Most people think of a private island as a place to disconnect from the world.

For hundreds of veterans and first responders who have come through Aerial Recovery’s Heal the Heroes program, The Aerial, BVI is something entirely different:

It’s where they reconnect with life.

The Aerial, BVI is not just the host location of this initiative; it is the primary sponsor and home base of a program that repurposes struggling heroes into Humanitarian Special Operators who rescue children from trafficking, respond to deadly disasters, and serve the world with their hard-earned skills.

Behind their uniforms and service histories, many heroes arrive carrying invisible wounds:
trauma, loss, identity collapse, purposelessness, or the quiet belief that the world no longer needs them.

And then, they arrive on the island.

What they walk into is not just a regular resort. It is a deliberately engineered healing environment – every room, ridge, pathway, meal, and moment created with a single message in mind:

Your mission is not over.
You still matter.
The world still needs what only you can give.

The Lie They’re Fighting: “My Purpose Ended When My Service Did.”

Heal the Heroes was born from lived experience, not theory.

When The Aerial BVI’s Founder, Britnie Turner, married retired Green Beret Jeremy Locke, she came face-to-face with a truth families of veterans know well:

You can survive war and still lose yourself afterwards.

Britnie saw two sides of Jeremy:

• The warrior capable of extraordinary good
• The man quietly wrestling with the weight of his service and the question of who he was without the uniform

She witnessed the lie that haunts so many veterans and first responders:

“My purpose is gone. My mission is over.”

Together with Dr. Clay Lowder of the Winners Travel Foundation and Jeremy himself, Britnie helped develop a program that reconstructs identity, purpose, and hope from the inside out, using the exact tools that helped Jeremy rebuild his own life.

Heal the Heroes is not just a retreat and a year-long program. It is a rebirth.

From Struggle to Service: What Heal the Heroes Actually Does

Nearly 250 veterans and first responders have now gone through the program.

Many arrived to the first phase of the program (the retreat) feeling disconnected from themselves, their families, and the world they once protected. Some carried trauma so heavy they struggled to envision a future at all.

But the year that follows, beginning with their time at The Aerial, BVI, offers a new path:

The opportunity to be trained and equipped to become Humanitarian Special Operators with Aerial Recovery. These Humanitarian Special Operators then deploy to earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, human trafficking & war zones worldwide, not as broken veterans, but as highly capable rescuers with renewed purpose and community.

These heroes have now contributed to the rescue of over 8,400 people around the world in the last 3 years alone.

And perhaps most powerful of all: In a population statistically at the highest risk for self-harm, Aerial Recovery has not lost a single participant.

That kind of transformation doesn’t happen by accident, its real, raw, rough and beautiful all at the same time

A Healing Ground That Doubles as a Luxury Wellness Island

The Aerial, BVI was not built for regular tourism, it was built for transformation.

The island’s beauty is stunning, yes, but beauty is just the doorway.
The real magic is in the intentional psychological, physiological, and spiritual design and sacredness of the space.

Every element contributes to healing:

• Healing Environment: Architecture oriented to nature, intentional sensory inputs, emotionally safe & inspiring gathering spaces.
• Healing Food: Anti-inflammatory, nutrient-rich meals that regulate the nervous system and improve mental clarity are brought straight in from the garden.
• Connection to Nature: Hikes, cliff overlooks, ocean immersion, all proven methods to reset trauma-wired brains.
• Equine Therapy: Breakthroughs that go deeper than verbal therapy alone.
• Spa & Somatic Therapies: Physical release for stored trauma and chronic stress.
• Art Therapy: Expression when words fail.
• Mindset Empowerment & Purpose Clarity: Guidance to rebuild identity and mission.
• Environmental Rhythm: Stillness and challenge balanced, mirroring the human healing process.

This is why the transformation hits differently here.
Environment changes physiology.
Physiology opens access to emotion.
Emotion opens access to truth.
Truth opens access to purpose.

Heroes consistently cite the island itself as one of the primary reasons their transformation finally “clicked.”It is not escapism.

It is intentional, immersive, structured healing for some of the most battle-hardened men and women.

Inside the 5 Day On‑Island Experience

The year-long program begins with 5 days that change everything.

Each cohort includes an average of 25 veterans and first responders, supported by trauma-informed specialists, doctors, mentors, mental health providers, seasoned operators, and speakers who have walked the same valleys.

Heroes attend at no cost, made possible by donors and by The Aerial, BVI’s significant commitment to underwrite the experience. These 5 days address the whole human: body, mind, spirit, relationships, & purpose.

Arrival: Permission to Breathe

From the moment they step ashore:

• No expectations.
• No pressure to perform.
• No need to pretend they are “fine.”

They are greeted not as patients, but as honored guests.

The first evening centers on grounding, nourishment, gentle connection, and the first full breath many have taken in years. For some, simply realizing they are finally in a place built for their healing brings an emotional release that years of white-knuckling could not.

Body First: Workouts, Breathwork & Physical Reset

Trauma lives in the body, so healing begins there.

Each morning includes:

• Functional movement tailored to ability
• Breathwork that calms the nervous system
• Or an intentional practice that reintroduces safety to the body

These sessions aren’t about fitness & fury. They’re about reclaiming a warrior’s mentality through strength and presence.

Therapy, Trauma Work & Professional Support

Throughout the retreat, heroes meet with:

• Mental health providers
• Trauma specialists
• Counselors
• A medical professional for physical therapy, medication + health review
• 1:1 sessions for honest, judgment-free conversations

The island environment amplifies the impact.
Healing feels possible when done in a nature sanctuary rather than a cold fluorescent-lit room.

The Power of Horses & Indy’s Redemption Ranch

One of the most profound elements of Heal the Heroes takes place at Indy’s Redemption Ranch – an Aerial Recovery initiative located on the island itself. The ranch is a sanctuary where rescued animals become healers.

Every horse, pony, and zebra on the ranch was saved from neglect, abuse, abandonment, or from heading to slaughter. Many arrived broken, fearful, or shut down,  much like some of the heroes who now come to heal here. Over time, through care and intentional, loving rehabilitation, these animals are transformed. And in that transformation, they gained an incredible ability to help others heal too.

Today, Indy’s Redemption Ranch serves 3 primary groups:

• Veterans and first responders through Aerial Recovery’s Heal the Heroes initiative
• Children with special needs, who connect deeply with the gentleness and presence of the animals
• Survivors of sexual abuse, who often find safety and trust with animals long before they can with humans

This makes the ranch not just a rescue program, but a therapeutic, mission-aligned extension of Aerial Recovery’s belief in redeeming what the world has discarded.

Fun Facts: Why Horses Heal What Words Cannot

Horses are prey animals with a finely tuned sensitivity to human emotional states. They can detect anxiety, fear, guardedness, grief, and internal conflict even when a person has learned to hide it from everyone else.

They respond not to the mask someone wears, but to the truth underneath it.

For veterans and first responders, this matters profoundly. Many spent entire careers suppressing emotion for survival. But a horse:

• Will not approach if your energy is chaotic
• Will gently mirror your tension
• Will move closer when you soften internally
• Will respond instantly when you shift your emotional state

This creates a powerful moment of realization for the heroes:

“I can’t hide here – not from them, and not from myself.”

In this safe, quiet relationship, something opens.
Walls come down.
Truth rises.
Emotion moves again.

Many heroes say their largest breakthrough of the entire retreat happened during a single 1‑on‑1 session at the ranch. Some experience their first full emotional release in years, not in a counseling room, but beside a rescued horse in the “Ring of Inspire” who seems to understand them without a single spoken word.

Rescued Heroes, Rescued Animals – Healing Each Other

The heroes feel a sacred symmetry at Indy’s Redemption Ranch:

• They see the beauty and power in these majestic creatures and get infuriated that someone almost threw them away
• They see a once-wounded animal offering trust to a wounded warrior
• They experience two beings who survived trauma creating safety for one another

Heroes often say things like:

• “That was 30 years of therapy in 1 session.”
• “I see why I was brought here. I feel I can finally connect with my loved ones again.”
• “Working with these animals helped me believe healing was possible again and there is actually hope for me.”

It is no exaggeration to say that equine sessions are one of the non‑negotiable pillars of the Heal the Heroes transformation process.

Purpose, Provision & the Future: Rebuilding the Whole Human

Healing does not end when pain is acknowledged. It completes when a person can see themselves moving forward again.

For many veterans and first responders, trauma is only part of the struggle. Just as destabilizing is what comes after: the loss of structure, mission, financial clarity, relational safety, and a reason to keep going when the uniform comes off.

Heal the Heroes addresses this reality head‑on by rebuilding the entire human system, not just emotional health, but the foundations that allow this healing to last.

That’s why the program intentionally includes:

Purpose and Calling Work
Heroes are guided through a process of rediscovering why they are still here. Not in abstract language, but in practical terms – identifying how their hard‑earned skills, instincts, and leadership can be repurposed for good in the world. Purpose restores identity. Identity restores strength.

Provision and Financial Clarity
When someone is constantly worried about survival, money, stability, the future, healing cannot fully take root. Business and financial coaching help heroes regain a sense of control, dignity, and confidence. Provision is not about wealth; it is about freedom from fear and the ability to walk in abundance to not only provide for yourself and your family but to respond to the needs of the world.

Relationship Restoration
Trauma rarely affects only the individual. Relationship coaching gives heroes tools to reconnect with spouses, children, teammates, and community – helping them rebuild trust, communication, deep connection and emotional presence. Strength is multiplied when it is shared.

Structure and Stability
Many heroes thrive in structure – and suffer when it disappears. Structure‑building sessions help translate discipline and resilience into civilian life, creating routines and frameworks that support long‑term mental, emotional, and physical health.

Together, these elements do something essential: they move a hero from surviving to standing strong.

Co-Founder of Aerial Recovery, Britnie Turner says it best, “To overcome the darkness you must become the light. You cannot consistently pull others out of darkness if you do not know how to stand in the light yourself.”

After the Island: From Personal Healing to Global Impact

The island ignites transformation. The year that follows cements it into a way of life.

Healing through the Heal the Heroes Initiative was never meant to stop with personal restoration. It is meant to flow outward.

After their time on the island, heroes continue forward with:

• Ongoing coaching and mentorship, ensuring breakthroughs are integrated, not lost
• Operational and humanitarian training, refining their ability to serve in high‑impact environments
• Community accountability, so no one ever walks alone again
• Mission opportunities around the world, where purpose becomes the action of Saving Lives & Stopping Evil

These men and women deploy to real‑world crises – responding to earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, human trafficking rescues, and humanitarian emergencies where courage, skill, clarity, and compassion are required simultaneously.

They are not sent out as broken people trying to save others as another form of escape.
They are sent out as restored protectors – grounded, supported, and deeply aware of why they are doing this work.

When someone sponsors a hero through this program, they are not funding a moment.
They are activating a life of service.

A person who has dealt with their own darkness – and now knows how to walk others through theirs.

Saving lives.
Stopping evil.
Bringing hope where it once felt impossible.

Why Spaces Like This Matter – For Heroes and For All of Us

Heal the Heroes works with some of the most guarded, hardened, emotionally armored humans on earth.

If they can lower their guard here…
if they can process trauma here …
if they can reconnect, rebuild, and rediscover purpose here…

then this island holds the capacity to transform anyone who arrives with the desire to heal.

The same design principles that make The Aerial, BVI a haven for heroes also make it an extraordinary choice for:

• Leadership and founder retreats
• Couples’ and family restoration
• Purpose-driven events and summits
• High-impact transformational gatherings

The island is a luxury wellness private island, yes. But that is merely the wrapper. Underneath, it is a sacred environment designed to help people remember who they are and who they can still become… A Force for Good.

Heal the Heroes is living proof that when you combine:

• A sacred space intentionally surrendered for healing
• A community that understands the weight of service
• Professional support for body, mind, spirit, and science
• A pathway back into purpose and impact

…you do not simply create a meaningful week. You change destinies.

The Aerial, BVI is honored to be the starting point and sponsor of this work, giving heroes the environment they need to come alive again.

And on this island, between the waves and the wind, they often rediscover something they thought was gone forever: Hope.