Ground Operations: Battlefields to Farmfields

2014 • 40 minutes

About this movie

Sgt. Adam Burke made a promise to God. Bleeding out from a mortar hit in Iraq, Adam promised God that if he could live to see his family again, he would do something to make his life worth saving. Two years later he started the Veterans Farm, a place of emotional solace and job training in organic blueberry production for disabled vets like himself. 'Teach these guys how to farm, they can have sustainable lives with sustainable agriculture.'

Our warriors are coming home from battle and sharing their stories. “Ground Operations: Battlefields to Farmfields” traces their journey into the war, through the gauntlet and back home, where they experience unemployment, PTSD, drug and alcohol addiction. Faced with the absence of their team and a mission, wounded and forgotten, a veteran commits suicide every 80 minutes.

The vets in Ground Operations are bucking those odds. “As a combat veteran, I was involved in a lot of destruction. “ says Mike, a former Marine. “Shifting from that to growing something, seeing something thrive, does something on a very deep spiritual level.” Working from disability checks, often pulling their buddies along with them, we witness Ground Operations’ heroes restoring their lives and serving their communities with new careers in sustainable farming and ranching.

Lucky for us, because “there are twice as many farmers over the age of 65 as under the age of 35., reports Michael, director of the Farmer-Veteran Coalition. “ We see the loss of our farmers as a matter of national security.” The USDA is calling for a million new farmers in the next ten years to fill the coming gap.

Fortunately, the Cavalry coming over the hill is just that ... it's the Marines, Army, Air Force and National Guard. Recognizing the connection between local food security and national security,
these young men and women are forging a network in sustainable agriculture that benefits us all.

Central Casting couldn't have done a better job. The vets in 'Ground Operations' are compelling, funny, handsome, entrepreneurial and engaging, and you'll be rooting for them all the way to your local farmers market. America needs a million new farmers. Veterans want the job!

Ratings and reviews

This film offers a real solution for veterans, as well as for maintaining our food production as a country. The veterans in this film speak from the heart and really allow themselves to be vulnerable. I felt a very strong emotional connection with them. What they have overcome and what they have created through sustainable farming is incredible. They are planting seeds for the future. The film is really well done, engaging, and very cohesive for its short run time. This is a must see for vets, but also farmers, artisan food producers and foodies, gardeners, and anyone interested in the country having enough food to eat!

Finally, a story that inspires a broader vision of peace and goodness for humanity. "Ground operations" presents an ingenious and healing solution to the epidemic of PTSD in the Veteran population. Teaching highly skilled/ trained/disciplined veterans to farm is practical and necessary. Most of us eat without much thought to the complexity and work that puts food on the table. The facts presented helped me to better appreciate that. Thank you Veterans for your service in the farm fields! Great film!

This film illustrates, on many levels, some of the most critical issues of our time. On a primal, human level, it brings forward to strife and deep struggles that men and women of the military face as they brace themselves to kill other humans. The returning home in the US is a HUGE issue for our economy and our communities. The picture this film paints of the graceful transition back to a fundamental service to the world (these are SERVICE men and women after all) - the growing of food.