There are few other Americans equal to a veteran, and certainly none better. They fought on our behalf. Our veterans are owed a bill for the time, sweat and skill spent in countries and combat zones all over the world that the rest of us can never sufficiently address, although organizations like Glock try very hard to give back to those who have given their all.

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Glock supports many veterans organizations, usually without public acknowledgement. Recently Glock supported the inaugural fundraiser for the Phoenix Patriot Foundation.

A group of friends and families, reunited with their veteran loved ones who had been injured during combat operations overseas, created the Phoenix Patriot Foundation. It was immediately evident to this group of supporters that the ability of these dynamic, wounded veterans to move forward and succeed was limited due to few opportunities and a lack of organizational support.

As a result, Jared Ogden, who has been featured with Grady Powell in the adventure reality series Ultimate Survival Alaska, decided to use his skills to create the Phoenix Patriot Foundation to give back to fellow operators in need. In essence, he wanted an answer to the question that nobody had asked of the wounded veterans: What do you need to succeed?

RISING AGAIN

Jared and fellow veteran John Wall kicked off the organization’s inaugural event by performing a precision parachute entrance on the 18th green of the Dunwoody Country Club in northern Atlanta while wearing full tuxedos.

The rest of the event centered around raising funds to ensure that veterans, such as retired Marine Tommy Parker, would continue to receive necessary and life-changing support. Parker lost both legs and part of one hand to an IED while serving as a rifleman with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

Parker told Ogden that his greatest passions were public speaking and politics, so one of the first things the organization did was arrange a series of speaking engagements for Parker, including a motivational talk to the New York Jets, which helped start a whole new career for the Marine.

Like the inaugural fundraiser, the Phoenix Patriot Foundation’s other recent events—including cycling and personal watercraft “Never Quit Challenges,” military appreciation events and the “Rising from the Ashes” fundraiser benefit held at the Athena Gun Club in Houston, Texas—show its sustained dedication to provide not just funds but direct one-on-one support of severely wounded veterans.

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The Phoenix Patriot Foundation develops and supervises individually tailored programs for our severely wounded veterans to ensure independence and lifelong sustainability. One of the key supporting organizations has been Glock, which donates substantial time, effort and products to allow the foundation to help our wounded vets.

For more information on the Phoenix Patriot Foundation, please visit PhoenixPatriotFoundation.org.

This article was published in the GLOCK AUTOPISTOLS 2016 magazine. To see the rest of the issue, please visit Personaldefenseworld.com.