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About Us

As one of America’s fore­most vet­er­ans ser­vice orga­ni­za­tions, AMVETS (or Amer­i­can Vet­er­ans) has a proud his­tory of assist­ing vet­er­ans and spon­sor­ing numer­ous pro­grams that serve our coun­try and its cit­i­zens. The help­ing hand that AMVETS extends to vet­er­ans and their fam­i­lies takes many forms.

One of the most vis­i­ble is our net­work of trained national ser­vice offi­cers (NSOs) accred­ited by the Depart­ment of Vet­er­ans Affairs. Funded by the AMVETS National Ser­vice Foun­da­tion, these ded­i­cated men and women can be found in close to 40 states, pro­vid­ing sound advice and prompt action on com­pen­sa­tion claims at no charge to the veteran.As a volunteer-led orga­ni­za­tion, we annu­ally elect and/or appoint offi­cers at the national, dis­trict, depart­ment and post lev­els. Each August, rep­re­sen­ta­tives from these lev­els attend the AMVETS national con­ven­tion to make deci­sions on issues affect­ing vet­er­ans and the organization.

Over the years, AMVETS has been in the fore­front of public-policy related to national defense, ser­vices for home­less vet­er­ans, ade­quate fund­ing for the Depart­ment of Vet­er­ans Affairs, con­cur­rent receipt of retire­ment pay and dis­abil­ity com­pen­sa­tion by dis­abled mil­i­tary retirees, vet­er­ans employ­ment and train­ing, POW/MIA account­abil­ity and flag protection.In addi­tion to the work of our national ser­vice offi­cers, other AMVETS mem­bers, as well as those in the AMVETS Ladies Aux­il­iary, will devote as many as 250,000 hours of free time a year to brighten the lives of hos­pi­tal­ized vet­er­ans. Here, some­thing as sim­ple as play­ing cards with the lonely or watch­ing tele­vi­sion with the dis­abled can make a world of difference.

As the orga­ni­za­tion moves fur­ther into the 21st cen­tury, it does so with the con­vic­tion that its focus on pre­serv­ing free­dom, sup­port­ing America’s defend­ers and serv­ing her com­mu­ni­ties remains a clear blue­print for con­tin­ued ser­vice to God and country.

To date,the Freedom and Honor warrior transition team has supported more than 60,000 veterans  The Freedom and Honor Warrior Transition programs offer a sustainable model in transition services (combat stress/PTSD and reintegration) providing experiential leadership programs to all branches of the military active duty, reserve and guard.

 

BACKGROUND

Veterans today are facing ever-growing transition challenges due to lengthy and often numerous deployments. In addition to combat stress, readjustment issues could include changes in family roles, children born and grown during absence, and job changes/unemployment. Adding to the burden can be society’s view of the conflict as well as grief & loss, guilt, sensory overload, and little to no transition time complicating matters even more. If combat stress and reintegration issues go unattended, veterans can face a lifetime of problems in both their personal and professional lives. These issues create not only a large burden for the veteran and his/her family, but also among taxpayers, who pay the price for long term disability, unemployment, homelessness, incarceration, and suicide prevention efforts.

Studies conducted by The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research show that, among those veterans who were evaluated and determined to show signs of mental anguish, approximately 63% struggling with reintegration issues will NOT seek mental health assistance due to the stigma and career consequences. In addition, it has been well documented that active duty military readiness and retention is severely impacted by these concerns.

Freedom & Honor workshops integrate a peer-to-peer approach that helps individuals learn how to re-establish connections with their friends, families, occupations, and society as well as to reduce the impact of combat trauma. Freedom & Honor workshops are not mental health programs; but post-deployment training programs.

The program uses techniques in bioenergetics, emotional intelligence, and paradigm shift along with a well-crafted blend of history, legend, ritual and archetype. The program focuses on core issues without "talk therapy". The curriculum for Return to Honor builds on the following modalities:

  • Cognitive training – Understanding combat stress and re-adjustment issues
  • Experiential training – Personal & group empowerment work without talk therapy
  • Emotional training – Trauma-releasing activities and emotional intelligence

To date, more than a dozen programs have been conducted with a 99% satisfaction rating by military men and women who represent all branches of service, including active duty, Reserve and Guard from 18 states and veterans who have served in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Gulf War and Vietnam.

Freedom and Honor Team

Turpin Mott
United States Marine Corps Veteran; Curriculum Designer and Facilitator
Turpin Mott is the president and owner of an executive coaching and training business in Seattle, WA.Turpin served in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm and received the Schmidt Award, Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Ribbon, National Defense Medal, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait Defense Medals. Formerly he has held the position of market team leader and core management team leader for a telecommunications firm. He is a certified co-leader of a international men's personal empowerment and leadership program. He attended Louisiana State University.

Angel Fernandez, Veteran ARMY and Navy; Trainer

Angel Fernandez, Combat Veteran (Navy/Army) with 7 deployments – Desert Storm, Desert Shield, Afghanistan 2001, Iraq 2003, 2004 and 2005 plus two foreign drug interdiction duties.  Angel is a senior staff member of Freedom and Honor since 2006 (He was a participant in the first pilot program called Return to Honor). He is responsible for training segments, multi-media and Veteran benefits.  Angel was a key member of the team for the Pennsylvania National Guard Yellow Ribbon program 2009-2010.  Angel is owner of ElevenCharlie, gun training operation for law enforcement, military and civilians. As a trainer in the military he taught law enforcement, anti-terrorism and tactical weapons. Angel endured both physical and the mental impacts of combat.   He is service connected for PTSD.  Angel is married with one son currently serving in the Marines and two younger boys at home. 


Martin Richardson (martin@freedomandhonor.org)
Lead Facilitator, Curriculum Designer and Program Director

Martin Richardson, son of two world war vets, is the program director for the Freedom and Honor Transition Team as well as program coordinator for the Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program at the Philadelphia Veterans Multi-Service and Education Center in Philadelphia. Mr. Richardson was one of the founders and designers of the Freedom and Honor combat transition programs which began in 2005 to provide experiential trainings to assist those with combat stress (PTSD) and reintegration issues.  Through 2009 and early 2010, Mr. Richardson lead the team to support the Pennsylvania National Guard Yellow Ribbon programs to more than 6000 returning troops covering topics such as honor, grief, suicide and substance abuse as well as interpersonal communications.

 

Mr. Richardson is a certified hypnotherapist and an international facilitator.  He is an expert in emotional literacy and is one of an elite group of approved facilitators for Folsom Prison in understanding the effects of violent behavior and trauma.  Martin has worked throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and is experienced in a variety of modalities including NeuroLinguistic Programming, Voice Dialogue, Group Dyad, Bioenergetics, and Race/Gender issues.  He completed studies at the Alchemy Institute of Santa Rosa, CA and Langside College in Scotland. 

 

Nancy McGrory Richardson (nancy@freedomandhonor.org)
Facilitator and Market Development Director & Curriculum Designer

Nancy has more than 25 years in communication program design and implementation covering a broad range of issues and audiences. Her father served in the Navy Reserves, her brother retired from the US Coast Guard as a warrant office and had several tours of duty with the NAVY and her nephew is currently a US Marine serving in Afghanistan.  She is an expert in Risk Communication and has done work in Education and Patient Advocacy covering Chemical and Environmental Exposures, Cancer MCS, Chronic Fatigue and, now PTSD. Her facilitation expertise includes coaching and personal empowerment training in paradigm shift and breakthrough thinking technology.  Her non-profit experience includes family, health and social welfare issues.  She received her BA in Communications from Shippensburg University and continued graduate studies at Drexel University.  Working under General William Hilsman (ret.) was a key team member in the campaign for the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

 Faciltators and Staff
  • Bruce Gold
  • Judy Elbring
  • Walt Stewart
  • Brenna Wheatley
  • Angel Fernandez
  • Bonnie Bahatti
  • James Paton
  • Connie Whalen
  • Tyrone Beach
  • Veterans who have participated are encouraged to staff future programs

Advisory Board

  • Major General William Terpeluk, ARMY (ret)
  • Brigider General Ralph Pasini, USAF (ret.)
  • Major General Wesley Craig, Adjudant General, PA National Guard
  • Brigadier General William Colvin, (ret.) PA National Guard
  • Dr. Harold Kudler, VA VISN 6, Duke University
  • Allan Roberts, Marines (veteran), President B2G Alliance
  • Russell Schulz, Navy Captain (ret.), VP Freedoms Foundation
  • Pat Peterson, Navy Captain (ret.), VP Strategic Marketing, Inc.
  • Richard Larson, President, Associated Veterans LLC (SDVOB)
  • Dr. William Carter, CEO Hemispherx BioPharma
  • Major Davina French, ND National Guard, Reintegration Officer


 PARTNERS 

About Military Personnel Services Corporation

Our motto; “it’s about people” is not just words, it’s a way of life. MPSC is equipped to provide solutions to complex problems in the areas of human resource and personnel management programs, budgeting and financial services, information technology services, and homeland security. Founded in March 1998 by Mr. John L. Jones, MPSC has grown to become a diverse company providing solutions through service to its clients. We provide corporations and government agencies highly experienced and quality associates to execute and deliver on their vision. Military Personnel Services Corporation is proud to partner with Freedom and Honor in delivering the Yellow Ribbon program for the Pennsylvania Nationial Guard.