Join the Shields & Stripes Mission
Restoring the lives of military members
and first responders
They Raised Their Hand and Pledged to Protect You.
Now, They Need Your Help.
Our nation’s Military Members and First Responders have a 5 x higher risk of experiencing mental health problems due to constant exposure to death and destruction.
Sadly, the current mental health system in America was unprepared for this reality, and today, those brave men and women need help to survive life.
Did You Know?
Between 17 and 44 veterans die by suicide daily?
The previous report of 17.2 a day reporting doesn’t account for accidents, undetermined, reported self-harm, or overdoses, resulting in undercounting errors.
In One Year, We Lost…
Firefighters
POLICE OFFICERS
VETERANS
Data reporting is conducted with the intent to raise awareness and has sourced several agencies to capture the most accurate data to reflect the problem we are trying help fix. If you feel the data does not reflect the current situation, please contact: contact@shieldsandstripes.org
Shields & Stripes Is Helping Our Heroes!
With a top-tier, 3-month intensive program led by the finest doctors, therapists, nutritionists, and trainers, Shields & Stripes is now providing the care our brave warriors, protectors, and servants deserve.
ZERO
Cost to attendees!
Trauma Focused Psychological Therapy
Physical
Therapy
Occupational
Therapy
Nutrition
Education
Meditation
and Yoga
You can help Shields & Stripes continue their mission of saving our brave men and women and getting them on the road to a healthy, peaceful life.
How Your Donations Make a Difference
Your contribution enables attendees, referred to as athletes, to benefit from comprehensive care, starting with 3 weeks of personalized in-person support, followed by 9 weeks of telehealth.
81.5%
Program Services
15.9%
Fundraising
2.5%
System Management
The Latest From Shields & Stripes
These Things We Do, That Others May Live
Shields & Stripes’ Co-Founder and Executive Director, Steven Nisbet, recently joined Fox News and Newsmax to provide context on the high-risk rescue of two downed American airmen. These interviews weren’t about one person; they were an opportunity to share the perspective only a veteran...
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Two days out.
Mogadishu Mile at Staccato Vegas Friday, October 16 · 2:00–9:00 PM · Staccato Ranch, Las Vegas
Hosted by Gen. Austin S. "Scott" Miller, U.S. Army (Ret.), alongside fellow veterans of the special operations community. The day includes guided live fire, dinner, and a fireside conversation marking 33 years since the Battle of Mogadishu.
A portion of proceeds supports Shields & Stripes.
Can`t make it to Vegas? You can still back Mikayla: https://shieldsandstripes.app.neoncrm.com/campaigns/mogadishu-mile
🔗 Register: concierge@staccatovegas.com
#MogadishuMile #ShieldsAndStripes #LasVegas #Veterans
Veterans, Guns & Cigars is postponed.
Saturday’s event at Oak Grove Technologies in Hoffman will not go forward as planned.
We know what that means for some of you. You cleared the Saturday, planned the drive, put in for leave, or arranged coverage at the station. We’re sorry. Four days’ notice is not how we wanted to do this.
If you already bought a ticket, or have any questions at all: Katherine at the Meritorious Foundation is handling every ticket and inquiry directly. Reach her at katherine@meritorious.nyc and she’ll take care of you.
If you applied for a free ticket: your application carries over. You won’t need to reapply.
What’s next: we’re working with the Meritorious Foundation to reschedule for spring. The moment a date is locked, you’ll hear it here first.
Thank you to Oak Grove Technologies, to every brand and sponsor who committed to this one, and to everyone who was planning to spend Saturday on the range with us. None of that goes away. It just moves.
If you`re active duty, transitioning out, or a wounded warrior — this day is already paid for.
Someone else covered it. That`s how this works.
Ticket proceeds from Veterans, Guns & Cigars fund free attendance for active duty service members, those in transition, and wounded warriors. You apply, you show up, and you get the full day: the competition, the guns and ammo, the demos, the food, the cigars, and access to a room full of employers, contractors, and veterans who have already made the jump you`re about to make.
If you`re getting out and you don`t yet know what`s next, this is worth a Saturday.
Applications are open now. October 17, Hoffman NC.
🔗 Apply for a free ticket: meritorious.us
#VeteransGunsAndCigars #ShieldsAndStripes #MilitaryTransition #Veterans #FirstResponders
Built by someone who served. Built to give back.
We`re proud to welcome Arsynl as an official partner of Shields & Stripes.
Arsynl is a veteran-owned telehealth company with licensed providers in all 50 states. It offers hormone therapy, weight loss, hair loss treatment, and full blood panels for men and women.
Here`s the part that matters to us: a portion of every Arsynl purchase goes directly to Shields & Stripes. That helps keep our whole-person recovery program free for military members, veterans, and first responders.
Taking care of your health can now help someone else get theirs back.
🔗 https://arsynl.com/
#ShieldsAndStripes #VeteranOwned #Veterans #FirstResponders #Telehealth
Today is World Mental Health Day, which for a lot of people reading this will be one more day of not mentioning it.
The military, veteran and first responder communities are exceptionally good at not mentioning it. That isn`t a character flaw. It`s training. The entire job is being the person who stays functional while everything else comes apart, and that skill does not have an off switch.
So the honest version of today isn`t "reach out." It`s this:
You don`t need a diagnosis. You don`t need a rating. You don`t need an incident bad enough to justify it. If trauma is affecting your daily life, that`s the whole bar.
And it doesn`t cost anything to find out what your options are.
If that`s been sitting in the back of your mind for a while — today`s as good a day as any.
Subscribe to our newsletter or just follow along here to get notified when applications open for our next program.
#ShieldsAndStripes #WorldMentalHealthDay #Veterans #FirstResponders #MilitaryMentalHealth
On November 9, join us for an evening to mark 5 years of facilitating healing for America’s military, veterans, and first responders.
Join us and hear from our extraordinary guest speaker as he shares his own lessons, perspectives, and stories garnered from more than 20 years of experience as a Tier 1 Special Operator.
Chad McCoy is an Air Force veteran of over 22 years, 18 of which he spent with the 24th Special Tactics Squadron. He is currently the Co-Founder and CGO of Firestorm, and on Monday night, he will stand up to speak in an effort to help bring awareness and healing to our military members, veterans, and first responders.
Due to an overwhelming response, physical seats are sold out, but sponsorships and access to the livestream link are still available, plus waitlist and early access to next year`s event.
📅 Monday, November 9 · Washington, DC
🔗 Sponsorships: katie.balash@shieldsandstripes.org
#ShieldsAndStripes #DCGala2026 #Pararescue #ThatOthersMayLive #Military #Veterans #First Responders
Few people can tell you what October 3, 1993 was like from the inside. Retired General Scott Miller can.
Then-Captain Miller led a Special Mission Unit troop into Mogadishu that day. Over the next three decades, he commanded Joint Special Operations Command and led all U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
General Miller has graciously chosen to continue his legacy of service beyond his military career and now acts as an Ambassador for Shields & Stripes, working tirelessly alongside us to help heal and save America`s heroes.
On October 16, he`s hosting an afternoon at Staccato Ranch in Las Vegas with fellow veterans of America`s special operations community:
• Guided live-fire immersion • Dinner • A fireside conversation with the people who were there
A portion of proceeds supports Shields & Stripes, which provides free recovery for military members, veterans and first responders.
Sponsorships are available. If your company wants its name in that room, email concierge@staccatovegas.com.
🔗 Register: concierge@staccatovegas.com
#MogadishuMile #ShieldsAndStripes #SpecialOperations #Veterans #Leadership
Friday was a reminder of what can happen when men have a room where they can be honest about what they’re carrying.
Warrior Defined brought together men from across the community for conversations that went well beyond the polished version of the story. We’re grateful to everyone who showed up, shared openly, and helped create that space, especially our ambassador Ryan Lavarnway for bringing the Shields & Stripes mission to the stage. We’re also incredibly grateful to have been named as one of the nonprofits supported by the event.
We’re especially grateful that Shields & Stripes was named as one of the nonprofits supported by the event.
If you’re new around here, thank you for joining our mission. You can learn more about what we do and how we support military members, veterans, and first responders at the link in our bio. 🇺🇸🔗 To our team and community who continue to stand behind us, we’re forever grateful for your support.
SPONSORS
We’re grateful for our amazing sponsors who care about our first responders and veterans as much as we do!