R&R challenges suit the camouflage set

If You Go

The following tour operators specialize in adventure vacations and have mid-tour leave packages for soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers typically don't find out when they will be allowed to depart until just a few weeks beforehand, and dates can change at the last minute, so it is wise to choose a company with flexible itineraries or one that will refund deposits if it cannot arrange another trip. Another option is travel insurance.

Prices for trip packages generally range from $2,000 to $15,000.

•REI Adventures (800-622-2236; www.rei.com/adventures) offers more than 140 trips to destinations worldwide.

•Adventure Life (800-344-6118; www.adventure-life.com) specializes in small group tours to Central and South America and Antarctica.

•Adventures Within Reach (877-232-5836; www.adventureswithinreach.com) is a good choice for military personnel, given that it is flexible and willing to accommodate uncertain dates.

•Solaris Expeditions and Safaris (800-330-6070; www.solarisexpeditions.com/midtourleave) offers packages specifically designed for military personnel and their families, including trips to Africa that, although exciting, are often more luxurious than strenuous.

•Bike Hike Adventures (888-805-0061; www.bikehike.com) specializes in multisport vacations for outdoor enthusiasts.

During eight tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan over nine years, Air Force Maj. Zach Barker flew numerous AC-130 gunship flights, gathering intelligence and providing fire support for ground troops.

When the time came for some R&R, he didn't choose to decompress on a secluded beach. He went trekking, kayaking and white-water rafting. And for his final mid-tour leave in 2008, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

"It was a kick in the pants to get close to the death zone," said Barker, 34, referring to the area near the mountain's summit where oxygen levels can get dangerously low. "It put me in my happy place."

As if dodging gunfire and improvised explosives isn't stressful enough, military personnel such as Barker are using their time off to pursue strenuous and adrenaline-charged activities, and some tour operators are offering packages specifically designed for them.

"I was looking to do something a little more adventurous than just going home," said Capt. Michael Dyer, 26, who spent 12 months in 2008-09 as a platoon leader for the 4th Infantry Division in Iraq.

For his mid-tour leave, Dyer took a trip to Vietnam organized by REI Adventures. It included highland trekking, kayaking and mountain biking.

"Walking around on daily patrols is hot, and you have to carry around the extra weight of the body armor, but it isn't like the activity I'm used to," said Dyer, who, before his deployment, competed in adventure races, a combination of trail running, kayaking and mountain biking. "I need to do a lot to get my fix."

Tour operators such as REI Adventures, Adventures Within Reach and Adventure Life say they have noticed a steadily increasing number of inquiries and bookings by service members over the last few years. Another outfit, Solaris Expeditions and Safaris, offers vacation packages called "Mid-Tour Leave Safaris and Adventures," discounted for combat soldiers.

The popularity of such trips is not surprising to Ward Carroll, editor of Military.com, a website that features news and information for service members.

"You have to think about who chooses the military life," said Carroll, a former Navy pilot who in May was embedded with the 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan. "Sitting on the couch is not in their DNA."

Moreover, soldiers with longer and repeated deployments have accumulated combat pay that is burning holes in their pockets, giving them the means to take such expeditions. Also encouraging the trend is a new Defense Department mandate that the 15-day mid-tour leave will no longer count against the standard 30 vacation days that servicemen and women are allowed. Many soldiers said not having to use up existing R&R has made them more likely to book trips to exotic locales rather than going home at mid-tour.

Many soldiers also cite the tedium of life in a combat zone as a motive for these trips.

"Despite the danger, being deployed is monotonous, period," said Sgt. Derek Cutting, 29, a member of the Army National Guard.

He served three tours in Iraq; the latest and longest was 18 months, which ended in April. For his mid-tour leave, which he took in January, Cutting went on a rafting trip down the Futaleufu River in Chile, organized by Adventure Life. Besides rafting, the trip included mountain biking, horseback riding and zip-lining.

"I wanted to push the limits," he said. Experts in the psychology of soldiers and sailors say they often have an unconscious need to keep the adrenaline flowing so that they won't lose their edge.

"Since they have to go back in a very short time, it's not psychologically or physically safe for them to leave that charged state," said Judith Broder, a Los Angeles-based psychiatrist who is the founder of the Soldiers Project, which provides free psychological counseling to active and retired service members. "Besides, it's not like bodies have an on/off switch for that kind of thing. It takes longer than two weeks."

Adventure travel companies report that soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan view even the most challenging itineraries as somewhat tame.

"For them, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is a step down on the adrenaline scale," said Barbara Hakala, vice president of sales with Adventures Within Reach in Denver, which specializes in packages to Africa, Asia and South America.