Sergeant Ritchie (our founder) enlisted in the US Army Reserves at age 18, 310 days post September 11th, to become a medic. She felt a strong calling to do “her part” in the fight against terror. After six years in the reserves and a year out of college she signed an active contract with the US Army as a Psychological Operations Specialist. PSYOP required a year of training at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. This schooling included Airborne School, Defense Language School, Combined Leadership Training (CLT), and Advanced Individual Training. CLT is a Green Beret specific leadership course which includes a final challenge called the “Iron Man”. She was the first fully integrated female soldier in this program and the first female in Army history to complete the Special Forces Iron Man.

PSYOP is an effort to decrease the need for allied lethal force by changing the hearts and minds of those in the conflicted area. Sergeant Ritchie was deployed three times during her four years on active duty (2 Iraq, 1 Qatar). All deployments were on Combined Joint Special Operations missions involving issues from Somali Piracy to ISIS. She is currently involved in her local community with Veteran Service Non-profits that help her to continuing to serve those who served in all military branches.