WHAT:
The organization that pioneered the concept of veteran-led disaster response is opening their first regional officein Kansas City, MO.

Join Team Rubicon’s co-founder William McNulty, Director of Domestic Operations Matt Pelak, and Region 7 Director Ford Sypher as they open the doors to the first office by chainsawing through a ribbon-covered log with Military Veterans standing with them to symbolize their regional disaster readiness.

During the open house, there will be complimentary food, drink, and opportunities for attendees to learn about Team Rubicon’s (TR) international and domestic disaster relief efforts and to talk with members of the TR team who responded to the Joplin tornado.

WHY:
TR unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with medical professionals to deploy vanguard teams that bridge the gap in disaster response. Due to the rapid growth of our volunteer base, and our desire to engage that base more regularly here at home, Team Rubicon is restructuring the organization to allow for more effective response to both large and small domestic disasters. It feels good to grow!

TR decided to launch its pilot program for domestic development in Kansas City under the direction of Ford Sypher, an Army Ranger veteran and TR Team Leader in Tuscaloosa and Joplin.  Ford and Co. are hanging their sign up in Kansas City (FEMA Regional Headquarters…how nice), and would love it if TR-Nation supporters would swing by with some home-made brownies—actually Ford will pass on the brownies, he hasn’t eaten a carb since 2004.

TR has chosen Kansas City as the pilot model, due to logistical strength in responding to disasters in the surrounding states by developing a centralized logistical and supply operations center in our hometown. As well, with nearly one-third of the TR veteran volunteers based in the Midwest, we have a strong grassroots network to build upon. These two features of Region 7 help promote TR’s overall mission: Reintegrating veterans as they return home from war through service, volunteerism, and building community – all while serving the communities they call home through disaster response assistance.

WHERE: 
Team Rubicon Region VII Office
207 Westport Road Suite A
Kansas City, MO 64111

WHEN:
Monday December 5th
4PM – “Ribbon” Chainsawing and Opening Ceremony
4:30PM to 7:00PM – Open House with food, drink, and conversation

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Filed under: Missouri, Region 7 by Ford on November 29, 2011
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IdeaMensch

Jake Wood serves as President of Team Rubicon, the organization he co-founded following the massive earthquake in Haiti. Team Rubicon unites the unique skills America’s returning veterans offer with the expertise of medical professionals; all while interactively engaging donors through social media. As president, Jake is focusing on establishing Team Rubicon’s organizational vision in order to direct sustainability and scalability.

As a leading veteran advocate, Jake speaks around the country on the issues facing returning veterans. He is also a member of numerous veteran-focused committees, including the Clinton Global Initiative, Veteran Innovation Center Executive Operating Committee and the VA Emergency Response Committee. Jake has authored and published articles related to veteran issues and disaster response in outlets such as the Huffington Post and Foreign Policy.

Prior to Team Rubicon, Jake served 4 years in the United States Marine Corps. He was the Honor Graduate of his platoon in boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego and continued his training at the Camp Pendleton School of Infantry. Jake graduated at the top of his School of Infantry (SOI) class of more than 300 students and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines. In 2007 he deployed with 2/7 to Iraq’s Anbar Province as a fire team leader. Following an IED blast in which his squad leader was severely wounded, Jake was combat meritoriously promoted to corporal and made squad leader. Following his tour, Jake was awarded the Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal with “V” for valor in the face of the enemy.
(more…)

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Filed under: In The Media by William on November 14, 2011
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On Veterans Day 11-11-11, Team Rubicon volunteers partnered with the local Habitat for Humanity chapter to help renovate and landscape a fellow veteran’s home in Valencia, CA as part of Habitat’s new Habitat for Heroes program.

This was part of TR’s first veteran service project taking place across the country.  Team partnered with Habitat for Humanity chapters in Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, California and Missouri.

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Filed under: News, PTSD, Service Projects, Veterans, Veterans Day, Video by Kirk Jackson on November 14, 2011
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Filed under: In The Media, News, Veterans, Veterans Day, Video by Kirk Jackson on November 13, 2011
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I’ve always celebrated Veteran’s Day the same way every year. I celebrated it much in the same fashion as I celebrate President’s Day or Columbus day- by doing nothing. For me, it has always been a day of closed banks and mediocre parades. I’m not, by any means, against the idea of Veteran’s Day. It just has never really rang home for me.

That all changed on 11-11-11. On that day I was introduced to what Veteran’s Day truly symbolizes. I had the opportunity to continue my service to the citizens of this incredible country by taking part in a coordinated nation-wide build with Habitat for Humanity. My particular location was NYC but there were simultaneous builds all over the US.

You may ask how this ties into Veteran’s Day and the answer is this- I did it with fellow veterans. In the military, you develop instant bonds with fellow service personnel. You develop the same ideals and work ethics. All of that culminates into incredible outcomes. I was fortunate enough to witness this once again with Team Rubicon on 11-11-11.

My experience transitioning to the civilian community left me longing for this type of environment. I constantly struggled with being in situations where the work ethics, leadership, sense of belonging and teamwork was lacking. Out of despair, I finally convinced myself that this is just how things are and my experiences in the military were a thing of the past.

Team Rubicon has completely changed my outlook on life; a new and refreshed perspective with familiar themes. Being alongside the best citizens this country has to offer, effectively accomplishing a goal and developing life long bonds this weekend has made this Veteran’s Day that most productive and rewarding one of my lifetime. For me, the humanitarian acts that TR performs are merely a positive byproduct of the overall mission- filling a burdensome void within veterans.

I hope supporters of Team Rubicon understand that by supporting TR you are not just ensuring that the logistical aspect of the mission is fulfilled but you are bridging the gap for all veterans who return to the civilian world. You are giving purpose, identity, continued service and fulfillment to individuals who so desperately yearn for those intangible ideas.

I personally want to thank every service member for their sacrifices, the selfless dedication of Team Rubicon volunteers and to the supporters of Team Rubicon who give us an outlet for our values that we uphold so strongly.

-JC McGreehan
Team Rubicon
Region III Coordinator

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Filed under: News, Personal Reflections, Service Projects, Veterans, Veterans Day by William on November 13, 2011
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Vet-er-ans Day
  noun
  1.  a public holiday held on the anniversary of the end of World War I (November 11) to honor U.S. veterans and victims of all wars.  2.  another chance for Team Rubicon volunteers to give back.

We’re working on amending the published Webster definition, so give us some time.  But we did get our “work” on and set out across the East Coast, the Midwest and the Left Coast to partner in service with Habitat for Humanity this Veterans Day.  California volunteers from up and down the Golden State descended into North LA County to the home of Army Veteran Joshua and his wife Wendy.  The local Habitat for Humanity chapter kicked off their impressive Homes for Heroes program focusing on veteran housing in their region.  TR volunteers pitched in with Habitat volunteers to lay floor tile, patch the roof, caulk and paint the exterior, and completely re-landscape the front and back yards.  Below, TR volunteers break for a picture with homeowners Joshua & Wendy and local Habitat for Humanity Community Outreach Director, Joyce.

East Coast volunteers partnered with Habitat for Humanity in New York City, Worcester, MA, and Montgomery County, MD to lend a hand.  Below are some shots from the NYC build:

And the DC Team pauses for some fresh autumn air and a picture in Montgomery County:

And we know that you’re thinking, “Is it too late to take the 11-11-11 Challenge?”  Heck-to-the-no!  We’ve got a ways to go, and we need you.  Simple as that.  Please answer the call and take the challenge.  Oh, and look good doing it in your new Team Rubicon t-shirt.  But wait, there’s more!  If 111 people answer the call before the holidays you’ll receive a stylish and warm TR hoodie.

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Filed under: News, Region 7, Service Projects, Veterans Day by Kirk Jackson on November 11, 2011
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Filed under: Region 7 by Joanne on November 11, 2011
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The Lawrence Journal World
By Mark Fagan
November 9, 2011

After nearly five years in the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment, serving through five deployments in active war zones, former Sgt. Howard “Ford” Sypher stands ready to assemble an all-volunteer force to assist in domestic times of need.

Especially right here at home.

Sypher, who grew up in Lawrence and now attends Kansas University, told Douglas County Commissioners on Wednesday that veterans volunteering through Team Rubicon would be willing to handle tasks ranging from construction of homes through Habitat for Humanity to searching through rubble for survivors of tornadoes, fires, earthquakes or anything else.

As Veterans Day approaches, he said, the call to civic duty remains strong among highly-skilled troops returning from Iraq, Afghanistan and all corners of the world.

“This group of veterans is not interested in having a beer in a pool hall and sharing political discourse,” said Sypher, director of a Team Rubicon region that covers Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska. “They want to do something. They want to get to serving.”

Commissioners welcomed Sypher’s can-do attitude and encouraged him to meet with leaders of area law-enforcement and emergency-response agencies to determine just how Team Rubicon’s veterans could be especially effective during disaster situations.

Douglas County Undersherriff Steve Hornberger agreed with Sypher that highly trained personnel with specific skills could prove particularly helpful during the first 24, 48 or 72 hours of a disaster.

“When something happens,” Hornberger said, “you never seem to have enough people.”

Team Rubicon — named after a stream at the edge of ancient Rome, one crossed by Caesar and considered the “point of no return” — is a national organization that previously has been focused on sending disaster-response teams into sites of major disasters, such as tornado-stricken areas of Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Joplin, Mo.; one of the organization’s co-founders is William McNulty, a KU graduate and former Marine.

The regional approach — the regional office opens Nov. 21 in Kansas City, Mo. — is intended to focus veterans’ volunteer efforts even closer to home, with duties expanding into general volunteer work. That way, Sypher said, participating veterans stay active, use their skills and help the community at the same time.

The involvement helps veterans reconnect with their communities.

“We have volunteer resources to help,” Sypher said, “and it helps us.”

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Filed under: In The Media, Region 7, Veterans by William on November 10, 2011
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Team Rubicon: Helping Vets Heal the World
The Huffington Post
11/9/11 03:36 PM ET
By MeiMei Fox

In honor of Veterans Day, here’s a much-needed story about the courage, goodwill and valuable skills that our veterans have to offer our society.

Those of us on the outside might guess that most vets would be happy to complete their tours of duty and return home. Team Rubicon has discovered that this is not always the case. In fact, the international disaster relief veteran services organization has found many former US military personnel who are eager to continue going on missions in service of humanity — and therefore provide an untapped goldmine of expert volunteers for aid missions.

Jake Wood and William McNulty, both honorably-discharged Marines, founded Team Rubicon two years ago after self-deploying to Haiti to assist with earthquake relief. This experience revealed to them that veterans have both superior training and real-world experience with crisis management, leadership, and problem solving–skills that prove extremely valuable in disaster zones. Their intention was to create a non-profit that “bridges the gap,” often a week in duration, between when a crisis occurs and humanitarian aid organizations begin to arrive en masse.

Furthermore, the founders saw Team Rubicon as a way to help vets by offering them additional training and, most importantly, a chance to continue feeling worthwhile while coming to the aid of people in need.

I had the opportunity to speak with Joshua Maverick Webster, Team Rubicon’s Director of Personnel and Readiness, in Los Angeles, where he currently lives. I was impressed by his relaxed self-confidence and eloquent, heartfelt ability to speak to veterans’ issues.
(more…)

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Filed under: In The Media, News, Veterans by William on November 9, 2011
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As soldiers leave war behind and return to Fort Hood, what comes next?
The Austin American-Statesman
By Jeremy Schwartz
November 6, 2011

FORT HOOD — By next summer, this sprawling Army post will be more crowded than it has been since U.S. soldiers began pouring into twin war zones a decade ago. With combat operations ending in Iraq and slowing in Afghanistan, times are changing at what has been the Army’s busiest deployment hub since 2001.

But while Fort Hood braces for the return of nearly 20,000 American soldiers, many of whom have served three, four or five tours overseas, Army leaders are struggling with the unprecedented task of reintegrating soldiers who have known nothing but war for the past decade.

That same challenge is faced by the entire nation as it seeks to celebrate its service members this week by marking Veterans Day. Experts warn that America is stumbling into uncharted waters as it deals with the return of hundreds of thousands of troops — the 1 percent of the nation that shouldered the load of America’s two longest wars.

There is no historical precedent for the cycle of deployments that marked the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. In Vietnam, the vast majority of service members served a single, 12-month tour; in World Wars I and II, most troops were also deployed just once, remaining on active duty until the end of the conflict.

But over the past decade of war in the Middle East, soldiers deployed, returned home, then deployed again, a cycle of churn that Army psychiatrists knew was wreaking havoc on the psyche and families of many service members.

The toll however, has far outpaced initial estimates: More than 700,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have already shown up at Department of Veterans Affairs clinics and hospitals — and more than half of them have mental health conditions, according to the Austin-based group Veterans for Common Sense.

Perhaps the biggest lesson of the wars — the need for longer time at home between deployments — still remains a goal, although longer “dwell times” are probably on the horizon.
(more…)

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Filed under: In The Media, News, Veterans by William on November 6, 2011
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