When most people imagine military service, they picture soldiers on distant battlefields. What many don’t realize is that there’s a small group of men and women, just 3-4% of our nation’s armed forces, who carry 70% of the burden in the global fight against violent extremism. When the most visible conflicts, wars in Afghanistan or Iraq are declared "over", these highly trained elite forces continue fighting. Their presence is intentional, quiet and precise as collecting reconnaissance, surveillance on high value targets, conducting surgical raids, and hostage situations.

These Special Operation Forces (SOF) include Green Berets and Army Rangers, Navy SEALs and SWCC, Marine Raiders and Force RECON, Night Stalkers and Delta Force, and Air Force Special Tactics and Pararescue. They have earned the name quiet professionals and belong to their own branch of the military, U.S. Special Operations Command, headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. At any given time, they are deployed in over 83 countries, conducting missions that most of us will never hear about. These Special Operators numbered over 70,000 in 2023 and an estimated 40,000 Veterans.

Their work is relentless. Deployments last six to nine months, families are uprooted to remote posts around the world, and the strain on marriages, health, and mental wellbeing is crushing. Because self-reliance and covertness are ingrained in their training, asking for help can feel impossible and unacceptable. The result is a Special Operations community facing some of the highest rates of suicide, divorce, and illness in the military.

That’s where Operation Healing Forces (OHF) comes in. Founded to serve this hidden community, OHF provides week-long therapeutic retreats for couples, crisis support for wounded or fallen soldiers and their families, financial and career transition assistance, and even help with basic needs like rent, food, or medical equipment not covered elsewhere.

“During the active days of Iraq and Afghanistan,” Chris explains, “it might have included flying a family member to the bedside of a dying or wounded soldier, covering a shortfall in rent or food insecurity, providing adaptive medical equipment not covered by government means, or funeral costs. We have also expanded into the area of job and skill certification, access to financial planning experts, and career transition assistance.”

Chris sums up the difference that OHF makes with a quote from one alumni of their week long therapeutic retreats; “OHF gave me a new perspective in life. There are 22 veterans a day that commit suicide—because of OHF, there’s one less now.”

For Chris and Carl Caughran, residents of our Preserve community, this mission is deeply personal. Their son, who joined the Army in 2005 after feeling called to serve since middle school, is an active Green Beret. Chris, coming from a military family that spans generations, knows what it means for a family to serve alongside their loved one: “When one signs up to serve, the entire family serves.”

It was their son who first pointed them to OHF. “Around Christmas of 2019, we decided we wanted to be more supportive of others like our son. When asked what charities would he suggest for us to support, he had only one answer: Operation Healing Forces. They were somewhat a new organization but he had heard numerous good reports from his fellow teammates that they were the real deal and had made a difference in their lives personally. I made a phone call to their headquarters in Tampa to check them out and the rest is history.”

Chris joined the OHF Board in 2020, lending her time and voice to raise awareness of a community most Americans never see. “Our biggest challenge is that the Special Operations community is so under the radar that most people do not know much about them or their unique challenges,” she explains.

Despite a modest budget of $5.5 million, OHF has earned a Platinum 4-Star Charity Navigator rating. Every dollar donated goes directly to programs, because the board covers all overhead and administrative costs. “We maximize every dollar given,” Chris says. “But more than anything, we give hope.”

This Veterans Day, Chris hopes her neighbors will remember that service doesn’t always look like what’s on the news. “We are a nation always at war, whether most people realize it or not,” she says. “These men and women are out there every day, protecting us all. And we have a responsibility to protect them and their families in return.”