Dr. Ashurst began directing the Extension Military Teen Adventure Camp (MTAC) program in 2012.  The basis of the MTAC program is to provide “goal-oriented, experiential activities within nature using a family-based approach to create a deeper understanding and greater appreciation among family members, which can lead to more positive and successful outcomes” (Ashurst et al., 2014). The MTAC curriculum is grounded in wilderness and adventure therapy models.  In general, wilderness and adventure therapy models utilize an adventure experience to engage participants at cognitive, affective, and behavioral levels (Gass, Gilles, Russell, 2012).  

The MTAC program was initiated through a grant opportunity funded by the Department of Defense between the Office of Military Community and Family Policy and the USDA NIFA. Purdue University is the primary awardee, and the University of Kentucky has received multiple awards from Purdue to develop and deliver MTAC programming since its inception.  As of 12/31/22, 60 camping programs have been offered with a total of 2,032 slots available, with a track record of about 90% of slots being filled by the time the camps are held. Examples of wilderness-based activities that have been offered at the camps include canoeing, skiing, horseback riding, wilderness survival, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, zip-lining, backpacking, and camping. Program offerings specific to equine have included: horse grooming, trail riding, and horse vaulting programs.  Additionally, through a separate funding allocation, a special equine therapy program was offered for Wounded Warrior and Special Operations families at the Center for Courageous Kids and Mammoth Cave National Park.  

MTAC has predominately focused on serving military teens, but Kentucky's program is unique. Our focus has always been on parent-teen dyads, to allow an opportunity for service members to reconnect with their teenage children following extended deployments and service-related absences.  MTAC uses experiential learning opportunities which require the parent-teen teams to work in unison to overcome the presented challenge or obstacle.  Dyads are trained in the adventure activity, set daily goals, work together toward skill building, and participate in guided discussions with trained mental health and experiential education facilitators to foster communication and strengthen the overall parent/child relationship.   

The MTAC program has been evaluated utilizing both the Conner-Davison Resilience Scale 10-Item (CD-RISC 10) and is evaluated during every grant cycle using the American Camp Association Youth Outcomes Battery (ACA YOB). The CD-RISC 10 assesses participant personality, stress level, and coping abilities to determine a resiliency factory. The ACA YOB is utilized to measure personal and relational skill camp outcomes.  Ashurst, Weinsenhorn, & Atkinson’s 2020 findings “suggest an increase in resilience for both the parents and the teenage children, as evidenced by pre-and post-program stress and coping abilities.” (p.5).   The ACA YOB is a youth assessment only and compared against data collected by the American Camp Association. The same 2020 evaluation study also found that “MTAC teens exceeded the average when compared to other campers, such as problem-solving and connecting with others” (p.4).

The MTAC program is a prime of example of how the Cooperative Extension Service can utilize experiential learning to foster positive youth and family assets.   The adventure piece of the curriculum allows participants to tackle an unexpected challenge ultimately boosting self-confidence, self-efficacy, and resiliency skills. 

In 2017-2018, Kentucky MTAC personnel undertook 6-month follow-up online study of adult and teen MTAC participants. Adolescent respondents indicated that their attendance at an MTAC camp helped them deal more effectively with the reintegration process, and helped improve their communication with their parents. Similarly, 100% of the responding families (service member and adolescent both) stated that they share more personal experiences with each other as a result of attending the camp.

Qualitative data from the 2022 KY MTAC camps found a number of themes that focused on mental health and well-being:

 Ashurst, K., Smith, L., Little, C.,Frey, L.,Werner-Wilson, T., Stephenson, L. & Werner-Wilson, R. (2014) Perceived Outcomes of Military-Extension Adventure Camps for Military Personnel and Their Teenage Children, The American Journal of Family Therapy, 42:2, 175-189

Ashurst, K., Weisenhorn, D., & Atkinson, T. (2020). Extension Military Parent-Teen Camp Experiences: Family Resilience Building in Action. The Journal of Extension, 58(2), Article 14. 

Gass, M., Gillis, H., Russell, K. (2012). Adventure therapy: Theory, research, and practice. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.