Meet Delta Juliet | Veterans

We had the good fortune of connecting with Delta Juliet and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Delta, how does your business help the community?
Juliet:

It grew out of a place of pain and desperation, one which we knew we wanted to share and hopefully help others along the way. As someone who lost her cousin to suicide a decade prior, I finally understood, at least in part, what kind of pain someone would have to be in to consider ending it all. We knew this was a problem in the military and even in the wider general public, but as veterans we felt called even when we were on active duty to share our story and go on this journey of healing together. We also wanted to provide a unique perspective of life in the military as a dual mil to mil couple and we hope this brings some insight and encouragement to those who may be in a similar situation

Delta:

We are not out to change the world, we are here to help change someones world. We are in a unique spot to be able to identify with current and former service members who struggle with mental health issues. While the military says they’re improving mental health, they’re still not putting adequate resources towards it and a lot of military members are scared to talk to a mental health professional on base due to the stigma and fear surrounding their career, and a lot of us carry that fear into the civilian world. For us, the end goal of Delta Juliet is to get veterans back together in camaraderie and out into nature, back into training, out in the mountains and just talk about what is important. To be able to partner with therapists and overlanding organizations to be able to get veterans back into adventure and help each other heal around a campfire would be a dream come true for us. We have a lot of work ahead of us to make that happen, but it will all be worth it to give that to those who gave their all for the people of this country, because we truly believe that adventure is healing.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Juliet:
I wouldn’t say we are professionals but we are certainly working towards establishing our brand of adventure and healing. We knew we wanted to share our story and others along the way so we started with Instagram and soon after a podcast. It’s definitely raw and by no means polished but that’s ok because it’s our story and we just hope others can find some comfort in knowing they’re not alone and they’re not crazy!

We’re just two regular people who have experienced some shit and while this has broken up some relationships, it has forged ours into steel. So we want to share those lessons too, to be honest about the journey because let me tell you, it has not been easy! But I am a much better and far stronger person for it. It’s made me want to be a better leader for my troops because as a spouse I saw the effects of bad leadership. I may not have been a perfect leader but I am proud that I worked hard to craft a good work environment across my assignments where people felt valued and heard.

Delta:
Delta+Juliet is all about not giving up. You don’t have to get it perfect or always do the right thing at the right time, just don’t give up. Period. Along our journey of mental health we have met so many people in similar situations that seemed to be okay with just getting by in life. To us just getting by seemed like a death sentence for the spirit. We wanted to be able to thrive, even while dealing with anxiety, depression, PTSD. We soon realized that while almost all of us on this planet are going through hardships and struggles there was not much in the way of sharing those struggles. So we decided to do what we could to fix that. The most power that our mental health problems will ever hold over us is when we are alone. So, we stopped self isolating and decided to build a community that we affectionately call “The Crew” because no one can navigate life’s journey alone. There is no such thing as a ship with a one man crew.

As a crew we can build each other up and help each other through the struggles life brings. While our end goal is to physically bring people together to create true community in the form of wilderness therapy we are building up the crew through social media. We have all heard the old adage that it is important to learn from your mistakes. Well, what if the mistakes you learn from didn’t always have to be yours? Which is where our podcast The Delta+Juliet Show comes in. You can listen to our story and our guests stories, hear what they did that helped them in their journey and maybe see if that works for you. We even recently launched a YouTube channel where you can follow along with the show and our adventures. We truly believe that adventure is healing. Hell, it’s the basis for everything we do. So we figured why not give the crew a chance to follow along even if it’s not in person.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Delta+Juliet:

We’d absolutely have to start with picking them up at the airport, getting them settled into our guest room because we are BIG on hospitality. Then we’d hit up Stanley marketplace for some nearby but super good eats where everyone grabs their dinner of choice and we’d drink at the Stanley Beer Hall. We both LOVE spicy food so for some good Mexican food we’ll head to Union Station and grab tacos and margaritas at Machete Tequila + Tacos followed by cocktails at The Cooper Lounge upstairs in Union Station. If we’re in a tapas and wine mood, our beloved spot is The Barcelona Wine Bar! Alternatively, if we’re feeling extra nerdy, we’ll take our friends for some trivia at Launch Pad Brewery where space nerds unite for a good time.

For adventure, we love taking friends to our favorite camping spot that is accessible from Denver, at Twin Lakes just past Leadville, CO. There’s some awesome dispersed camping sites but you HAVE to go on a Thursday or sooner otherwise come Friday, all the good spots will be taken. The views is unbeatable and there’s a lot of local history to explore. We’ll usually end the camping trip with a stop at High Mountain Pies in Leadville. For the action lovers we would revisit river rafting in Steamboat Springs or hit up an easy climbing area. We would definitely hit some off-road trails or traverse the state via overland trails. Maybe even meeting up with our quickly growing overland group “Trail Pirate Overland” in our Toyota Tacoma that we have lovingly dubbed “The Queen Anne’s Revenge”. Yes we named it after the last ship captained by the famous Blackbeard and yeah we leaned heavy into that theme. We also love spooky stuff with a view so we would go find one of the many old haunted mines in the state or hit up our regular spooky spot, The Stanley Hotel at Estes Park. We love doing their ghost tours and exploring the town with killer views.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We would like to thank all the men and women who have served in the armed forces, law enforcement, and all the first responders out there who give their minds, bodies, and spirits in an effort to help others. The truly selfless that lay it all on the line so that others may live. And more importantly, we could not have done this without God, our faith to sustain us through the toughest trials. As well as the continued support of each other, I couldn’t do this without him and he couldn’t do this without me. We are a team.

Instagram: delta_juliet_adventure

Youtube: Delta+Juliet

Other: The Delta+Juliet Show podcast, available on Spotify, Google Podcasts and most other podcast platforms.

Image Credits
Delta+Juliet