By Maggie FitzRoy
Marine veteran James Watkins had never hunted an alligator before, but he wasn’t alone, and he was ready.
Guided by a professional alligator trapper Mike Dragich and aided by fellow veterans struggling with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Watkins set his sights on a large gator resting in a canal near corn fields. Advancing closer, he threw a long rope attached to a treble hook and hooked it in its side.
“We had to pull him close to shore and get a snare rope over his head,” Watkins said. “He was tired by that point because he fought us pretty good. Then one guy held his head, and I jumped on his back. My adrenaline was pumping so bad.”
Digging his knees into the gator’s armpits, he held the animal’s head and stabbed it in the neck, severing its spinal cord.
“Being a Marine, I’ve got PTSD every day. Being able to do that, I felt a weight taken off my shoulders,” Watkins said. “Then, to top it all off, after that we went to a local spring, where four of us got baptized.”
It was Memorial Day, a day that Watkins said is always emotional for him and other military veterans, which made the experience particularly memorable.
“I’ll remember it for the rest of my life,” he said. “I can’t thank Mike and Project Savior Outdoors for giving me this opportunity.”
Dragich, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Afghanistan, founded Project Savior Outdoors three years ago after 15 fellow Marines committed suicide. The project’s mission, stated on its website, projectsavioroutdoors.org, is “to fight veteran suicide through the outdoors and sharing the true freedom that comes through Jesus Christ.”
Through fundraising and donations, the organization supports veteran hunts, fishing charters, retreats, and prayer and devotional bible study meetings every Wednesday night at the organization’s headquarters adjacent to Nocatee.
Anywhere from 35 to 45 men typically attend the Wednesday night event. They include military veterans as well as police and firefighter first responders. Led by Eli Tavarez, many show up at 5 p.m. for an hour of open mat workouts and vigorous exercise, sponsored in part by Top Tier Fitness. Food, provided by local vendors, is also provided.
Attendance usually doubles on the first Wednesday of every month for Community Night, Tavarez said during a recent Wednesday night gathering. “If the men know someone who is struggling who is a vet, they are encouraged to bring them. We love on them, we feed them, we hang out with them, we break bread together.”
At around 6 p.m., the workout mats are rolled up and chairs are arranged in a large circle for a 15-minute prayer and talk led Tavarez, who uses a disciple group curriculum created by the Church of Eleven22, based in Jacksonville. After that, the men break into small group discussions.
Tavarez said the church also helps in other ways. “They provide guest speakers, care resources for people suffering from PTSD, for those who are suicidal, going through a divorce or drug addiction. Our world view is that every man struggles because we are in a fallen world.”
The purpose behind the hunts, he said, “is to get a man who is in bad circumstances out of it and get him shoulder to shoulder with men to build relationships. Some men have never hunted before. There is a reverence for the gift that God has given us through that animal.”
Watkins, who regularly attends the Wednesday night gatherings, said his wife has seen changes in him since he started coming in February. “I’m reading the Bible every night. I’m able to talk to my wife on a deeper level.”
He also attends church, which he never did before. “I’ve become more open and comfortable in my faith,” he said. “I’m proud to be a Christian.”
