After years of military service, Brad Craven found his next mission: helping veterans readjust through wildlife conservation in Africa.
“We’re going to Africa to train in wildlife conservation and anti-poaching. I mean, who gets to say that?” Craven said.
His family’s military service traces back to the Revolutionary War, and he followed in their footsteps joining the Navy after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“I saw guys were getting hurt, getting killed, and I felt like I needed to do my part,” he said.
Like many veterans, Craven struggled to adjust to civilian life after returning home. At first, he focused on training his younger brother Sam, who lives with cerebral palsy and autism, for the Paralympics.
“Giving back to others made me feel like I was earning my right to come home,” he said.
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But it wasn’t until Craven, a lifelong wildlife enthusiast, volunteered at a South African lion sanctuary that things truly started falling into place.
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“When I came back from that trip, my family said, ‘Brad, you've really come back to you. How do we bottle this?’ If this can do this for me, it’s got to be able to do it for other veterans," Craven said.
In 2020, Craven founded Warriors for African Wildlife, a nonprofit dedicated to healing veterans through wildlife conservation. The organization brings veterans to Africa, where they train to work alongside rangers protecting wildlife from poachers.
Since its founding, he has led five veterans groups on missions that included relocating elephants and dehorning rhinos to reduce poaching targets.
These missions employ skills familiar to most veterans. However, it’s not just the work in the field that is therapeutic. It’s also the conversations around the campfire.
“Just talking about their experiences, whether it was Afghanistan, Iraq or their time in service, that they really can’t talk to other people about,” Craven said. “We’re in an environment that gives veterans the opportunity to feel like they’re in that camaraderie, tribal space again.”
For Craven, his work is not just a mission to protect Africa’s wildlife but a chance to help veterans rediscover their purpose and heal in the process.
