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Programs

Small groups, real tools, and work that has to be right

Every session is supervised and ends with something finished. The programs are free for the veterans in them.

Why this work

Why building a rifle, specifically

It's a fair question. Here's the honest answer.

  • 01

    It takes your full attention

    Tolerances are measured in thousandths of an inch. You can't do the work and think about something else at the same time. It simply stops being correct.

  • 02

    You can measure your own work

    A part is either in spec or it isn't. The gauge gives everyone in the room the same answer, including you. Nobody needs to reassure you, and nobody can talk you out of it.

  • 03

    You get better, and you can see it

    Week one is all fumbling. Week six isn't. Getting good at something difficult is its own kind of satisfaction, and a lot of people haven't had that in a long time.

  • 04

    A reason to show up on a set day

    Each course meets on a schedule, and your spot stays yours. Showing up is part of the program, not a condition for joining it.

  • 05

    Nobody needs your history first

    Veterans at every station, instructors who've served. You can talk, or not. Both are normal.

  • 06

    You take it home

    At the end, there's something that didn't exist before. You built it, and it works.

Being straight with you

What we are, and what we aren't

S.M.A.R.T. Vets isn't therapy, and it isn't a replacement for therapy. We won't pretend otherwise.

For PTSD, the VA points to three talk therapies with the strongest evidence behind them: Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure, and EMDR. Medication helps a lot of people alongside them. If you're not in treatment and you want to be, start with the links here. A Vet Center will see you whether or not you're enrolled in VA health care.

What we offer is something different: hours of demanding, precise work, done alongside people who've served, ending in something you built. We think that's worth a lot. We don't think it's a substitute for care, and we'd rather say so up front.

Where to get care

The programs

Where to start

We're still working out the details

Dates, prerequisites and what you'll build are still being finalized. Want to know when the next course starts, or you're a clinician with someone in mind? Ask us and we'll get back to you directly.

Learn about upcoming courses

Next step

Ready to start, or know someone who is?

Veterans and the people who refer them start in the same place.

Get in touch