There are a whole lot of military veterans in Burning Man’s history and Black Rock City’s neighborhoods. Combat veterans Dr Raymond Christian (Army) and Samuel Williams (Marines) share stories with Stuart Mangrum (Air Force) about transitioning into civilian life, bringing survival skills and leadership chops to BRC, and finding tribal camaraderie… and a party.
They explore how hackneyed clichés of the military can wither in an environment of love and authenticity. PTSD, though, that’s still a thing. BRC can be like a military operation: the sights, the sounds, the smells... meeting interesting people, and finding forever friendships.
“Being in combat, you experience the worst of humanity… It pulls the veil off and you no longer care about the facade. You get raw about it because you've seen the extreme. Burning Man is the opposite of that. It is also extreme, but it is the very best that humanity has to offer. You're not going to experience anything more stimulating, more accepting, more exciting than Burning Man, because everybody there has coalesced and converged on this area to express their art and their love for the celebration of the human experience.” ~Samuel Williams