Special Operations Warrior Foundation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject. Please help improve the article with a good introductory style. |
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2007) |
The Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF), a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was founded in 1980 to serve members of the Special Operations community.
It is dedicated to providing college scholarships and educational counseling to the children surviving Special Operations personnel who are killed in a training accident or operational mission. These services are provided throughout the United States, or overseas, depending upon where the surviving children reside.
[edit] History
The Special Operations Warrior Foundation began in 1980 as the Col. Arthur D. "Bull" Simons Scholarship Fund. The Bull Simons Fund was created after the Iranian hostage rescue attempt (Operation Eagle Claw) to provide college educations for the 17 children surviving the nine men killed or incapacitated at Desert One. It was named in honor of the legendary Army Green Beret, Bull Simons, who repeatedly risked his life on rescue missions.
Following creation of the United States Special Operations Command, and as casualties mounted from actions such as Operations Urgent Fury (Grenada), Just Cause (Panama), Desert Storm (Kuwait and Iraq), and Restore Hope (Somalia), the Bull Simons Fund gradually expanded its outreach program to encompass all Special Operations Forces. Thus, in 1995 the Family Liaison Action Group (established to support the families of the 53 Iranian hostages) and the Spectre (Air Force gunship) Association Scholarship Fund merged to form the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. In 1998 the Foundation extended the scholarship and financial aid counseling to also include training fatalities since the inception of the Foundation in 1980. This action immediately added 205 children who were now eligible for college funding.
The Foundation mission is devoted to providing a college education to every child who has lost a parent while serving in the Special Operations Command during an operational or training mission. The forces covered by the Foundation are stationed in units throughout the United States and overseas bases. Some of the largest concentrations of Special Operations forces are at military bases at Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Hurlburt Field, Florida; Coronado Naval Station, California; Dam Neck, Virginia; MacDill Air Force Base, Florida; Fort Lewis, Washington; Fort Stewart, Georgia; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Little Creek, Virginia; Fort Carson, Colorado; RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom; and Kadena Air Base, Japan.
[edit] Financial requirements
There are more than 700 children of fallen Special Operations Troops with whom the Warrior Foundation is charged with helping in their education requirements. With nearly 100 children eligible each year for college in the upcoming years, the Foundation's estimated financial need through 2018 is $60 million.
In 2007, the Foundation was awarded a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, the nation's largest non-profit watchdog group. this was the second year in a row it received a 4 star rating. [1]
