Community · Valley-wide
Marine Corps veteran Adam Bautz built a Valley of Fire tour business after struggling with PTSD, KTNV reports
A Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq told KTNV about his struggle with PTSD. The station reported that a Semper Fi & America's Fund apprenticeship led to his Valley of Fire tour company.
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What happened
Marine Corps veteran Adam Bautz told KTNV Channel 13 how he went from military service and a long struggle with post-traumatic stress to running his own tour company. Bautz served four years in the Marine Corps. His business, Outdoor Travel Tours, now takes locals and tourists into Valley of Fire State Park.
According to the station, the business is almost 10 years old and Bautz works as its guide. KTNV reported that the company grew out of an apprenticeship program run by a veterans nonprofit.
Service in Iraq and coming home
Deployment
Bautz told KTNV he was "like the third batch of Marines going into Iraq." He made it home, but according to the station, many of the Marines he served alongside did not.
Returning during the recession
Bautz came home in 2008, in the middle of the recession, KTNV reported. He told the station he returned with wounds that other people could not see. He said he believes many veterans with those kinds of wounds keep them to themselves, as he tried to do for a long time.
He described living with PTSD and feeling lonely. "I certainly went into a dark place," Bautz told KTNV.
How a veterans nonprofit helped
A tip from a fellow veteran
In 2013, another veteran told Bautz about Semper Fi & America's Fund, according to KTNV. The station described the nonprofit as helping people who served make the transition back to civilian life by offering resources and outlets to heal.
Bautz described the camaraderie he felt with other veterans while taking part in adventures and activities through the fund. Other local coverage has followed similar efforts, including a Las Vegas veteran paired with a service dog through Liberty Dogs.
The apprenticeship turning point
KTNV reported that the real turning point in his healing came when Bautz joined the fund's apprenticeship program. According to the station, the result was Outdoor Travel Tours, the business that is now almost 10 years old.
Valley of Fire as a refuge
Bautz told KTNV that Valley of Fire State Park has become his place of refuge and his therapy. He said the work lets him share that therapy with people from around the world. He said it also lets him "help people reconnect with nature."
He described turning his traumas into fuel to live a good life. The station noted that his trauma will always remain, but that his healing continues with each tour he leads.
His advice to other veterans
Bautz had a simple message for veterans who are struggling and unsure what to do. "Face your traumas, learn to accept them into your life. Learn how to live with them," he told KTNV. He said doing that allows a person to go on to be a happy, healthy version of themselves.
What to watch next
- Outdoor Travel Tours, which KTNV described as almost 10 years old, continues to guide locals and tourists through Valley of Fire State Park, with Bautz as the guide.
- Semper Fi & America's Fund helps people who served transition back to civilian life with resources and outlets to heal, and runs the apprenticeship program Bautz joined, according to KTNV.
- KTNV reported that Bautz's healing continues with each tour he leads.
