The Department of Defense sponsors military extension adventure camps all over the nation through a grant project and partnership with Purdue University.

Purdue subsequently hands down sub-grants to other universities across the nation to help with implementation of the camps.

The state of Kentucky camps are managed by the University of Kentucky’s Family and Consumer Sciences Extension and run by the Life Adventure Center out of Versailles, Ky., in Woodford County.

“With the leadership of Kerri Ashurst and the University of Kentucky, we proposed to receive a portion of the grant and we got it,” said Lauren Smith, military-extension adventure camp project coordinator. “Our grant project is a little bit different, however, as not only are our camps high-adventure for teenagers, but also for their service member parent, too.”

Smith said the goal of her team is to try and incorporate more of the Family in the camps.

“Just one parent is all we’re trying to bring into the camp,” she added. “Service members who have been deployed at least one time have priority.”

Smith stated that if a particular camp doesn’t fill up, non-deployed service member parents can then be eligible.

“We’ve actually extended this opportunity to the spouses of the service member, as well,” said Smith. “If the service member can’t make it for a particular reason, then their spouse can come in their place.”

Smith said her team gets quite a bit of feedback from the Families attending the camps.

“A lot of them have expressed to us how fun this opportunity is for them,” Smith noted. “The fact that the camps are free of charge makes a huge difference because some of these parents wouldn’t be able to afford trips of this magnitude outright.”

Smith admitted she didn’t know what one of the camps might cost individually, but she said overall, they cost thousands of dollars to put together.

“We pay for everything from lodging to food and gear,” she added. “We put everything together.”

Smith said the camps are all high adventure and sometimes offer the unexpected.

“On our last trip to Big South Fork, we had to portage our canoes due to an unexpected rapid,” she added. “However, this particular group was so gung-ho, they never complained and were so team-oriented. It made for a very positive and amazing experience.”

Smith said the upcoming camps will deal with how to survive in the wilderness, a challenge course and corn maze, backpacking and a paddle trip and finally a cold weather camping trip in December.

“There are several scenarios where we’ll be practicing wilderness survival skills at the next camp,” Smith said. “We’ll be learning how to build shelters, catch and cook our own food and how to stay comfortable and dry in that environment.”

Smith made it clear that the team would have backup if they didn’t catch enough food, however.

“After the survival camp, we’ll have our challenge course and corn maze trip that will actually take place on the grounds of Life Adventure Center, at their educational facility,” she said. “There is a rope course there and a lot of people get excited about the zip line and the rock wall.”

Smith added that the corn maze at Life Adventure Center is the largest in Kentucky.

“The Backpack and Green River Paddle Camp will be a combination of teaching the basics on backpacking and paddling,” Smith noted. “You know, how to wear and stuff your backpack, how to set up camp, how to cook in the back country and the like.”

Smith said the Life Adventure Center team is so good that they can cook pretty much anything in the wilderness that can be cooked at home.

“We’ve made pizzas, pancakes, hash browns all from scratch,” she said.

“Our last camp this year will be our Cold Weather Camping trip and we’ll be teaching our participants how to feel more comfortable in cold weather,” added Smith. “This camp is tied into our survival camp, but instead of learning to fend for yourself or not having enough, it’s more about how to stay comfortable when the conditions are cold and even snowy.”

All the University of Kentucky military extension camps are led by Life Adventure Center’s Wilderness Living Operations Manager, Byron Marlowe.

“I’m a veteran, so the military extension camps are kind of near and dear to my heart,” said Marlowe, who spent one tour in Iraq with the 149th Infantry Regiment, Kentucky National Guard. “I know what the military Family goes through, and that’s why we focus these camps on rekindling the relationship between child and parent.”

Marlowe said the camps are created to present an environment where the parent and child can bond, feel safe with one another and feel open enough to share their feelings.

“We provide them with the tools to accomplish those goals,” said Marlowe.

Marlowe said the military extension camps do require a little more planning and attention to detail than normal.

“For a typical camp, I will plan from start to finish, but on the military extension camp, we work side by side with the University of Kentucky’s Family and Consumer Sciences Extension,” he said. “We build a curriculum plan, have meetings and we try to have a theme and stick with it.”

Marlowe said the Families in the military extension camps may not realize they are team building and communicating while they’re paddling all day in a canoe, but once they set up for the night and start to do some activities, it brings that fact to light.

“What makes these camps so rewarding is the chance to give back,” Marlowe added. “To see the development between the kids and their parent, the smiles on the kids’ faces and to hear a Dad tell me this is the best quality time he’s ever had with his daughter in over three years … that is the reward for me.”

The White Water Rafting trip, the first one of the year, proved to be just what Lt. Col. Andre Dean, U.S. Army Accession Command, Fort Knox, Ky., and his son, Andre Dean II, needed to make up for lost time.

“This was a chance to give us time back with our children after deployment,” said Dean. “I was able to attend with my 15-year-old son and anytime you get one-on-one time with your child, it’s a good thing.

“All of our kids know they are loved and my son and I are very close, but this type of opportunity never presented itself before,” he added.

Dean lauded the efforts of the University of Kentucky and Life Adventure Center for the camp and the opportunity.

“We went tree-topping [zip line], horseback riding, navigated mud obstacle courses and went white water rafting in West Virginia,” said Dean. “It was high-adventure, high-energy, and we both liked that a lot.”

Dean added he thought the camp was exceptional and his son thought the camps were “cool.”

“We were able to build priceless memories together and that’s hard to beat,” he said.