Army Vet Paddleboards 3,500 Miles To Raise Money For Wounded Warriors

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- A special ops veteran from Miami who suffers from PTSD is giving back to other veterans by setting out on a remarkable journey.

Army Ranger Josh Collins is in the middle of a 3,500 mile paddle board trip from Texas to New York and he's doing it one stroke at a time!

"I'm about 1,100 miles in, down here in Florida, North Miami now," said Josh Collins.

The Army vet left Corpus Christi, Texas on March 5th, and is headed to the Big Apple where he will complete the 3,500 mile trip in July in front of the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island.

"I'm paddling for Special Operations Veterans who are facing down and adapting to and living with Traumatic Brain injury and Post traumatic stress disorder," said Collins.

He deployed several times to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia, and he himself suffers from numerous traumatic brain injuries he sustained while on tour.

To cope, he said he popped pills, self-medicated with alcohol and was even hospitalized.

But then his wife Tonia bought him a paddle board and, he said, that changed everything.

Now he wants to give back to other vets who suffer the same way he does.

"There's a lot of guys that are going to be getting out with several traumatic brain injuries like me and they need some specialized treatment and not prescription meds, which is the standard protocol," he said.

Collins said 22 veterans who suffer from traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder commit suicide every day.

To draw attention to these issues, Collins is out to set the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest journey by stand-up paddleboard.

"I'm looking to raise 22 million dollars and that's for 7,500 members of the Special Operations community to receive the same types of treatments that have helped me," Collins said.

He also plans on tackling the challenge of taking a small rowboat around the world on his own.

If you'd like more information on helping Collins reach his $22,000,000 fund-raising goal to help wounded veterans, or track his paddle board journey to New York, click on the following link:
http://veteranvoyage360.com