In 2018, Walking With The Wounded undertook The Walk of America – a 1000m walk of the US with a team of 6 wounded servicemen and women. Victoria managed this from start to finish, and was leading the expedition team on the ground for the duration of the 14 weeks. The walk involved a team of 3 x UK and 3 x US wounded, injured and sick service personnel walking over 1000 miles across the United States of America, highlighting the valuable work which the charity does to support our wounded in the UK and across the pond with our partnering organisations in the US. The expedition travelled through over 20 states, and visited more than 60 towns and cities from the start in LA in June, to the finish in New York in September.
For a walking expedition of 1000 miles completed on foot, the background logistics entailed over 55,000 vehicle miles being driven by the support fleet, the rotation of over 30 volunteers on the support crew, the coordination of 105 flights between the UK, the US and internally, and coordinating the entire expedition team of a minimum of 15 people on the road for 104 nights.
We were delighted to have Prince Harry as our UK Expedition Patron once again, and honoured to be joined by our US Patron Dr. Jill Biden and her husband, former Vice President Biden.
The expedition planning and coordination involve the selection and training of both the US and UK team members, with multiple events taking place in both locations. The expedition management included:
- the selection and coordination of the support crew for the whole 14 week expedition duration – involving up to 30 crew members, with travel coordination for all
- medical /physio assessment and support for team members
- US and UK sponsor liaison throughout
- high profile expedition start and finish events
- all kit and equipment procurement
- kit branding
- 24-7 vehicle back up support x 4 vehicles
- Film / TV / News crew liaison and coordination
- accommodation and food for 104 days on the road for a team of up to 20 at any one time
- the flights and all travel requirements for all team members, support crew, media teams, film crew, drivers etc totalling 105 flights
Victoria thrives with large international logistical challenges and multinational expeditions and was delighted to successfully deliver this expedition for Walking With The Wounded.