Tenstrike's Hay Creek Ranch hosts veteran elk hunt

TENSTRIKE — Taking a bull elk is something military veteran Kendall Roche has wanted to do his entire life.

While Roche served in the U.S. Air Force for six years, then the U.S. Army for another seven years, harvesting a bull elk at Hay Creek Ranch in Tenstrike was "the most exciting experience I’ve ever had in my life!"

Roche served in many capacities while in the military, from jet engine maintenance to infantry and intelligence. He traveled extensively, serving both Germany and the effort in the Persian Gulf, supporting the United States in some of the most memorable world military events of his lifetime.

But this service came at a cost. From hearing loss from jet aircraft maintenance to multiple ankle, knee and hip surgeries and multilevel spine fusions. Roche has endured ongoing pa