Jumping In with The Green Beret Foundation & 18A Fitness (The Jedburgh Podcast Short-Form Series)

De Oppresso Liber. The motto of the Green Berets. To free the oppressed. The standard for excellence, the commitment to mission and the bonds developed through the hardest times define the Special Forces Regiment.

While down at Sandlot Jax and the Go Ruck Games host Fran Racioppi Jumps In with Brent Cooper, Executive Director of the Green Beret Foundation, and Kevin Edgerton, Founder of 18A Fitness, to discuss the mission of The Green Beret Foundation, their focus on supporting Green Berets of every generation and conflict, the Next Ridgeline military transition program and GBF’s recent accreditation by the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Special thanks to our partners Jaguar Land Rover of Fairfield and The Readiness Collective for donating the Defender ambulance and supporting our live recording at Sandlot.

Get involved and donate to the Green Beret Foundation to support our Special Forces past and present. 

Learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website and check out our video YouTube versions of all episodes here.

Highlights:

-Green Beret Foundation’s Pineland Initiative has expanded support to Green Beret’s of all generations and conflicts. (3:50)

-Brent discusses the program pillars including casualty support, health and wellness, family support and transition support. (8:08)

-GBF has recently been accredited by the Department of Veterans affairs. (12:48)

-GBF now has a Veteran Service Representative in each of the Special Forces Groups focused on supporting transitioning Green Berets in their VA disability claims. (13:15)

-Fran, Brent and Kevin reminisce about their days in Special Forces as Brent shares his career story from the civilian world into the military. (16:00)

-Brent talks about the expectation of excellence within Special Forces and how the community expects GBF to live that standard each day. (23:43)

-The Wall of Honor at GBF headquarters honors all 192 fallen Green Berets since 9/11. (27:46)

Quotes:

-”If we’re not growing, we’re dying…we were just helping the same amount of Green Berets each year. But for me, that’s not enough.” (4:45)

-”Since inception we have helped over 15,000 families.” (9:48)

-”The bloodline of Special Forces is our community. That brotherhood.” (11:39)

-”We are the only SOF benevolent organization that is accredited by the VA.” (12:52)

-“We ensure that all of our fallen brothers are honored. Never forgotten” (15:17)

-”The Green Beret Foundation was looking for a new executive director. And it was like, in an instant, 20 years of my life made sense.“ (18:55)

-“The most important thing on any team is trust.”(21:31)

-”That’s what our community expects. Anything less is a failure on our part.” (23:52)

-“You walk in there and you see your friends on there. You see your brothers on there.” (28:12)

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s, 18A Fitness, Analytix Solutions, Jaguar Land Rover of Fairfield and The Readiness Collective.