We recently connected with Dan Hudson and have shared our conversation below.

Dan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Our non-profit was founded in March 2021. The mission was to take stories of veterans healing from trauma and turn them into meaningful and healing songs. The first story we received was from a dear friend and veteran. Little did we know at the time the poem she provided was about surviving sexual trauma.

We worked with the veteran by taking her poem and constructing a rough musical outline. We were fortunate enough to have an artist willing to not only put her touch on the draft, but to also get this now song, produced. The amazing thing about the song, entitled “Collateral Damage” is that it was written, produced and the band were all females. This song became an anthem for those courageous women who have survived sexual trauma. The song was ultimately nominated for Independent Pop Country single of the year.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a trauma survivor. After completing some intense therapy, I learned a very valuable lesson from my wife. She told me that I needed to start living “back in the middle”. I didn’t know what that meant at the time. I had given up all of my hobbies and anything that made me happy. She told me that the middle was just that, the things that made me happy.

I picked up my brushes and started to paint. From there, I picked up my guitar and started to play again. Then it was on to the drums and laser art. All of these hobbies are so far away from my 28 year career as a solider and law enforcement officer. I used to feel guilty about anything that brought me joy. My family, the middle, is exactly what I was missing.

I found out that I was not alone in these feelings. Our non-profit, Operation Check Six, started to grow rapidly and we have not looked back. In military terms, checking your six is watching your back and your partner’s back.
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What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Honesty, empathy, and integrity. These three attributes are sometimes hard to face. Honesty may not always give the answer we want to hear. However, being empathetic to each individual situation shows love and compassion to those we serve. There can be no longevity without integrity.

We accomplish all three of these by never asking someone to try something we ourselves would not try. It becomes a situation were once comfortable, we may ask someone to go just out of their comfort zone. We do it with ourselves to lead by example. For instance, I am a drummer in the music world. Our group needed someone to play bass, so I learned bass. Then we needed someone to sing, so I would sing, not well, but I did it. I learned a great deal about myself by trying new things and executing them.

Performance is a small bit of what we do, but it takes the most time. We have to demonstrate what others can achieve or it’s just words.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Our primary goal is to provide a safe and diverse group of individuals that can effectively enhance a person’s life after they have completed a treatment program. To provide not just a place, but a purpose. To offer a challenging new skill, whether that be in art, writing, or music. We also include the families in this process. The families are often forgotten in a trauma survivors household. Unfortunately, the family may have suffered in a similar manner as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://operationchecksix.org
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/operationchecksix
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@danhudson3787