The Hunting with Soldiers was offered a duck hunt for two Soldiers at the Fortress of Faith in Oklahoma for the last weekend of Duck Season. I left Paducah on the 25th of January and headed to Oklahoma to the Fortress of Faith. When I got there I was met by the Owners and Operators of the Fortress of Faith program, two great people, Clint and Katy Thomas. They welcomed me like I was a family member. We visited for a while and after a couple of hours, the two Soldiers that were scheduled to duck hunt, Ray Duran Jr. and Jacob Cone, showed up. We all sat around and visited. We told stories about hunting and different adventures. Then we got to hear Katy's story about when she was hunting by a bush, but it wasn't just any bush, it was a BUSHY BUSH. Yes we all got a good laugh out of that one. Later on our guide, Dustin Tippetts and his dog Bella, showed up. We all visited for a while longer and then it was off to bed to get some rest before our morning hunt. Jacob, Ray, and myself all shared a room (different beds of course). Just before it was time for my alarm to go off, 5:00 am., Clint and Katy's natural alarm clock, the Rooster, went off. Then all of a sudden the whole room went nuts with all three of our alarms going off at the same time. Jacobs alarm almost had me running for the door since its not only a fire alarm sound but also a strobe light. Anyway we all drank some coffee and ate some muffins, then loaded up and headed out to the big pond. We got all set up and sat down to wait for sunup. The moon was bright and it was real peaceful looking at the reflection of the moon on the water with the duck decoys floating there. We heard what sounded like hundreds of coyotes then tons of geese. We saw several ducks and geese after sunup but all but one were way too far away and would not come in to the call. When one came close, Jacob and Ray did a great job shooting AT it. I swear it almost died of fright but not of steel shot. I think I heard it laughing as it got farther away. That was our morning hunt. We went back to Clint and Katie's where Katie had a great breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and ham cooked, along with some muffins. We got our bellies full and after that Clint and Dustin decided to go move the decoys. Jacob and Ray flopped down on the couch and decided to watch tv. I went to the bedroom and counted sheep. Jacob and Ray said it wasn't counting sheep, it sounded more like sawing logs. We then went out for a second shot at the ducks. Well Jacob and Ray did, I was just the camera man. Katie also came with us to try her hand at shooting some ducks. Of course I told Jacob and Ray that if she shoots more ducks than them, I was going to pull their MAN CARD. Clint set me up with a chair blind (a one man blind attached to a chair) I got the blind pulled over me and got the video camera ready. While looking around trying to spot some ducks, POW!! The arm on the chair broke and my rear went down. I looked like someone who sat down on the toilet and forgot to put the lid down. Well I sat there like that waiting to get some good footage when Dustin decided to move to a different spot. Thank Goodness I thought, my rear can rest. When we moved I found me a stick and semi fixed the chair. Well for a little bit. I moved, trying to see if I could see some ducks or geese coming in, and whack, there goes the chair again and once more I looked like I forgot to put the toilet seat down before sitting down. I sucked it up and sat there waiting on the ducks so I could get some good footage. Poor Katy was over there in her chair freezing. Finally she had enough, she got up and headed to the truck. She left her gun and even her cell phone. Just before last shooting light, the ducks started coming in. I tried to move around and film, but I was STUCK. So I thru the blind over my head and had to roll out of the chair. I got on my knees, got the camera on and everyone started shooting. FINALLY Ray got one. Yep that's it, just one. Another one fell and started swimming off and got too far out for the #1 duck dog, Bella, to get to. We then went to the truck where we found Katy in the truck still cold because the back window was down. She complained that there were no keys. Dustin then told her that if she wouldn't have left her phone, she would have gotten the text that told her where he left his keys. We got all loaded up and headed back to Clint and Katy's for some awesome potato soup. We all were visiting when I turned around and thought I had just witnessed a murder scene. Then I realized it was just Katy's daughter with her red hair dye in. We all visited a while longer, then it was off to bed again. I woke to a rooster crowing and thought, yep its time to get up, our alarms are fixing to go off. I picked up my cell phone and realized that roosters timer was off, it was only 4:15 am. I rolled over and what seemed like a minute later, our alarms went off. We got up and ready. Grabbed some coffee and off to hunt again. We got out there and I was able to rig the chair blind up so I didn't fall thru. Remember the mind can only absorb as much as the rear can endure. Right as the sun comes up we had two ducks come in. Ray and Jacob got them both and the #1 duck dog, Bella, headed out in the water and got them. What a sight to see. She brought them in and dropped them right by Dustin's feet. We saw many more ducks on the water and some geese as well but none would respond to the calls this late in the season. We finally decided to call it quits and gather up the duck decoys. We loaded them up, took a few pictures and headed back to Clint and Katy's and the Fortress of Faith. Ray and Jacob cleaned their ducks. We then drank a little coffee and visited for a while. Then we got our clothes and other items loaded up and said our goodbyes and parted ways. Folks, we had a great time and met some great people and two Soldiers got some much needed mental healing that getting into the outdoors offers. The Hunting with Soldiers program wants to say a big thank you to the Fortress of Faith and Clint and Katy Thomas for their hospitality and a great time. We also want to say thank you to Dustin Tippetts and his dog Bella for some awesome duck calling and retrieving. If any of you want to just get away and have a great time, look up Clint and Katy Thomas and their Fortress of Faith program at their website at: http://ktsdesigns.wix.com/redriverhunts

Gordon Melton
Creator/President
Hunting with Soldiers

good cause...