Finding HOPE: “The Sea Brought Us Back”

When Cameron Albin was in the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the fall of 2012, the former Marine Corps infantry officer admits that he “was not a very good human being.”

There were the struggles with recovery from a traumatic brain injury and PTSD which led to a medical discharge from the Marines a year earlier after a long stay at Walter Reed.

His wife had filed separation papers.

He had developed an alcohol problem. 

“Like a lot of grunts, I didn’t have enough blood in my alcohol system,” said Albin, who completed four combat deployments.

He needed outside help. An aunt who lived on the Outer Banks of North Carolina helped point him in the right direction. She was familiar with Hope For The Warriors and urged Albin to contact them.

He did.

It was a pivotal moment on his road to recovery.

HOPE located a program in New York that suited Albin’s situation. He transferred to the program from Walter Reed, then returned to the hospital after a successful month in treatment.

“HOPE helped me out. They found treatment options for me,” said Albin. “They kind of get that little extra bit from someone in the hospital to where they can sort things out on their own.”

When Albin walked out of Walter Reed for the final time in February 2013, he began what he calls “recovery 2.0.” A lifelong sailor, he purchased a sailboat and called the harbor in Annapolis, Maryland, his home.

“I was living on a boat in Annapolis. I was in a position to figure things out on my own. That was a critical juncture for me,” said Albin.

“I think I was in the same rut lots of veterans are in when they get out . . . the general stress of transition, the very demanding, high-operations tempo . . . you’re trained to be a highly vigilant person, then all of a sudden you’re a regular dude shopping at Walmart.”

Albin said that, while living on the boat, he would make a list of six things he had to do daily. He would go out, do those things, and that would give him a way to figure out what he was doing well and what he wasn’t.

“If I reached that point that I didn’t get everything done, I’d go back to the boat, have a cup of coffee, listen to music, and start over the next day.”

The system worked for him. Gradually he healed and brought his life back together.

“I went out sailing with my dog one day and realized I didn’t have anything I needed to go back for. I called the marina, said I wasn’t coming back, and headed south,” said Albin, who sailed south in September 2013.

“I got to Florida, then the Bahamas, and got to the point where I said to myself, I could keep going or I could go back, dock, and do some repairs and figure out what’s next. I knew I needed to find a mission. I went back to Florida and eventually figured out I had to rebuild myself, rebuild my life, my reputation.”

In the spring of 2014, he sold his boat and moved back to Texas to begin graduate school. He finished that degree work in 2016 and applied to a Ph.D program.

“It was all another step in my recovery process,” he said.

He hasn’t slowed since. Although the pandemic put his Ph.D work on hold, he’s remarried with two stepchildren and a 2-year-old daughter with his wife. He teaches at a community college in the Ft. Worth area.

He and his wife purchased a newer, larger boat for the family, and they frequently sail out of Galveston Bay.

He’s also giving back to other veterans through his love of sailing.

In 2019, Albin and Taylor Grieger, a former Navy rescue swimmer, founded the American Odysseus Sailing Foundation, a nonprofit organization with the mission of providing relief, assistance, and opportunities to veterans, military service members, and their families through sail training, coastal cruising excursions, and offshore sailing expeditions.

“Our philosophy is a vet who spends a day on the water is going to live another day,” said Albin. “We wanted to share the lifestyle, what it’s like to live onboard and use some of the skills you used in the military again, and to work and live in a tight-knit group.”

The nonprofit was set to launch its first veteran sailing trips in 2020, but that didn’t happen because of COVID-19. This year, though, they’ve already completed 10 trips, impacting around 50 veterans. They hope to double that total in 2022.

The American Odysseus Sailing Foundation hosts three types of trips: Veterans Day on the Bay, which includes a group of about six veterans out for a three- or four-hour trip; Galveston Runs, which includes two to four veterans sailing 26 miles to Galveston and spending the night in dock; and a two- to four-day trip with two veterans on board.

They hope to enter a race with a crew manned by veterans at the end of the year.

“This is something that can help people. We know this because we lived it. We [Albin and Grieger] lived it. We both transitioned out of the military,” said Albin. “We weren’t really good at life. The sea was what brought us back.”

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Hope For The Warriors

Hope For The Warriors

Founded in 2006, Hope For The Warriors is a national nonprofit dedicated to restoring a sense of self, family and hope for post-9/11 veterans, service members, and military families. What began as post-combat bedside care and support has evolved to a national organization that has adapted to ongoing changes within the military community. The organization has stayed the course with our country’s post-9/11 veteran population as physical wounds healed, but emotional wounds still needed care. Since its inception, Hope For The Warriors has served over 23,200 through a variety of support programs focused on clinical health and wellness, sports and recreation, and transition. For more information, visit hopeforthewarriors.org , Facebook , Twitter , or Instagram .

One thought on “Finding HOPE: “The Sea Brought Us Back”

  • Sharita Knobloch
    July 22, 2021 at 4:24 pm
    Permalink

    Wow, what an incredible story of healing and hope. All the best to Cameron as he moves forward. Thanks for sharing this with us and keep up the great, empowering work at Hope for The Warriors!

    Reply

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