With You, I Serve

Resident dedicates life to aiding veterans in crisis

By Lucy Lawler

Photos courtesy of Adam Carr

When Adam Carr was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame last November, he was overcome with a range of emotions. Beyond gratitude, humility and vindication, one feeling seemed to rise above the rest: determination.

“Serving doesn’t end when you get out of service,” Carr says.

Donning the Green Beret

Carr’s desire to join the United States military solidified during his senior year of high school. The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks played a meaningful role in the decision.

“I can remember vividly being a teenager and seeing that and being really inspired by all the folks that stood up to volunteer to go defend our country,” Carr says. “Additionally, I didn’t have a way to pay for college, so it was kind of a twofold approach of, ‘I’m inspired to serve my country and I can earn my way through college.’”

He went on to serve in the Ohio Army National Guard as well as the Ohio Air National Guard, while completing an undergraduate degree in security and intelligence at The Ohio State University, which he earned in 2006.

Later that year, Carr became an Army Special Forces Green Beret, specializing in engineering and demolition while on active duty. It wasn’t until 2014 that Carr retired from military life, setting his sights on starting a new chapter back in Ohio.

Discovering Dublin

Thrilled by the prospect of returning home and reconnecting with family, Carr – stationed in Okinawa, Japan, at the time – and his wife, Tarah, started researching different areas of Columbus online.

Almost immediately, Dublin became a top contender due to its friendly atmosphere, he says.

“I mentioned Dublin to my wife, and she flew into town to take a look and really fell in love with the place,” Carr says. “We’ve just fallen in love with the community, the schools, everything that’s going on here, from what we’ve seen happen with Bridge Park to all the different development.”

Called to action again

In 2016, Carr began working at Save a Warrior, a nonprofit that aims to eradicate veteran suicide.

Save a Warrior’s main program is 72 hours in length and incorporates ideas from neuroscience, neurobiology, depth psychology, mythology, anthropology and more; overall, it takes a holistic approach to improving veterans’ mental health, Carr says.

Top: Adam Carr and his family.

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“There are plenty of retreats and organizations out there where you have people kind of sitting around the fire drinking, telling war stories, and that’s not the approach,” he says. “The approach is to go all the way back down to where the trauma actually happened, the ‘original crime scene’ is what we like to call it, and process that and move through that and accept that.”

As of 2023, Save a Warrior has served more than 2,000 people, Carr says. As director of innovation, he is currently working to expand Save a Warrior’s reach through digital means, such as a virtual academic center designed for out-of-state veterans.

Carr is excited to see how Save a Warrior can grow in the future. Its mission is simple but its impact is profound: to save lives. According to research touted by Carr, for every person who takes their own life, 135 people – from first responders on the scene to siblings, parents, friends, coworkers and more – are affected.

“For every person that doesn’t take their life, you know that’s 135 people who are positively impacted,” he says.

Protecting the future

Now a father of three, Carr hopes to put the mentorship and public speaking skills he’s acquired over time into consistent practice, he says. Whether that means coaching a sport or giving talks at local schools, Carr says he is ready to step up.

“Being involved with the community and being a positive figure is really important to me,” he says. “Continuing to give back and make a positive impact here matters.”