Andrew Long: Since I was a kid, I kind of always looked
up to World War II veterans in particular.
Thought it was cool to see these guys go in to fight some bad people doing some bad things.
A little later in life, I learned that my grandpa on my dad's side was a World War II
vet.
Between those things, that was really kind of what I was like, "I want to go and fight,
be outside, have to rough it."
And went through basic training.
Completed Airborne School, got my Airborne Wings, which that was fun.
But then right after that, I went to my unit down in Fort Polk.
I think it was a month maybe, I was there before I was already on my COP in Afghanistan.
Andrew Long: There was some great things about being there.
We worked closely with the Afghan National Army.
We got into a lot of gun fights with them.
Where we were, it was really poor.
It was weird.
It's like the mountains are over here.
There's an area that kind of looks like the desert.
And then there's all this lush green farmland.
Meanwhile, you're getting shot at, from every direction.
It's definitely an experience I wouldn't trade it for anything, the good and the bad.
Andrew Long: We were over there for a year.
I came back.
We were state side for another year and a half, training up for a second deployment.
And I didn't go on that one, because I ended up breaking my ankle and getting medically
discharged.
Getting out was, it was hard.
I kind of didn't want anything to do with veterans or the Army or anything.
I was really angry, really, really irritable at...
I made a friend my first year at college and he's like, "Man, are you always this angry?"
I'm like, "No, I don't think so."
I never noticed.
Andrew Long: Then I met Caroline and once we actually started
dating and built a relationship, she's like, "You should maybe go see someone for that."
I was like, "Yeah, you're right.
I probably should."
It was not easy addressing the PTSD problems.
I learned I had all these vision and balance problems along the way.
Struggling to even leave your apartment, you knew things are not right.
Finding the people who would actually listen to me was also a challenge.
It just made everything that much harder.
Andrew Long: I'd say half my platoon, I haven't heard from
them.
I don't know how they're doing.
I know some guys are just not doing well.
Good amount of them killed themselves.
Andrew Long: Kirby, let's go.
Andrew Long: Once I started kind of processing everything,
I started reaching out to guys that I served with.
I found out about the Wounded Warrior Project through other veterans.
Some of them had similar issues.
They had a really hard time, but some of them managed to turn things around.
And that was like... if you meet one other guy who did that, it's inspirational.
Having other veterans to talk to is so important.
Andrew Long: Farming is something I wanted to do.
I knew I wanted to be out in the country, kind of get away from things.
Having to really get down in the dirt and do it with your hands, you really feel like
you're taking care of these plants individually.
It feels good.
I mean, just working hard feels good.
I don't know if all the guys I served with would agree with this, but for me personally,
I liked having to work hard.
I enjoyed being in the infantry.
I enjoyed being out in the woods and having to kind of suck it up a little.
The plan is to essentially renovate the farm to be a place that can intensively grow vegetables.
I mean, there's 23 acres, that's more than enough land.
We basically want to create a beautiful place for people to come visit.
We want to open up to the public, be able to expand the production, basically, grow
more food, but that would mean hiring employees.
And on that front, I really want to hire veterans and just get veterans out here, because I
know how much it helped me.
Coleman Brooks: Veterans and farming is something I've been
involved with before.
Once I heard Bobcat was providing this, knowing a few people that I did in the veterans farming
community, I immediately reached out and said, "Who do you guys know that might be a good
fit for this?"
And so a friend of mine, who runs Fields 4 Valor in Maryland, a fellow Wounded Warrior
Project alumni, he recommended Andrew to us.
I had the chance to get to know Andrew and I thought, wow, this is a great fit.
Matt Tullos: When we first heard the winner was going to
be in our area, we got pretty excited.
But when we heard more about Andrew and his story, we got inspired.
Andrew Long: I couldn't believe it.
It's between excitement and shock, basically.
I was like, "There's no way this is real."
But it's real.
I was pumped, man.
I mean, it's awesome.
It's a really nice piece of equipment.
Mike Ballweber: I told the story when I gave machine to Andrew
about the fact that our employees who built the machine had so much pride in it, that
when they found out what it was, their enthusiasm, they wanted to make sure they took a picture
when it's done.
They all signed the picture.
We were able to give it to him.
So, really just a sense of pride for the whole company.
Andrew Long: I have this vision for this farm and a lot
of things need to happen in order for it to get there.
And I was planning on that taking a long time.
Bobcat makes really good machines that are high quality.
The rate at which this farm will be able to grow and expand, it's changed drastically.
Andrew Long: It's been a long road, but I feel a million
times better than I did five years ago.
I wake up in the morning, I walk outside.
I mean, I've said it almost every day since I've been here, "Oh, it's a beautiful day."
I never used to say that.
Yeah, I'm pretty good now.
I feel happy.
That's all I can ask for.