- June 24, 2026
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Dan Bue serves as the retreat logistics lead for Operation Warrior Resolution, but in 2022, he was one of the military veterans receiving care from OWR.
Bue, 51, spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy before retiring at the end of 2018. He experienced a difficult transition from military life to civilian life, so he attended a Tactical Healing Retreat at OWR.
The retreats offer brain-based healing sessions, equine therapy, yoga classes, breath work, meditation, holistic nutrition coaching, and chiropractic and medical massage therapy.
“The impact was huge,” Bue said. “I noticed that I smile more. People pointed it out to me because prior to the retreat, I didn't smile much. My voice and expressions were monotone.”
Bue’s healing impacted his family, as well. He realized how much so during an OWR couples retreat with his wife, Jen Bue.
At the end of the retreat, participants were asked what OWR has done for them.
Jen Bue replied, “It gave me my husband back.”
Dan and Jen Bue share 33 years and three children — Avery, Noah and Alec Bue.
“She brought me to tears,” Dan Bue said. “Sometimes in relationships, we don’t realize what we do, the impacts we have — good or bad. To hear that, it was unexpected.”
The core service OWR offers is brain-based healing, a process that speeds up recovery from trauma by using neuroscience to "rewire" the brain. The service is also available to spouses and children of participating veterans.
Prior to treatment, if Dan Bue “hit a down slope” of depression or anxiety, he could stay down for a week. Now, he can find his way out of that state in a matter of hours.
“I realized I can shift it,” he said. “Am I perfect? No. It’s a work in progress every day for the rest of my life. Some things take a little longer to process than other things. But I know I’m getting better.”
Bue is helping heal others at OWR through one of its ancillary services — Combat Conscious Yoga.
He teaches at retreats, at the American Legion in Venice (classes are free, but all donations go to OWR) and, on occasion, at the Myakka Elephant Ranch. The elephants serve as an unusual, but peaceful, backdrop.
Another program OWR offers is workforce training, but veterans are required to complete brain-based healing before starting the program.
Since launching the program in July 2024, OWR has covered tuition for over 200 veterans to attend Commercial Driver's License Training.
The average entry level salary for Florida CDL drivers is $78,000, and OWR's program has seen a 96% completion rate.
The Community Foundation of Sarasota County awarded OWR a $25,000 grant to expand the training program earlier this month.
Through a partnership with Operation Lifeline (a north Florida nonprofit that assists veterans with affordable housing and workforce training), veterans and transitioning service members will learn trade and construction skills while building and rehabbing affordable housing for veterans.
OWR was initially established in Sarasota, but flooding from Hurricane Debby in August 2024 forced the nonprofit to relocate.
CEO and Founder Kendra Simpkins said everything OWR had left after Hurricane Debby fit on a 6-foot table.
The heartache led to a blessing.
OWR had been renting a house in Sarasota. Now, the nonprofit owns two houses on six-acres off Water Line Road. The site was purchased for approximately $1.7 million in June 2025 and is gearing up for a $1.7 million expansion.
The expansion will include an addition to one of the existing homes to add more session rooms and one large group space. And a new six-bedroom home will be built to expand the retreat capacity.
Construction will begin once the permits are issued. Work is anticipated to take about a year to complete.
The project is almost entirely funded with the exception of $300,000, but there's something else Simpkins is even more short on — volunteers.
With a 6-acre property, periodic retreats and community outreach events to attend, there's always something to do.
During retreats, volunteers help cook and clean. At events, they man tents and tables. On site, you name it.
Over the past few months, a garden club spent hours weeding and mulching, and a church group spent four days painting and laying flooring.
"If someone has a particular skill or expertise, especially as it comes to property, we definitely welcome that," Simpkins said.
