OUR STORY
The Wingman Foundation was founded by three Active Duty Marine Corps aviators in late 2014. Each serving nearly a decade with multiple deployments, they saw many tragic losses in the aviation community. Sadly, friends and families were often left to seek support through sister organizations. On October 1st, 2014, a MV-22 crew chief died in support of Operation INHERENT RESOLVE. Deeply affected by yet another loss to the community, they agreed to make a change that evening.
Remarkably, all three were in different parts of the world at the Foundation's beginnings. Jack was deployed in Japan, Phil was deployed in Kuwait, and Ken was training in the United States. Attempting to plan, organize, and build support through the difficulties of being in vastly different time zones, having spotty connectivity, and executing real-world missions, The Wingman Foundation was born. With the support of friends and the Marine Corps community, they were able to successfully launch their organization without ever being in the same country.
In the years that followed, The Wingman Foundation has grown to an all-volunteer staff of over a dozen active and former Marine and Navy pilots and civilians. We now support both Navy and Marine Corps aviation on both coasts as well as those stationed abroad.
