Videos
OATH – A Calling
This is the first of our OATH videos and probably one of the most important. In this video, “OATH – A Calling”, Gary Bartels, Founder and Executive Director of OATH tells us how he firmly and wholeheartedly believes that OATH is his calling given to him by God. No hidden agendas. No false pretenses. No desire for fame or fortune. Just a combat veteran and Child of God that wants to maximize his Servant’s Heart and support the heroes that have supported our nation. Watch the video. Share it with your friends and family, and let’s join hands and save lives !!! Check out OATH on Facebook when you have the time. Huge shout out to Markus Fox for allowing us to use his song “I’m Still Coming Home” for the making of this video.
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OATH Uvalde Hunting Trip Highlights Reel
The Heroes of OATH were welcomed with open hearts and open arms to the mighty Indian T Ranch in Uvalde, Texas on 8-11 JAN 2015. Please check out the photos of the event. Mr. Buddy Fogle and Mr. Shane Wills and the rest of the Fogle Manufacturing family spared no cost at making these worthy heroes feel right at home and relaxed via an abundance of fun, food and fellowship. This Inaugural OATH Hunt was one for the books, and we’re already looking forward to next year’s event as we continue to build upon the already strong OATH / Indian T Ranch Partnership. OATH is absolutely blessed to have the support of the wonderful folks at Fogle Manufacturing, and we are grateful for their obvious embracement of the OATH mission !!!
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Through a Hero’s Eye
Join us as we listen to two of our OATH Heroes tell their side of the story and how the great outdoors allowed them to effectively transition from their military lives into their lives as civilians.
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OATH Warrior Wives Retreat Highlights Reel
In our Inaugural OATH Warrior Wives Retreat, we took some very deserving ladies away from their busy lives for a weekend at The Retreat at Artesian Lakes in Cleveland, TX where they focused on themselves and enjoyed an abundance of fellowship, laughter and joy. These ladies are special. They are the wives of our OATH Heroes. They are, simply put, The Strength Behind The Strong. They have stood in their Warrior’s corner through the good times and the bad times…through the happy times and the sad. As they watched their Heroes pack a rucksack and move forward to a foreign land to defend our way of life, these ladies confronted their own heightened duties during these deployments as they assumed all roles within the family leadership: mother, father, guardian, protector, disciplinarian, etc. They held down the fort, so to speak, in a time where the days were most likely long and the personal attention for themselves was most likely completely absent. They served as the backbone of the family unit, and they allowed their Warriors to fight the good fight abroad knowing fully that their counterpart, their spouse, their soulmate had everything under control a half a world away. When a Hero deploys, it’s not only he that makes sacrifices…it’s the entire family, and in this specific weekend, we were able to show some well deserved appreciation and attention to the wonderful ladies. As you can see from this video, the weekend was simply amazing, and we are already planning for next year’s event. We hope you can join us !!!
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The Strength Behind the Strong: The Founding of Warrior Wives
It’s no secret that our Warriors are strong. They don our nation’s cloth, and they volunteer to do what their nation asks of them in the name of freedom and liberty. Even a stronger force is the spouse that stands beside that Warrior and not only accepts, but embraces the fact that they are to be the entire parental force of that home until their Warrior comes back. This is why military spouses have such a unique bond that will not be equaled in any other facet of life. Take a listen as Regina Bartels explains both her creation of the Warrior Wives Retreat and the strength of the bonds created between these Warrior Wives.
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Inaugural OATH Shark Fishing Trip – A Brother’s Keeper Event – Highlights Reel
In our very first Veteran / Keeper event, we took four of our Veteran / Keeper pairs to Crystal Beach, Texas for the Inaugural OATH Shark Fishing Trip sponsored by the wonderful folks at Baker Hughes. The purpose of the outing was not necessarily to catch fish, but to build upon and strengthen the bond that already exists between these Combat Veterans and their Keepers. Both sides of the pair serves a unique and distinct purpose: The Combat Veteran, by committing to this Keeper, has taken a solid step in saying that he or she fully and totally trusts their Keeper to be there for them when they need someone to listen, someone to question, someone to comfort. This is not always an easy thing for a Combat Veteran to do, to open up, to trust, to sometimes put themselves outside of their own comfort zone, but in establishing this Keeper bond, they are doing just that, and it works miracles. On the other side of that coin, you have the Keeper. This person, whether it be a spouse or a friend or a neighbor or a co-worker or a parent, has grasped and embraced that their purpose is to be that person that the Combat Veteran can reach out to in his or her time of need. Whether it is in the middle of the day or the middle of the night, they are always available for a phone call or a visit if that’s what it takes to keep their Combat Veteran from becoming one of the 22. The bond and the relationship flourishes as time passes, and what we eventually see is a friendship and a trust that cannot be broken if it is strengthened and sharpened and honed to near perfection…..and that’s what this weekend achieved…..although the sharks didn’t cooperate as we had hoped, the ultimate goal of getting these Veteran / Keeper pairs out and engaged and involved was the success for which we were looking, and we could not be more proud !!! Thanks again to Baker Hughes for understanding, embracing and supporting our “Brother’s Keeper” approach, and for sponsoring this weekend’s event through their very generous donations. We’re already looking forward to our next “Brother’s Keeper” event, so stay tuned !!!
A very special thanks goes to several key parties. Again, thank to Baker Hughes for their unending support !!! We spent the weekend on the beach with Glen, Dan, Sergio and Mark and their fishing teams as they worked themselves ragged trying to get us hooked up with some sharks. These guys ran 10-12 lines at a time from 100 yards out to 1,000 yards out….they did a helluva job !!! We enjoyed some fantastic chow thanks to OATH supporter and Keeper Keith Price. On Friday, we dined on some awesome fajitas, and on Saturday we were treated to some authentic jambalaya. We did not go hungry, let’s just say that !!! The fajitas were cooked on the brand spanking new OATH Grill that was built and donated by OATH supporter and Keeper Jerry Dale Burkett, and it is a thing of beauty !!! The photos and follow-up video are the amazing work of Kurt and Kaleigh White. This is not the first event they’ve captured for OATH, nor will it be the last. Thanks for y’alls hard work !!! This was an event that was supported by a collective group, and we owe you all a huge shout out !!! Can’t wait to do it again next year !!!
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I Am My Brother’s Keeper
In our very first Brother’s Keeper event, we took four of our Veteran / Keeper pairs to Crystal Beach, Texas for the Inaugural OATH Shark Fishing Trip sponsored by the wonderful folks at Baker Hughes. The purpose of the outing was not necessarily to catch fish, but to build upon and strengthen the bond that already exists between these Combat Veterans and their Keepers. In this video, we hear from Tommy Sowell, a Vietnam Veteran and his Keeper, Jerry Dale Burkett. Both sides of this pair serve a unique and distinct purpose: The Combat Veteran, by committing to this Keeper, has taken a solid step in saying that he or she fully and totally trusts their Keeper to be there for them when they need someone to listen, someone to question, someone to comfort. This is not always an easy thing for a Combat Veteran to do, to open up, to trust, to sometimes put themselves outside of their own comfort zone, but in establishing this Keeper bond, they are doing just that, and it works miracles. On the other side of that coin, you have the Keeper. This person, whether it be a spouse or a friend or a neighbor or a co-worker or a parent, has grasped and embraced that their purpose is to be that person that the Combat Veteran can reach out to in his or her time of need. Whether it is in the middle of the day or the middle of the night, they are always available for a phone call or a visit if that’s what it takes to keep their Combat Veteran from becoming one of the 22. The bond and the relationship flourishes as time passes, and what we eventually see is a friendship and a trust that cannot be broken because it is strengthened and sharpened and honed to near perfection.
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