"When you get home, you're lost in the civilian world"

Iraq War veteran aims to leave no Utah veteran behind 
KSL.com
Jed Boal
January 2, 2015

"In the military, you had a purpose," he said. "In war you have a purpose. When you get home, you're lost in the civilian world."

PARK CITY — A Utah veteran who served in Iraq continues to fight for his fellow veterans. Retired Marine Sergeant Josh Hansen came home with serious physical and emotional scars of war, but found hope and healing through exercise.

"By forcing myself to do it and getting out, I started feeling better," Hansen said, while enjoying a cross-country skiing workout at the White Pine Nordic Center in Park City.

In battle, Hansen lost six of his men in combat. Back at home, four more took their own lives. Now, he's on a mission to leave no veteran behind.

"After I had a few of my fellow veterans take their own lives, I said, 'OK, I led guys in the war, it's time to lead them here at home,'" he said.

So he and Laura Cantin, an adaptive sports specialist, founded Continue Mission "No Veteran Left Behind" with the objective to integrate the veterans back into civilian life to "get the vets out of the house, and get them into activities," Hansen said.

The co-founders know the healing power of rigorous exercise like cross-country skiing.

"We have a passion for what we do, and we want to share that," said Cantin. "We don't want our veterans to be stuck at home and not enjoy the camaraderie that they did in the service."

In Iraq, Hansen hunted for improvised explosive devices in support of the 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Expeditionary Forces in and around Fallujah. During his second tour, his vehicle sustained eight direct hits by IEDs, which caused multiple injuries over a seven-month period before he was flown out of Iraq on March 15, 2007.
read more here