a Wounded Warrior hunt two years ago. Through hunting, he found a way to find peace and relax outside of his home.

“Since then, I’ve been hooked on hunting,” he said. “It provided me a way out of the house. I get to be around other veterans and it’s always in a peaceful environment. You get to be out in the woods in nature and enjoy harvesting something.”

That first hunting experience led Cook to keep an eye out on similar opportunities, which is how he found out about the Delta Waterfowl Riverbend chapter’s “Hero’s Hunt.”

The Delta Waterfowl Foundation is a national conservation organization working to secure the future of waterfowl in in North America, and Riverbend is Selma’s local chapter.

The Riverbend group raises money for the national organization, which then feeds back into the community to support conservation projects.

This year, regional director Cooper Huff pitched the idea for a dove hunt for wounded veterans.

“As soon as he said to put on a possible hunt for wounded veterans, we all said that’s what we wanted to do,” Riverbend chapter president Tripp Bowie said. “It was an easy choice for us, and we started planning it around January.”

Bowie and the Riverbend chapter committee reached out to Iron Horse Farms, a ranch in Marion that offers wildlife retreats to “support the healing process for veterans returning home to civilian life after having suffered physical and or mental trauma,” through St. Michael’s Iron Horse Charities.

Once the arrangements were made, veterans from across the southeast quickly signed up to take advantage of the free trip. After spending the night at Iron Horse Farms, where the Riverbend Chapter provided a catered Hancocks Barbeque dinner, Cook and the other 19 veterans packed their gear and went to an accessible field in Tasso for the dove hunt.

It was hot, but relaxing for the veterans. The combination of seasoned and rookie hunters didn’t bring in the biggest harvest, but it was the experience of the trip that stuck with them. Not only did they feel appreciated, but it provided them with an opportunity to bond with fellow veterans around something other than their service time.

“Everything about it is really beneficial to my mental and emotional health,” Cook said. “It’s weird how you can come from several different branches and entirely different cultural backgrounds, but just the fact of being a veteran immediately ties you together.

“It’s really cool to get together with the other veterans in the hunting experience because then the conversation centers around hunting and being present in the moment, as opposed to the war stories and talking about the past,” he said. “It has its place, but sometimes it’s cool to just be in the moment and find common ground other than the fact that we all deployed or served. A lot of the guys there were like me. A lot of them are disabled where they can’t regularly get out of the house, so something like that gives them their first social experience they’ve had in several months.”

The hunting trip had several benefits for the veterans. Whether it was a therapeutic trip, like it was for Cook, or a bonding trip for the group. Each veteran left Iron Horse Farms with a new experience, new acquaintances and a story to take back home.

Cook recalled one of his fellow veterans stripped down and hunted in his underwear because it was so hot. An unusual, yet comedic relief that highlighted the relaxed atmosphere that enjoying the outdoors can provide.

A few members of the Riverbend chapter joined the veterans on their hunt and assisted them with whatever they needed, according to Bowie. The “Hero’s Hunt” was about the veterans and the Riverbend chapter simply wanted them to know that they were appreciated.

“We really were excited about doing this event because it was a way that we could give back and we could actually show the veterans that we do care and that their service matters to us,” Bowie said.

“All of the veterans that I talked to were extremely appreciative,” Riverbend chapter committee member Chris Griffin said. “They had the opportunity to come somewhere new and hunt. Even though no one killed a lot of birds, they were thankful just to get away and do that. You could tell that they really appreciated being acknowledged.”

Whether the Riverbend chapter knew it or not, they gave the veterans much more than just their thanks.

It’s so much more than that,” Cook said. “Yes, it’s a hunting experience and all that, but after one afternoon we walk away with each other’s phone numbers and Facebook so we can become friends and we all will stay in touch and hunt together more.”

“It’s great to be recognized, especially after you’ve served and been out for a while. It’s good to get that recognition still, but whether people who put things on know or not, it is a very therapeutic environment for veterans and a social environment for veterans who wouldn’t otherwise get out of the house. It means more to me on the therapeutic side and the benefit I can see it has on my veteran buddies.”

The Riverbend Chapter’s sponsors assisted them with making the hunt possible. The group raises money at its annual banquet, which will be held again this fall on Thursday, Nov. 8 at the Carl C. Morgan Convention Center.