‘I Felt Free’: How This Air Force Hero Is Saving Veterans’ Lives in the Most Healing Way
The retired Air Force lieutenant colonel found a powerful new way to help veterans and families heal
Key Takeaways
- Air Force vet Christine Hill shattered barriers before starting her next healing mission.
- Non-profit Heroes on the Water uses therapeutic kayak fishing to battle veteran PTSD.
- Traumatized heroes and first responders report massive boosts in mental wellness.
After retiring from a distinguished 20-year Air Force career, Christine Hill saw firsthand how many military members and first responders struggled with trauma and PTSD. Now she leads an organization that helps our country’s heroes find peace and purpose through the great outdoors. Here, she shares her story with Woman’s World.
For Christine Hill, a life of service didn’t end when she took off the uniform — it simply found a new mission.
A 1983 graduate of the Air Force Academy, Christine held a series of groundbreaking and high-profile roles throughout her military career. She flew in support of Desert Storm as chief of tanker air operations, became the first woman assigned to fly the B-1B bomber following an assignment to Headquarters Air Combat Command and ultimately concluded her service at the Pentagon.
When she retired after 20 years as a Lieutenant Colonel, serving others was deeply woven into who she was.
Although Christine did not personally suffer from PTSD, she had seen firsthand how profoundly it affected so many veterans and first responders. She also witnessed the ripple effect it had on their families and loved ones.
I’d love to help struggling heroes know they are not alone, her heart whispered.
Time and again, she found herself wondering if there was a way to truly make a difference — never realizing that one day, she’d do just that.
Heart for healing
After leaving the Air Force, Christine dedicated the next two decades to championing veterans’ issues and supporting initiatives designed to help vets and their families build fulfilling lives after service.
Then in 2007, a nonprofit organization called Heroes on the Water (HOW) reached out and invited her to join its board. Founded on the belief that healing can happen in the great outdoors, HOW provides free, nature-based wellness experiences for veterans, first responders and their families through therapeutic kayak fishing programs offered in chapters nationwide.
The mission immediately resonated with Christine. Combining connection, calm and community, the program offered a unique path toward hope — and she knew she had found exactly where she was meant to serve next.
“This is perfect,” she exclaimed. “I’ve always found being in or near water to be so soothing, especially with people who understand what it was like to have a long career in the military!”
With the therapeutic programs harnessing the feel-good benefits of kayak fishing, military personnel and first responders under treatment for trauma and PTSD have found an increase in stress management skills, self-efficacy and positive impacts on personal relationships.
Christine sees so many success stories from those who take part — like the change that has taken place in 54-year-old Kesha R. Bruington.
Growing up as a “military brat,” she had to move frequently between bases. Then she enlisted in the Navy in 1989, where she was sexually assaulted during her career. When she discovered HOW and took part in a kayaking event, it was life-changing.
“I showed up that Saturday with tears in my eyes, but once I got on the water, I immediately felt relief from my grief,” Kesha shares. “I felt free, and with each paddle, I felt lighter. The camaraderie is incredible!”
A Fort Worth Police Officer, Lisa Ramsey, found a different kind of wholeness through HOW after being shot in the line of duty, leaving her permanently in a wheelchair.
“It’s just nice to do something normal,” she smiles. “Something that an able-bodied person can do. It’s about doing something therapeutic for the soul.”
Support circle
Many express that taking part in the kayaking trips helps them feel supported, able to converse about their emotions and empowered to heal.
Seeing the success stories, Christine swells with pride as HOW (HeroesOnTheWater.org) enters its 19th year making a difference for heroes and their families.
“Establishing a network of support is so important for mental wellbeing,” she states. “Heroes on the Water gives me the opportunity to continue my mission to help veterans and their families thrive after their service. It gives me a sense of purpose that I know I need to keep moving forward.”
Christine pauses with a chuckle, then adds, “Now, if I could only catch a fish!”
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