Mitch Mitchell has a mission. The South Bristol resident and retired Coast Guardsman is hoping to raise $30,000 to help veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder.
For the last couple years, 2020 Mitchell has worked with Operation Reboot, a Turner-based nonprofit dedicated to helping troubled military veterans by getting them outside where the great outdoors can work its magic.
“It’s an outdoor program, getting them out the house to get them away from drugs and alcohol and that kind of thing to alleviate their pain, because that’s a big spiral,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell hopes to raise funds to purchase equipment like dredges, sluices, wetsuits, and waders, trailers to transport equipment, and a small dedicated building for storage and cleanup.
Semi-retired and between projects, Mitchell said he was looking for something to get involved with when he crossed paths with Operation Reboot founder Dan Waite. An Army veteran and Turner resident, Waite was injured while serving in the Iraq War.
“He spent a lot of time in Walter Reed Hospital,” Mitchell said. “What got him through that was memories of hunting and fishing in great state of Maine. A couple years after he got out of the hospital, he had some buddies call him. They were kind of down and out and he took a couple guys out hunting and fishing and it changed their lives.”
Once those first veterans returned to their homes and shared their experiences other veterans wanted to come. Over time, by word of mouth and sheer hard work, Operation Reboot took shape. Since 2019, Operation Reboot has served more than 1,000 veterans, service members, and law enforcement officers.
“They want to bring of the number veteran suicides down,” Mitchell said. “Right now it is 22 per day. We’ve got to bring that number down.”
Missions include range from various hunting and fishing trips, to fly tying workshops and the gold rush program coordinated by Mitchell.
Started out of Waite’s Turner home, Operation Reboot has purchased a 100-acre property in Byron where plans include a future base of operations. The organization is currently in the middle of a $1,277,000 “Dream Bigger” capital campaign to pay off the property and build Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant accommodations.
According to Operations Reboot’s website, the organization organizes hunting and fishing trips to veterans at no cost, and with no hidden fees.
According to Mitchell, participating veterans only need to pay for their travel to Maine. Food lodging and the services of participating Maine Guides are provided free of charge.
Although the outdoor excursions are the focus of the trips, the power of Operation Reboot works by maximizing the camaraderie of service members many of whom are struggling with similar issues returning to civilian life.
Not only are veterans helped by the outdoors, but the chance to be among people who have a shared understanding of the scars of war, Mitchell said.
Mitchell, a prospecting hobbyist for more than 20 years, realized his hobby could help the cause.
“Dan and I were talking last year and he said there were some guys out there that don’t hunt or fish and he wanted another program to get them outside,” Mitchell said in 2023. “I mentioned that I had been doing hobby prospecting and asked him if that was something we might be able to do and he said ‘I’ve been thinking about that. I don’t think it is something I’d like but some of the guys will, so let’s give it a shot.’”
As it turned, out, the gold rush missions are a very popular program. Mitchell said he starts everyone with a beginner’s class Friday evenings to get everyone familiar with the process. On Saturdays, he leads a mission to a selected spot.
“We did five missions last year,” Mitchell said. “Everybody had a blast. Quite a few guys were already to bring it home to their families. The guys went out and got pans and shovels and stuff like that … Dan, he wants to expand it big time. I think he enjoyed it more than anybody else.”
Finding gold in Maine is not that hard, Mitchell said. The state is littered with it. Finding enough gold to make a living is hard, hard work, although Mitchell says he knows of at least one prospector who has paid for his children’s college education through his efforts.
“I think I have made enough to pay for my hobby over time,” Mitchell said. “One time I went up and found three pieces of lead shot. That was it. Another time after a hurricane, I came back with 3 and 3/4 ounces of gold. At that time gold was around $1,600 an ounce.”
For Mitchell the value in prospecting is not financial, but the meditative labor of the process.
“You get out of it what you put into it,” Mitchell said. “The harder you work, the more you find. (For me) it’s not about the gold. It is about connecting with nature. Some days you get out there and I bust my butt – dig, dig, dig, and do 25, 30 buckets of dirt and sometimes I do half a dozen pans and that’s it. It all depends on how you’re feeling and what you’re doing. It’s the best medicine in the world.”
Operation Reboot is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Tax deductable donations can be made through the website. For more information on Operation Reboot, call 491-6204 or go operationrebootoutdoors.org.
To contact Mitchell, email mitch@operationrebootoutdoors.org or call 557-4793.
