Rich had a career in the United States Marine Corps from 1985 to 2015 as an Artillery Officer on active duty and in reserve units. He participated in the first Gulf War Operation Desert Shield/Storm and Restore Comfort, JTF 6-93 I Guantanamo Bay and Haiti, the Iraq War, US Intervention in Yemen, The Global War on Terror, The Korean Conflict Exercises Ulch-Freedom Guardian and in 2013 and Key Resolve in 2014.
His last active duty role and exercise was in 2014 as the USMC Liaison Officer to the Australian Forces during Joint exercise Talisman Saber. Rich retired as Lieutenant Colonel in 2015, with some of his billets being, Battery Commander, Fire Direction Officer at the Battery, Battalion and Regiment Levels, the Operations Officer for an Infantry Regiment, Current Operations Officer for Marine Corps Central Command (Forward) in theatre, Liaison Officer for U.S. Marine Corps Forces Korea to the Second Korean Army. He is also a recipient of the Bronze Star.
Rich just recently joined FVC to see what he can become involved with and how he can help his fellow Farmer Veterans.
Faucher Farms is a mixed use, integrated farm located on 82 acres in the Shenandoah Valley. They use “common sense traditional farming practices” - an integrated system using organic resources and methods for a sustainable farm business. They use biodiversity and regenerative concepts into their operational practices; livestock, produce, flower, orchard and forest operations, resulting in naturally healthy, high quality farm products. Their long term goal is to be a Certified Naturally Grown farm.
"Faucher Farms is a next step in a career of service and a family heritage of farming. Faucher Farms is a return to my youth of working on small New England farms, and a nod to my ninth great grandfather, who began farming in North America 365 years ago!"
Rich was having a difficult time transitioning back into civilian life and jobs, and after not being able to maintain steady employment, friends (Marine Buddies) asked him to check into therapy for PTSD. Rich has a 100% disability rating, because of his PTSD, physical injuries and other trauma that he needed to find a new purpose, another way to serve and prove he wasn't really disabled but an active and contributing person to others and his community.
"When my counsellor at the Vet Center in Oakland, CA asked if I was ever interested in farming and how our nation needed more farmers to replace all the farmers aging out, I thought this was it! I've always been passionate about the struggles of the farmer, and the need for me to serve others has always been a calling, and now I could serve my country by feeding my communities and beyond! Semper Farming!"
"I think as an American Farmer, there have always been struggles to beat the odds that you face with nature, public expectations,
competition from non-farm entities, foreign farmers and folks that try to take the value away from farmer products. Farmers are exactly where the literal rubber meets the road for the nation, for self-sustainability as a Nation, our National Security so we're not reliant on other nations for our food, a responsibility to the public as teachers and the first line of protection of our food supplies and food chain. An American Farmer is the one person every American should be able to go to and ask if everything with our food supply, quality and health are going to be alright. The American Farmer is the person to rely on to tell the ground fact-based truth to that question. We also need to be the ones that can be relied upon to have solutions for our food crisis and advocates for good Agriculture regulation and governance!"
