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Missions of Service

A Warrior Tempered With Spirit
"Coming full circle" is one way to look at Rich Barham's path in life. As a young man, he enlisted in the Air Force and served a tour of duty in Viet Nam and the Special Forces, followed by six years in the reserves. When he encountered the ManKind Project's New Warrior Training Adventure, he was a construction worker unable to work after a disabling accident.

Shortly after his NWTA Weekend he returned to college to become a therapist and then spent three years as a middle school drug and alcohol prevention counselor. Rich says, "Kids are crying for people who will simply do what they say they are going to do and allow them to be who they are." He has also worked full-time with convicts in an outpatient clinic and facilitated men's groups at a drug clinic.

Combining his experience as a veteran with his counseling background, Rich has worked with the families of the 8th Tank Battalion (Syracuse, NY), who spearheaded the invasion of Baghdad, Iraq. Knowing full well the distress of separation and grief, he continues to work with the families of the troops as a volunteer, to help deal with their problems during these difficult circumstances.

Rich is a husband and father of six children. Of his experience with MKP, he says, "Everything I have done in this work has made me a better husband and father. Learning to live each day to the fullest, and knowing that when I work through my demons and become more open to healing, I am better equipped to help others with theirs."

Rich has been in the Mankind Project for more than ten years, has staffed 55 New Warrior Training Adventures, and is now a Certified NWTA Leader. Jim Coulombe, a fellow Leader who "came up through the ranks with Rich," describes him as "down to earth, a warrior tempered with spirit. Rich has a talent for working with the younger men who come to the weekend. He is as effective with young men as anyone I've seen." Rich reflects, "Men trust men who own their own stuff. If men stay around long enough and keep doing their work, their life will change in spite of them. You just have to be willing to do the work and, most important, stay connected."

Recently, doing research into the entrance requirements for the Air Force for his sixteen-year-old son, Rich discovered that he could re-enlist, which he did. He is now back where he started, in the Air Force, this time as a counselor and therapist for combat veterans.

Rich is currently on sabbatical from MKP, back in college to obtain a master's degree in marriage and family counseling.

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