Though thousands of miles away from each other, the deserts of Afghanistan and the deserts of Northern New Mexico are strikingly similar. Containing dry, mountainous landscapes, irrigation ditches, and agricultural economies, it seemed the perfect place for schoolchildren to teach organic farming techniques to National Guardsmen.
The members of Oklahoma’s 2nd 45th Agricultural Development Team (a division of the Guard), were trained by students from Pojoaque, New Mexico’s Camino de Paz Montessori school in the art of beekeeping and goat-milking, Tikkun Magazine reports.
The members of the unit were training under the auspices of New Mexico’s Permaculture Institute, preparing for deployment to Afghanistan in the Fall of 2010. Their mission: to revitalize that country’s much-diminished agricultural infrastructure.
This is only one of many recent examples of the links between the U.S. military and efforts to revitalize agricultural inside and outside of the U.S.
While some troops prepare to assist agriculture overseas, more and more U.S. combat troops are returning home to an increasingly fragile job market. However, the agricultural sector, in which half of all farmers are expected to retire in the next ten years according to The New York Times, is attempting to fill an increasing demand for young blood with returning veterans.
“There is a tremendous need for young farmers, and a big wave of young people inspired to go into the service who are coming home” said Michael O’Gorman, founder of the nonprofit Farmer-Veteran coalition, to The New York Times.
At Archi’s Acres in Valley Center, California training in organic avocado farming techniques overlaps with classes in Business for interested veterans.
Teaching sustainable practices including hydroponics, the former Marine and founder of Archi’s Acres, Colin Archipley, began informally training veterans after buying his Valley Center farm in 2007. Working together with his wife, they benefited from the farm’s proximity to the Camp Pendleton Marine Base, just north of San Diego.
Since then they have began administering classes through the Veterans Sustainable Agricultural Training VSAT program at MiraCosta College. The program runs at $4,500 to Camp Pendleton provides assistance to veterans from the base seeking training there.
“What the farm offers veterans is decompression from the trauma of war,” said Archipley to San Diego’s East County Magazine.
According to The New York Times, while only 17 percent of America’s population is classified as rural, 45 percent of returning Army veterans are classified as such. This means that many returning soldiers enrolling in VSAT and similar programs come in with previous farming experience, while also being exposed to new agricultural methods.
The hydroponic techniques used at Archi’s Acres means that crops are grown in soil-less mediums rather than in soil itself. In addition to being more energy-efficient, Hydroponic methods eliminate 90 percent of contaminates by using alternatives to soil.
“We’re able to water several thousand plants off just five gallons of water,” said Archipley of the technique’s efficiency to East County magazine. “This greenhouse alone uses about as much water as two avocado trees, but it produces several times as much income”
While the program operations have not been entirely smooth, the majority of veterans working at the farm have been positive about their experiences.
“Archi’s Acres has given me a lot of peace of mind. Working with other vets is very peaceful,” said former Navy Lieutenant Olaf Hansen to East County Magazine. “I don’t have to watch every word — and I don’t have to dress up, plus I’m learning a lot about organic gardening”
Many returning veterans expressed optimism about the ability of programs such as those at Archi’s Acres to ease the return into civilian life.
“One thing I’ve noticed about agriculture is that you become a creator rather than a destroyer,” said former Marine Mike Hanes to The New York Times. Hanes has suffered from PTSD and was left homeless for a year after returning from a tour in Iraq before coming to Archi’s Acres.
The efforts of organic farm training have not only helped integrate returning veterans into civilian life, but also aided in connecting military personnel with their surrounding communities.
“We went to the website of this unit (Oklahoma 2nd 45th) and looked at their goals and found that we have some things in common: teamwork, responsibility, discipline, and helping each other make a difference” said Pat Pantano, executive director of the Camino De Paz school of the student-soldier relationship promoted by the permaculture program.
With sustainable agricultural practices increasingly important in a world of limited resources, soldiers and veterans to pave the way for progressive farming.
“For a comparable age, you won’t find people who have had as much responsibility,” said John Maki, transition assistance specialist at Archi’s Acres to The New York Times.
“They’ve been tasked with making life-and-death decisions, already.”