“Combat boots to cowboy boots”

Nearly half the men and women serving in the military come from rural areas, and the small towns, farms and ranches that they left behind would love to have them come back to work after their tour of duty. During his tour of duty as a marine in Iraq, Garrett Dwyer thought a lot about coming back and taking over the family’s ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills. These acres have been in his family for a century, nearly five generations. It’s a source of pride even if there is a lot less land and a lot less cattle. “I don’t know if I am a dreamer,” he said, “but that would be a goal of mine to put this ranch back together to what it once was.” Planning for that day is possible in part because of a unique program called “Combat Boots to Cowboy Boots.” It encourages men and women straight out of the military and often looking for jobs to take ownership of farms and ranches in Nebraska. Garrett Dwyer was one of the first to benefit from an idea that took root at the Nebraska College for Technical Agriculture. The dean, Weldon Sleight, saw an opportunity to attract new, motivated students to campus, while matching the college’s mission of rural economic development...more