From July 17th to 23rd, our community will be supporting Iraq and Afghanistan veterans visiting from around the country who have physical and invisible wounds. They will travel with their families to Bozeman to participate in an event organized by Operation Never Forgotten (ONF) called the “SAS” (Sports, Afield and Stream) Project. The SAS Project will be staged at Big Sky Resort for warriors to discover new skills, mentorship, passions and hope through challenging outdoor sports, hunting, fishing and wilderness adventures.

Approximately fifty five warriors plus their caregivers will be flying in on various flights throughout the afternoon and evening of July 17th at the Bozeman airport. The Bozeman community is encouraged to hang out with welcome signs, or greet them at the Gallatin County Fair Rodeo on Saturday, July 21st.

On Friday, July 20th the public is invited to join warrior guests for entertainment at Big Sky Resort’s Missouri Ballroom. The social kicks-off at 5:30 PM followed by the program at 6:00 PM. There will be comedy entertainment, inspiring speakers, celebrity messages, great music, dancing, all you can eat reception food with cash bar, incredible trips for warrior guests to win, celebrity auction items, video messages by celebrities, and chances for everyone to win prizes!  Tickets are only $50 per person ($35 for service members and veterans).

The Master of Ceremonies will be comedian and former Marine, Mark Sweeney from St. Louis. The singer/songwriter line-up includes Lucas Hoge from Nashville, Adele Morgan from Alaska, and Devorah from Seattle. This exceptional talent reviewed at www.SASproject.org.

Although this entertainment night will be filled with fun and laughter to   attempt to wipe away any “survivor guilt” among warrior guests, speakers will be addressing the realities of invisible wounds as in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

“We’re moving the needle on awareness for invisible wounds this year,” states ONF President Linda Kelly.   “We’ve invited warriors who have been through successful treatment for PTSD and/or TBI to be available as mentors for other warriors coming to our event. We’ll also open the public eye to the great need for supporting our service members with combat stress injury as they integrate back into our society.”

Speakers include David Philipps coming in from Colorado Springs. Philipps, author of “Lethal Warriors,” has had extensive interviews with prisoners on death row because of PTSD. He will speak on, “Uncovering the Tragic Reality of PTSD.”   Tom Brokaw states, “A must-read for every American. In compelling and heart-healing stories, Philipps tells the story of the other war — the one at home.”

Army Sergeant First Class (ret) Mike Mills along with his wife Suki will be speaking on secondary PTSD within the family. They will talk about, “Family Strength… More Power than a Bomb.” Mike is a survivor of extensive and horrifying physical bone breaks, burns, amputations, and invisible injury that gave him a new purpose in life… to help other injured warriors gain the knowledge and support needed for healthy recoveries.

Army Captain (ret) Jesse Sellars commanded a unit that received 97 individual awards for heroism, valor and gallantry on the battlefield, two of which were awarded to him. Jesse will speak on “Surviving PTSD.” Jesse’s success on and off the battlefield as he supports veterans who have suffered from combat related stress disorders, has been highlighted on 60 Minutes, The Discovery Channel, PBS, The History Channel, FOX News, CNN, CBS, The Military Channel, and multiple nationally printed sources to include The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Time Magazine.  Jesse has also been publicly recognized by both President Clinton and President Bush for his accomplishments and contributions to his nation and his home state of Arkansas.

ONF is honored to host another SAS event this summer after their first one succeeded at Big Sky Resort in the winter of 2011. ONF is a non-profit, non-partisan, 100% volunteer organization designed to connect civilian and military worlds by fostering national awareness campaigns and support for deployed troops, wounded warriors, fallen heroes and military families.

ONF also helps keep the memories alive for Gold Star Families by creating personalized outdoor digital billboards posted in their hometowns. The billboards created for fallen heroes are not only for loved ones who were killed in action (KIA) in Iraq or Afghanistan but also for PTSD induced death (suicide). Gold Star Families hear about ONF’s awareness program and send family photos requesting billboards that read, “My Husband… Your Fallen Hero” or “My Dad… Your Fallen Hero” and so on. See ONF’s billboard gallery at www.operationNEVERforgotten.org.

See ONF’s Memorial Day tribute video with ONF’s national spokesman, Lee Greenwood at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=STaND_EnsEA

ONF’s missions cannot be accomplished without the cash, service and product donations. All donations go right to the warriors because ONF has no paid staff or administration.
For more information on the SAS project, please visit www.sasproject.org as well as more about ONF at   www.operationneverforgotten.org      

Linda Kelly is the President of Operation Never Forgotten (ONF) For Troops, Wounded Warriors, Fallen Heroes and Their Families. She can be reached at 406-581-8358 or linda@operationnf.org