Navy SEAL Foundation

As a Gold Star Family member, I am so grateful for all of the work that the Navy SEAL Foundation does to support the families of fallen heroes. Their sense of community helps fill a void by surrounding us with others we can relate to and speak with about what we are going through. Thank you!

04/07/2024 The Navy SEAL Foundation (NSF) has had an immeasurable impact on me and my family. My service in the SEAL Teams took a toll on me and, only through the support of NSF, was I able to heal, become a better husband and father, and become a better figure in the community after my service. NSF funded counseling for my wife and I, paid for middle guy to get tutoring to overcome a learning disability, assisted me in finding a great career after the Teams, and supported my kids going to camp to connect with other SEAL kids who have experienced a similar upbringing. NSF has truly saved my marriage, given me hope for the future after the Teams, and improved the lives of my kids.❤️

I have worked with Navy SEAL Foundation for over a decade and cannot say enough wonderful things about them. I am continually impressed with the level of commitment give to their mission. I have seen first hand the impact their support has on this community. I was fortunate enough to be allowed to be a camp counselor for one of their Gold Star kids camps and was so impressed with the entire program they had put together for these remarkable kids. Truly was a life changing experience for me.

It doesn’t hurt that everyone I have ever worked with at NSF is a complete joy to know and to work with. I would give them 10 stars if I could. Keep up the great work, NSF!

The Foundation has helped me in more ways than I can remember, but recently, they’ve rewarded me with a $5,000 scholarship for this fall semester at college, which helps out more than I can express. Their programs have sent me to places I never would’ve been able to go without their help.

In an albeit meager attempt to give something back, I’ve volunteered at numerous of their events, and have always been welcomed and respected. The Navy SEAL Foundation is, in my opinion, an exemplary model for how non-profit organizations should operate.

My husband was a career Navy SEAL before passing away approaching his 21st year of service. While active duty my family found value in their family day events, informative course offerings and my children lived for the weeks at summer camp.
Now as a Gold Star family we see support 10 fold. The connection to educational resources and support in grief counseling is priceless. It is not lost on my children and I the time and effort put into organizing our Gold Star retreats and we are very grateful. Time with others that experience a similar loss is critical to our healing. As a family we generally don't ask for a lot but I know if there is a need the Navy SEAL Foundation would be there to support.

I can’t thank the NSF enough. After loosing my brother (a navy SEAL) this foundation completely stepped up! The siblings kind of get lost when it comes to grief, which is understandable. However the NSF makes a point to value the siblings along with the parents, spouses, and children of the lost. After attending my first sibling retreat I was amazed. It was so helpful to be around others that felt and hurt like me, to see that I was not alone. This staff cares and I have made so many life long friends along the way. I am so grateful to the NSF!!

I’ve spent my entire life working for the Navy, but have been a Naval Special Warfare (NSW) spouse for only a few years. I thought I knew what I was signing up for, since I’d watched friends and coworkers on the Fleet side get married, have children, relocate and survive deployments and travel. I’d seen many marriages survive and many fail. So when I married a SWCC, I thought I knew what I was in for.

I did not.

The types of work, the amount of travel, the responsibilities, the stress, the culture…everything was different. There is a beautiful, unique culture within NSW. There is a familial bond among operators and support and families that I’ve felt nowhere else. NSW also has unique challenges, largely due to the work NSW personnel perform. It is fast-paced and unrelenting. The types of personalities who are attracted to NSW in the first place seem to be those who enjoy the adrenaline it provides. They love the work they do and the impact they have. They’re proud of their team, themselves and the ideals they’re employed to protect.

However, the immediate families are the ones who notice the impacts on their loved ones—the forgetfulness, the injuries, the anxiety, the change in alcohol use, the silence, the mental load, the chase. The NSF knows what these families experience and work to prevent serious issues and respond to their needs.

They celebrate the wins in a beautiful way that really drives home to everyone that this path they’ve chosen may be their normal, but it is actually quite exceptional and extremely admirable.

My son knows “Daddy is away for work” as well as he knows his own name, so when NSF plans special events for NSW families, he sees he’s not the only one whose daddy leaves for a while. He realizes how special his daddy is and how his daddy is part of a team who cares for each other when they're away.

NSF also recognizes the challenges of education in remote areas, where securing quality education requires additional support. Tuition assistance opens doors for our son that may not otherwise be opened.

We have not utilized every program NSF provides, but the ones we have are greatly needed and appreciated. Thank you to every donor, volunteer or sponsor. The people who work at NSF really are making a huge difference in the lives of people who need the grace and support they so generously give.

The Navy Seal Foundation gave my husband and I a generous gift around Christmas time. Their gift helped make our holiday season less stressful as we had recently had multiples and had obtained many new expenses. We are so grateful for the NSF and all they do!

This is a little late, but long overdue. The Navy SEAL Foundation is an organization from which the Naval Special Warfare community (Navy SEALs, technicians, analysts, and logisticians) has benefited in countless ways. They have supported our sailors' and their families' and children's needs and have become a pillar of our community. They are a fair and fiduciarily responsible provider of many resources for our community and have focused on providing lasting care for future needs, given the human cost (physical injury, psychological injury, moral injury, TBI, PTS, etc.) serving our Nation exacts on our Warriors and their families. Thank you for everything that you have provided for our community!

The Navy SEAL Foundation has been essential in our military service. They have provided marital counseling, babysitting relief, and pre and post deployment retreats for our family. Military life is HARD!! Knowing that the Navy SEAL Foundation is a reliable resource has allowed us to persevere gracefully and thrive as a family, I can't thank them enough...

I received a scholarship from the Navy Seal Foundation a few years ago for fitness and health coaching. After completing the programs, I have successfully changed careers to a career that can easily move with me instead of starting over with each military move. My children look forward to Spec Ops every year. They enjoy seeing friends they made from previous Spec Ops camps and they like the comradery they have with the other campers. I also truly appreciate the support NSF provides our family and Teams pre, during and post-deployment. They make the hardest times more manageable.

This organization does great things to help military families! As a Naval officer, my husband is not always around. The Navy Seal Foundation sponsors many activities for military families to provide valuable family bonding experiences. My family has taken part in a few of these and they are wonderfully organized and truly provide special family time!

Absolutely stellar organization to work with. Their passion for their mission is evident in everything they do and in every individual who I have had the pleasure to work with. My company has worked to support many of their initiatives for over a decade and each time I am so impressed with the caliber of the people involved and their committment to best support this community. I had the pleasure of participating in one of their Gold Star kids camps, and was told before I went that it would be a life changing event for me and it absolutely was. It was an absolute honor to be a part of this camp and witness first hand the impact it had on these amazing, resilient kids. Navy SEAL Foundation is a well run organization from top to bottom. I appreciate their financial transparency and how they create real relationships with their sponsors. Most of all, I appreciate the real impact they have on a very special community of heroes and their families.

They are familiar with every time of unforeseen circumstance or emergency a military family may face, and they are ready to respond immediately with empathy, grace, compassion, and diplomacy.

I've worked with the Navy SEAL Foundation for the past six years. I've seen firsthand how they are an incredible asset to the NSW community and aid in making our Nation's elite warriors an even stronger fighting force. I've met numerous members of the NSW community here in Virginia Beach, VA, that have been helped or served by the Navy SEAL Foundation in some capacity. They always echo what a fantastic job NSF is doing for the community. Keep on doing what you're doing!

The Navy SEAL Foundation has been the only organization that was able to assist me in my time of need. Being in NSW for nearly a decade, I have personally seen countless times how NSF has helped those in NSW and their families. I never imagined I would be a recipient of their services. In 2020, I was diagnosed with a rare lung cancer that the VA linked to burn pits connected to to my deployments during my career. This resulted in an invasive surgery, thoracotomy, to remove my left upper lung. This has changed my life in many ways, most certainly in a way that will never as it was prior to surgery. I needed special equipment for my recovery. Once the NSF was involved it took less than 10 days for them to step up and help my family and I. I am just so very thankful for NSF and what they do.

There are truly no words I can put into context to express the gratitude I have for the Navy SEAL Foundation--- which I have fortunately, and unfortunately experienced on multiple different levels. I am both a Gold Star Family Member as well as spouse of an active-duty service member (recently medically discharged), and the foundation has assisted my family over the past several years.

During and since the loss of my brother in 2015, the foundation has gone above and beyond to assist my family in all the logistics during a time of crisis and mindlessness—not only taking care of the needs of myself, parents and sister, but also those closest to us.; assisting in providing the unthinkable needs during a time of unknown; and providing during, immediately after and ongoing support to our family. This is to include, but not limited to flowers to my parents every mother’s/father’s day, anniversary, memorial day etc. They have provided overwhelming support via various retreats for Gold Star Family Members, some of which are family oriented and some sibling specific (etc) --- numerous opportunities for “mingling” with other Gold Star Family members including flights, lodging etc. which proves to be some of the greatest support many of us feel on an ongoing basis. We have been provided immediate, ongoing and lifelong grief counseling which comes to need at various times for many of us. We gather for Memorial Day services and so on, which the NSF brings us together for. When another fallen member died in 2017 who grew up with us and was like a family member, they treated as one in the same providing our and his family the same crisis support. Again, I could go on and on, but these have been some of the most meaningful support areas for myself and family throughout the years as a Gold Star Family member.

As the spouse of an active-duty service member there are multiple events throughout each and every year the foundation holds for support and gathering. I have only been to a couple, but some of my favorites are those for our kiddos to gather. There are also some of the same financial and emotional support offerings for various circumstances and I am certain a wide variety otherwise that I haven’t personally experienced.

During the former half of this year, we recently had a traumatic family event which ultimately resulted in the medical discharge of my husband, also a SEAL, and I sincerely cannot put into the words the gratitude I have for the support myself, our kids, and my husband received. The NSF provided a non-judgemental safe haven during crisis to ensure not only myself and kids were okay in lodging, financial support for material goods, and mental/emotional well-being, but also for that of my husband with his hospitalizations and rehabilitation programs.

From the depth of my soul, I attribute the NSF’s ongoing outreach, support, and guidance to resources during a great portion of the past year to the current health and happiness of our family. They consistently ensured our family’s safety and general well-being--- at all times. We were provided with emotional/mental support physically, by phone and by video chats. We were offered numerous resources and immediate physical support and personnel, no matter what hour of the day. Most importantly to me, they provided us a safe-haven, support, and comfort which helped me to keep our children, ages 2 and 3, happy, healthy, and safe at all times despite otherwise very traumatic circumstances.

Without the Navy SEAL Foundation and outreach supports they assist with, I am truly not sure we would be home, happy, and healthy with my husband/”daddy” today.

I, and we, are forever greatful for the Navy SEAL Foundation, and for all the selfless individuals who devote themselves to the wellbeing of SO many people on SO many levels. We

We are a Gold Star Family. We lost our son, SBC Zach Buob, SWCC 28 May 2015 to road rage. He had just taken a new duty, his first job on land...no more overseas duty, at the Advanced Training Command in Imperial Beach, CA. We were so proud of his Naval career. He started out as a Gunners Mate on the USS Antietam in 1995. He worked his way to Special Warfare Command & SBC 12 in 2002. He made Chief Petty Officer in 2007. Zach made many deployments and wasn't able to be home much. But we tried to see each other as much as was possible. Phone calls, texting and video chats helped.

When we got the call at work that there were Naval Officer's at our home and that Zach had been killed on his motorcycle the night before, our family was devastated. The Special Warfare Command sent us a Chaplain, a Senior Chief Petty Officer (who knew Zach from SBT 12), and other Chief's who volunteered to drive from Imperial Beach and Coronado to our home in San Jose to give us personally the news of our only son's death. Our daughter and son-in-law met us at our home. We were given the news.

When it came time to deal with the burial in San Jose, Navy SEAL Foundation was there for us. When it came time to attend the Navy Memorial at Coronado Navy Base, Navy SEAL Foundation was there for our family. When we needed to attend court hearing in San Diego County, Navy SEAL Foundation helped us with a place to stay during the two grueling years.

We began an annual fundraiser to give back to the Navy SEAL Foundation in Zach's honor and memory. We want others in need to be able to get the same support we still get from them seven years after our son was killed. We are part of an awesome Navy family. My husband was Navy. My Dad was Navy. Bless you Navy SEAL Foundation. ⚓️������������⭐️������������

There aren’t enough words to describe the appreciation that I have for the support that both me and my family has received from the Navy SEAL Foundation.
Personally, I was medically discharge from the Teams with a service connected, combat related disability, that is chronic. Western medicine has done little to reduce the progress of my condition, and insurance companies don’t support non-FDA approved medical practices. As my medical condition worsened, I felt helpless because I did not have the option to seek alternate ways to improve my medical condition; however, I took a leap of faith and went with Chinese Homeopathic medicine methods, and I actually started to get positive results. The problem is that this alternate medical path is not supported by the VA or insurance agencies, and the cost is out of pocket. At over $1,300/month, I had no way to continue this alternate treatment method, despite the positive results. I presented my case to the Navy SEAL Foundation, and they have helped me with some seeding money, and I hope to return to them with additional information supporting their decision and hopefully get additional support, but most importantly, help people with my condition with hope that there is a way to slow down the inevitable and have some quality of life a little longer.
Family wise, I don’t even know where to start…it’s been tough…let’s put it that way. We lost our 21-year-old son to cancer last year. It was hard on the whole family, but our youngest daughter was not prepared and she took it the hardest…she lost her hope to live and we struggled getting her the help she needed. To make matters worse, again, insurance companies don’t help in matters that are super important, like mental health. The Navy SEAL Foundation gave us hope by helping us get the appropriate care that our daughter needed and, almost 9 months later, we feel that our daughter is in a better place and ready to move forward with her life.
Thank you Navy SEAL Foundation and AC for all that you do!!!! LLTB

The Navy Seal Foundation is one of the most helpful Charities in support of their Navy Seal Families.
Jim

My experience being a "teammate" with the Navy SEAL Foundation (NSF) began about a year ago. Though I had served in support of NSW personnel while enlisted (1980's), only recently did I realize the importance and necessity of providing specialized programs for our warriors and their families. They deserve the very best that can be provided, and that is exactly what the NSF provides. Their support for Gold Star families is unsurpassed. Their ranking among all charitable organizations is in the top 1%! My event to benefit the NSF was called "Operation Salty 600". It was a success in large part to the wonderful people who volunteer at the NSF. I am honored to be a teammate and would highly recommend others getting "onboard!"

I ( Tim Gill) would like to thank the Navy SEAL Foundation for the opportunity they gave me to reconstruct my life mentally, physically and spiritually through the Virginia High Performance program and finding out more about the programs they use to support the warriors and their families. The Foundation's mission is straight out of t
Matthew 25:35-36 (NIV) : For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. All this said means that you have helped me and others by creating programs to help those who are imprisoned with mental health problems, feeding them with information about health, nutrition, fitness and recovery. You have reached out to assistance in any manner that you can provide for our needs. While in the program, I had a family emergency that you assisted me with providing funds needed to take care of my family while I was here. God bless and thank you for everything that you have done for me and others. I have turned this broken body into a rebuilt temple to continue to carry out the mission of God, country and fellow man .

The Navy Seal Foundation has impacted me in such a profound way that I am not sure words can ever convey what their love and support mean. This was my introduction into their love, I was sitting on the floor of the lady’s bathroom as I broke down and kept saying I did not want to be a part of their “club” when some of them sat down next to me and held me; they just sat there and cried and held me until I collected myself, it had only been a few months after my son’s passing. There was no judgement not trying to fix each other just endless amounts of love!
As the years have passed these relationships have grown stronger and now as I move further along in my grief journey, I can show the love and compassion that these people offered me with an open heart. The families I have met and now call friends are some of the dearest people I would have never known if it was not for the NSF. Their love and support make dark days bearable and light days someone to smile with. Thank you

I am the Mother of fallen Navy SEAL Danny Phillip Dietz Jr. My son was KIA 6/28/2005. The Navy SEAL Foundation has helped our family from the day we got out first knock out son was MIA. Then days later our final knock. They are family who have brought many family members together who walk our new walk. Through their many forms of help I have learned to carry on in my new norm of life without my DJ. I don't know where I would be without the support they have given me and continue to give me. Thank you for your genuine support.

As a 12 year veteran of Naval Special Warfare I can not stress enough how important the contributions and the programs offered by the Navy SEAL Foundation directly affect our community. During my active duty time and as well as my transition period to the civilian sector, NSF helped me graduate with a Bachelor's Degree by providing support where it was needed. NSF allowed me to participate in unique transition programs to professionally develop not just myself but my family as well. NSF provided events to meet our great donors to thank them personally so they could see the effect their contributions have on our "Brotherhood". Due to these programs my family and I are in a much better position to go after the unknown and our future. NSF enabled me to, how we would say in the Teams..."Hold the High Ground" And for that I am humbled and forever grateful to not just my brothers in the Teams but NSF as a family. "Long Live"

The Navy SEAL Foundation has been a part of my life since its inception. While serving on active duty and as a retired SEAL, the NSF has cared for Teammates, Family, and myself. While on active duty, I attended post-deployment workshops to assist us in readjusting to life at home after many combat deployments. As a Veteran, the NSF provided the opportunity to attend Virginia High Performance as a method to find a "hard reset" as a transitioned to civilian life.
I highly encourage anyone interested in supporting the leader in caring for our Naval Special Warfare members and their families to consider contacting and supporting the Navy SEAL Foundation.

The NSF has helped me personally MULTIPLE times in my career both personally and professionally AND they continue to do so after I’ve left the active duty ranks. I cannot express my gratitude enough for all the NSF does for the community!

The Navy SEAL Foundation matches the elite professionalism of the warriors and families they serve. I have met countless members of the Naval Special Warfare community that have benefited from support of the Navy SEAL Foundation. Sometimes this support is coming at one of the worst times in their lives, but often the Foundation is there in support of the day-to-day struggles of family life in a high-stress military lifestyle.

The measure of a nonprofit, in my mind, is the effectiveness of it's efforts for the community it serves, and the efficiency at which it uses it's financial backing. Based on the the first-hand accounts that I have been exposed to, the Navy SEAL Foundation executes flawlessly on the former. And given the fact that 94 cents of every dollar makes it to the programs for the SEAL warriors and families, they certainly prove the latter.

I have had the pleasure of working with the NSF both on a person and on a professional level. In 2017 my husband was in an accident while on a training site. As a result he was airlifted to the hospital where he remained in ICU for 5 days before being transferred to a local hospital for the remainder of his stay (30 days). From day 1, the NSF was there to support us in any way deemed necessary, even before the Navy offered support. Within 2 hours of notification of his accident, they had the family member of our choosing booked on a flight to be with us. They also extended support for accommodations for hotel, car and child care. During my husbands extensive stay in the hospital, they continued to provide us with at home childcare. Prior to being discharged, the NSF also extended their care by purchasing a Tempurpedic adjustable bed to assist my husband with the challenges he faced with his mobility to and from stationary positions. To use, this was far more than we ever expected and very much appreciated.

From a professional level, I have had the privilege of working with the NSF for over 4 years as a member of a Family Readiness Board where we collaborated to assist our families of NSW. They have always exceed our expectations and continue to put our service-members and their families at the forefront of each of their missions.

I have a long history with the Navy SEAL Foundation (NSF). Since 2008, when I was a young enlisted member of the Navy Special Warfare (NSW) Community, NSF has operated quietly in the background, supporting all current and past NSW service members and their families. I have long benefited from their hard work and support. Now, I would like to tell you 3 short stories of my longer story with the NSF:

1. My first experience with the NSF was in 2008, before the NSF and the NSW Foundations merged to form the NSF as we know it, today. While attending a fundraising event as a guest, I was placed next to an NSF donor/ambassador, named Michael F. We connected almost immediately over our love of history and strategy. Michael and I kept in touch and he eventually became a mentor and dear friend. I still speak with him several times a year. He has made a huge impact on my life, and helped guide me in business, now that I have transitioned to civilian life.

2. In 2012 – after being shot in the upper arm, in the line of duty – I was unable to type with my right hand (my dominant hand). The issue: I was in my last semester of my bachelor’s degree, and was pressing to continue on, somehow, even if I had to type my final capstone projects with one hand! Again, always quietly watching, I was informed that the NSF had offered to pay for dictation software for my computer, alleviating most of the work of manually typing, allowing me to speak into my computer and the words to be typed. With the help of that software, I finished my last semester and went straight into a master’s degree after that. These degrees were critical for my current position in life and my success, here in the civilian world.

3. In 2017, when I made the decision to transition out of the military into the civilian world, but I was totally lost on how to go about it. Lucky for me, NSF had begun building a robust team and network for we transitioning NSW members. I was given a counselor, and began processing all my options and details for exiting the military. This counselor, Mike, was critical for giving me perspective and connecting me with the right people for me to succeed in the next 12-18 months, when my end of service came. He met with me anytime I needed him! In 2019, just after my transition, I was contracting in Saudi Arabia, which provided a living, but was not what I wanted to make a career. Through the NSF, I was made aware of a partner group, Elite Meet, which NSF helps support. Elite Meet specializes in helping educated Special Operators and military pilots to network and find opportunities in numerous industries in business. NSF sponsored my travel and lodging to attend a fantastic 3-day event in fall of 2019, in Dallas, TX. As a result, I found a temporary job to keep me sustained, and eventually led to my move to Houston, TX, and my current job as a banker at J.P. Morgan Private Bank – a true future!

Now that I am on this side of the foundation, everyone should know about all the good NSF does for NSW service members and their families, just like they did for me and mine. I cannot say enough about how critical their help was in my success, over the last 12 years.

Navy Seals the epitome of courage, commitment and patriotic service to our beloved country������������

The Seal Foundation the logical extension of these hallowed principles - we are happy to support The Foundation������������

Amazing effort by a group of leaders who care about those that sacrifice so much for our amazing country!

I have worked daily with the Navy SEAL Foundation for 4 years. I have seen and been a part of the many great things they do for the SEAL community's Veterans and active duty components. As well as the families, Gold Star children, widows, siblings and parents of the fallen. The Navy SEAL Foundation literally does it all! And they do it with the same kind of no fail mission attitude that Naval Special Warfare lives by. Their commitment to service is unparalleled and unwavering!

When my husband was injured and needed support for a specialized medical device, the Navy SEAL Foundation took care of him so that he could get back to doing what he loved. Now that he is beginning his transition from military service to the civilian world, he is being supported by the NSF again. Knowing this organization is there for him, for me--for our family, makes all the difference in the world. I don't know what we'd do without them because there's no other organization that knows what life is like in the Teams like they do!

As a spouse of a SEAL I have received tremendous support from the NSF. I recently received a $5000 scholarship to pursue my masters degree. They have also helped in travel expenses for myself and my husband when our friends were killed.

I attended a fundraiser in Florida that was organized by a friend on behalf of the Navy SEAL Foundation and she was brought to tears due to the lack of support from the foundation. Here you had a citizen who was organizing and coordinating a function for the foundation and they were no where to be found throughout the planning stages. Finally my friend established contact with the Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Fl (Never knew there was a SEAL museum in Florida) and those folks saved the day. I thought all the SEAL organizations were under one umbrella but it looks like you have a few separate orgs. Bottom line is I'm sure the foundation helps the families but they need to be more responsive to the citizens who are trying to help them. I did find out that the SEAL museum has a house where they bring families to recover over their lost and fallen SEALs. I think I'll donate to that next -

Dear NSW Foundation (aka Navy SEAL Foundation),

During this most difficult time, you have given my family tremendous support. I cannot say enough how valuable your quick, thorough support has been. I know we will forever be a part of the Community.

Sincerely,

Navy SEAL family

Thank you for all you do to support the Navy SEALs! The work you have done for the men and families of Naval Special Warfare makes such a difference in the lives of these brave warriors. I cannot say thank you enough!

Gave a $100 donation on-line but did not receive any acknowledgment. Gave to another military special operations foundation and at least received a letter acknowledging the donation.