About Boots on the Ground (BOTG-NGO)

We’re a 501(c)(3) international non-profit humanitarian aid and charitable organization dedicated to serving and empowering veterans and providing humanitarian services around the world. As a veteran support organization we provide opportunities for growth, respite, and reintegration. We empower veterans to use their skills and leadership abilities earned in uniform to then serve others. Through this dual mission, we facilitate recovery and promote long-term development, stability, and peace in underserved areas of the world.

What We Stand For

We believe peace can be secured by empowering people to develop and control their own futures. In the wake of both man-made and natural disasters, we assist individuals, villages, and communities with their most immediate needs, which includes heath care, water, food, shelter, and other necessities required to sustain life. We invest locally and encourage community participation and ownership of the programs, while actively promoting economic development and intellectual growth, especially for women and children, by establishing well-rounded culturally sensitive educational programs. This is all reflected in our branding too.

Who We Are

Boots on the Ground was loosely founded in 2005 during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and officially incorporated as a non-profit organization in 2010 after our volunteers returned from their first visit to Haiti. Our organization is built on the expertise and dedication of our core operational leaders, who are highly trained and experienced in specialized areas such as disaster management, emergency and primary medicine, global security, counter-insurgency, and civil affairs operations. Most of these leaders are former active duty military personnel who have deployed worldwide. Their mission is to recruit, develop, and deploy highly skilled teams into local communities to establish programs that meet our primary mission and humanitarian goals.

Our front line rapid response teams consist of highly dedicated and motivated volunteers from diverse backgrounds, many of whom have served in conflict theaters while in uniform. A key aspect of our mission is to empower returning veterans by providing opportunities to use the skills they developed in the military to serve others in need during disaster recovery operations both domestically and abroad.

In addition to our front line responders, our support volunteers come from a wide range of backgrounds and possess a broad spectrum of skills and abilities essential to the strategic, operational, and ground-level success of Boots on the Ground. These volunteers include retired educators, homemakers, students, and C-level executives, all of whom contribute their time, knowledge, experience, and resources to further our common goals.

Our corporate sponsors, organizational partners, and individual donors form the backbone of our organization. Their generous financial support enables us to carry out our vital work.

Our Dual Mission

Boots on the Ground originally focused on providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief. However, as veterans ourselves, we quickly realized the profound impact our efforts had on our own lives. This realization led to our expansion into a veteran support organization, recognizing that our mission could simultaneously serve both the communities in need and the veterans who are integral to our operations.

We saw firsthand how empowering veterans to use their skills and leadership abilities in humanitarian missions provided them with a renewed sense of purpose and fulfillment. For example, veterans who had struggled with depression and PTSD found new hope and direction by participating in our disaster recovery operations. The act of serving others became a powerful tool in their journey towards healing and reintegration into civilian life.

One veteran, for instance, who had faced severe PTSD after multiple deployments, joined us on a mission to provide emergency medical care and rebuild infrastructure in a hurricane-ravaged community. Through this experience, he found that his military training was not just valuable but life-saving in a new context. The gratitude and resilience he witnessed in the people he helped transformed his outlook, giving him a renewed sense of purpose and a way to channel his skills constructively. He reported that the mission was more therapeutic than any treatment he had undergone, providing him with a tangible way to cope with his PTSD and a pathway to recovery.

Another veteran, who had battled severe depression after retiring from active duty, discovered a new lease on life through our programs. By mentoring younger veterans and leading teams in humanitarian efforts, he found joy and fulfillment that had eluded him for years. The camaraderie and shared mission helped him rebuild his self-esteem and find happiness in the act of giving back. His journey inspired others, demonstrating the healing power of service.

By supporting veterans in this holistic way, we not only assist them in their personal growth and recovery but also enhance our capacity to serve communities in need. Veterans bring unique skills, discipline, and leadership qualities that are invaluable in disaster response and humanitarian aid. Their involvement allows us to operate more efficiently and effectively, reaching more people and making a greater impact.

This dual mission of serving veterans and providing humanitarian services creates a synergistic effect. We facilitate recovery and promote long-term development, stability, and peace in underserved areas worldwide. Our veterans, having found purpose and healing through service, become ambassadors of hope and resilience in the communities they aid. Their stories of transformation inspire others, fostering a culture of empathy and support within our organization.

Through our combined efforts, we strive to create a positive impact for both the individuals we serve and the veterans who are an essential part of Boots on the Ground. This dual mission not only enhances the lives of those in need but also enriches the lives of our veterans, proving that through service, we can all find strength, purpose, and a path to healing.

 

Why the Name?

From the beginning, we used the term Boots on the Ground because of our direct relationship to the military. Unlike many of the other groups using the name, our founders, and virtually all of our volunteers are veterans or currently serve in the armed forces.

We are the first fully recognized 501c3 NGO to use the name Boots on the Ground (BOTG), and acquired the domains (.com and .org) back in the early 2000s. Without question, we were also the first to attach the name to a non profit, and specifically to disaster response. We were also the first to have an online presence in this community using the name Boots on the Ground.

Unfortunately, many individuals, start-ups, and copy-cats have come along and co-opted the name rather than simply developing their own unique branding, with several of these groups even going so far as to pretend they were directly affiliated with us, and using text directly cut and pasted from our online presence (including the text on this page defining the term).

The term “boots on the ground” is a generally used to describe direct military action against an enemy in a theater of operation, as opposed to aerial bombardments, missiles, attacks from off-shore fleets, or through other advanced technological means. While many countries do not have substantial air or naval forces, nearly all have armies. And those soldiers on the ground are uniquely suited to engage opposition forces unilaterally or in concert with allies during police action, contingency and counter insurgency operations, or declared war. As former soldiers ourselves, we understand that men and women on the ground can do things that other “hands off” approaches simply can’t.

We know from experience that it takes people getting off the couch and actually putting their boots on the ground to save lives—to positively impact others. We know for real change to occur, there must be contact. We’re also at war—at war with poverty, disease, illness, and hunger. We’re at war with big business non-profits that produce very little results. And how donor’s generous gifts are being squandered by these charities in name only. We’re also at war with what war has done, and will do, to countless brothers and sisters who’ve served in the military. And we’re dedicated to helping other veterans reconnect with their humanity, to find a sense of purpose, and to utilize the unique skill sets and leadership abilities they developed while in the service to help others during disasters or other times of crisis.

Though the term “boots on the ground” may be used to describe armed conflict most of the time, especially over the years since the September 11th attacks, it is also sometimes used to denote when a government sends its military and other agencies to encourage democratic institutions, deter conflict, and respond to crises or disasters. In this respect, those persons who actually have their boots on the ground can build trust, confidence, save lives, and promote regional stability.

The Significance of Our Name to Our Dual Mission

The name “Boots on the Ground” is more than a nod to our military roots; it encapsulates the essence of our dual mission. Supporting veterans through growth opportunities, respite, and activities is intrinsically linked to the act of “doing”—putting their boots on the ground. Veterans must actively get involved to reap the benefits, and it is through this action that we witness transformation in their lives.

For example, a veteran struggling with PTSD might find traditional therapies insufficient. However, when they join our team on a mission to provide disaster relief, the act of helping others becomes a powerful form of therapy. We’ve seen it over and over again. The physical involvement, the camaraderie with fellow veterans, and the direct impact they have on the lives of those in need create a sense of purpose and fulfillment that can be life-changing.

Our programs are designed to leverage the strengths veterans developed in uniform—discipline, leadership, and resilience—while providing them with new avenues to apply these skills. Whether it’s rebuilding a community after a hurricane, providing medical care in a remote village, or mentoring younger veterans, the act of serving others helps them heal, grow, and find new meaning in life.

Moreover, the name “Boots on the Ground” underscores the necessity of direct engagement. It’s a reminder that real change requires action. Veterans stepping off the couch and into the field embody the spirit of our mission. This direct involvement not only aids those in desperate need but also fosters a profound personal transformation in the veterans themselves.

By getting veterans actively involved in our humanitarian missions, we create a cycle of empowerment and healing. They use their experiences and skills to make a tangible difference in the world, and in doing so, they find a renewed sense of purpose and belonging. This dual mission of serving veterans and providing humanitarian aid is symbiotic; it enhances the lives of both the veterans and the communities they serve.

The name “Boots on the Ground” perfectly captures this dynamic. It’s a call to action, a reflection of our commitment to hands-on engagement, and a testament to the transformative power of service. Through this approach, we are able to facilitate recovery, promote long-term development, stability, and peace, and ultimately create a positive impact for everyone involved.

 

It’s this latter approach that fills us with hope for the future of mankind. As veterans, we intimately understand the implications of both sides of that same coin. It’s for this very reason that we’ve deliberately co-opted the term as our organization’s name in an effort to reflect our commitment (in word and deed) to put our boots on the ground for one purpose: to have a direct, tangible, lasting positive impact on people’s lives. We don’t sit in cubicles  theorize, pontificate, or politicize things. There’s plenty of people out there who talk a good game, but never actually do anything. As Mahatma Ghandi said, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” We’ve taken that very seriously. And we invite anyone who “get’s it” to join our ranks.

BOOTS ON THE GROUND is a nonprofit corporation operated exclusively for charitable, educational, and humanitarian purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or the corresponding section of any future Federal tax code. Always consult a tax professional regarding charitable donations.

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