1st LAR, July 21st-25th: Two Rivers Lodge, Nye, Montna

Our first July retreat brought together six officers who served under Will Costantini in the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, the first unit to cross the berm into Iraq in 2003. They would later return to Al Anbar Province in 2004. Four retired as full-bird colonels, and each carried multiple combat tours.

Infantry officers rarely come up in conversation when talking about post-9/11 veterans. People assume officers are better off than their enlisted counterparts -afterservice. That may have some validity, as many have built stable second careers. But that doesn't mean they’re immune to the instances that get in the way of having a stable life. As captains, majors, and lieutenant colonels, they turned orders into missions and sent their Marines to carry them out, knowing not all of them would come home. They carry the same weight as their men, often times hiding it for longer than enlisted.

What set this group apart was their humor. More than two decades after leading the way into Iraq, they spent the week catching big fish on the Stillwater River, standing together at the Little Bighorn Battlefield, and giving each other a hard time like no time had passed. These men already understood something we believe at Bar X: self-discipline is self-love.

Every Bar X retreat pairs guided fly-fishing with time to experience Montana’s land and history on your own terms. This crew made the most of both.