ROCKPORT, Texas — Justin Patterson walks with purpose. His stride is steady, but the scars of war run deep.

“I believe god has a handle on this and that’s why we are so successful and so blessed in our fundraising and everything we’re doing,” said Patterson, co-founder of 10 Klicks Outdoors. “I believe god put me in a position and I’m just a vessel.”

The Rockport resident joined the U.S. Army in early 2001. Over the next 14 years, he completed multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as a sniper.

“It’s the best worst job I’ve ever had,” he said. “Having to deal with the stains of the soul after the fact. Losing friends, watching people perish and taking life.”

He was awarded four Bronze Stars and three Purple Hearts. A 2008 roadside bomb left him with severe head trauma.

“I spent

See Full Page