The day the helicopter went down, 30 American families were thrust into the depths of despair. And like nearly 7,000 others since the war in Afghanistan began in October 2001, and the war in Iraq 17 months later, they have each been forced to cope in their own way with the sad new normal.
For Scott Bill, a Sarasota residential builder, that has largely meant spending his free time trying to raise awareness of and money for the Naval Special Warfare community that his son Brian loved so much.
On Aug. 6, 2011, Chief Petty Officer Brian Bill, 31, a member of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, was flying in a Chinook CH-47 helicopter, on a mission in Wardak province in Afghanistan, his fourth tour of duty in that country. The helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, was shot down, killing Brian Bill and 37 others.
It remains the deadliest single incident of either Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom. With 25 commandos on board including 17 SEALs, five Navy Special Warfare and three Air Force Special Operations personnel, the shoot down was also the worst single-day disaster in the 27-year history of U.S. Special Operations Command, headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base. There were also five Army National Guardsman and Reservists on board, as well as seven Afghan commandos and an Afghan interpreter. A Naval Special Warfare dog also perished.
Scott Bill’s mission since has been to make life easier for his son’s community. And his vision starts with a dream unfulfilled.
“My son Brian and I had discussed the concept of having a Bill family vacation home in the Florida Keys,” says Bill. “A place where we could all congregate together to relax and enjoy outdoor activities like sailing, fishing, diving, etc. Brian had just obtained his commercial pilot’s license and loved to fly, especially float seaplanes. Our idea was to fly in the family for great vacations to a remote retreat.”
Bill, 65, says he and his son “had promised each other that we would do this someday in the future.”
The Extortion 17 shoot down changed all that.
But Bill says the dream will become a reality, if not for his son, for Brian Bill’s fellow commandos and their families.
Bill is working to create “Brian’s House,” a retreat home where up to five Naval Special Warfare veterans and families can spend a week away from the grind of everyday life, “sailing, fishing, boating, kayaking, paddle boarding and other outdoor activities,” he says.
“A place where they were welcome anytime,” he says. “A place for healing and growing. A place to strengthen their lives after a horrific loss.”
Brian’s House would run on the SEAL ethos of teamwork, says Bill.
“Our sons and brothers took care of each other on the battlefield,” he says. “They had each other’s back. I felt it was time for us to get to know each other and do the same.”
Bill says he has a property in mind, on Manasota Key. He is trying to raise $1.6 million to buy it and another $500,000 to have in reserve for annual expenses.
To help meet that goal, Bill is holding a $100-a-head fundraising lunch next Monday, Dec. 1, at the Sarasota Yacht Club main dining room.
Jason Redman, retired Navy SEAL, author of The Trident, and founder of Wounded Wear will be a guest speaker along with recently retired Navy SEAL Vice Adm. Joseph D. Kernan, among other things the former deputy commander of U.S. Southern Command.
The idea for the retreat began percolating, says Bill, in the months after his son died and he began to do speaking engagements on behalf of the Navy SEAL Foundation.
“The more veterans I came in contact with,” he says, “the more I wanted to help them. The more families I met, the more I thought about the retreat house idea.”
And, as he did the speaking engagements and fundraising events on behalf of the Navy commandos, Bill says he began to feel the same sense of community his son had experienced.
“It finally dawned on me that the house should be for the Navy SEAL veterans and their families,” he says. “They had become my family — a much larger one than the Bill family. It was now the brotherhood of Navy SEALs family.”
Bill says while the Navy SEAL Foundation and other organizations do a tremendous job of taking care of the force and families, there is nothing quite like Brian’s House as a way to bond and heal.
He envisions Naval Special Warfare veterans, surviving spouses and children and Gold Star parents and their families as those who would be welcome at Brian’s House.
“We have community professionals that are offering arts programs, equine programs and cooking classes,” he says. “We will have a staff registered professional counselor that will meet with the Gold Star parents and families.”
It’s all aimed at encouraging healing. By linking people who know best the damage done.
“Our primary focus is to offer a means for these Naval Special Warfare families to forge relationships with other Naval Special Warfare families. It will give them an opportunity to share their experiences with other families that have experienced similar ones. Hopefully this will start a healing process and better their lives.”
Children, he said, will be prime beneficiaries.
“Children who have lost their fathers will have an opportunity to learn traditional skills that their fathers would have wanted to teach them,” he says. Leadership. Tenacity. Courage. Outdoor activities.”
For tickets or reservations, contact The Brian Bill Foundation (941) 840-4204, email Bill at scott@brianbillfoundation.org or visit brianbillfoundation.org.
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Speaking of SEALs, there’s another charity event in the area raising funds on behalf of that community.
The 6th Annual Tampa Bay Frogman Swim, which raises funds for the Navy SEAL Foundation, takes place Jan. 11 and organizers are looking for escort kayakers and volunteers.
“If you’re not swimming and would still like to support the event, please consider helping out on race day,” says Kurt Ott, one of the organizers. “We’re looking for experienced and skilled kayakers to escort swimmers and provide navigation and safety support. We also have a number of volunteer roles open both at the start and finish area.”
The swim is also looking for a Tampa area bus or limo company to help sponsor the swim and provide one to two shuttle buses to transport swimmers from the finish area back to the start area after the race.
The Tampa Bay Frogman Swim started in 2010 as an impromptu event to raise money for Lt. Dan Cnossen, a SEAL who lost both his legs in Afghanistan to an IED explosion in 2009. That first Tampa Bay Frogman Swim attracted 38 swimmers who braved frigid waters swimming from Gandy Beach in St. Petersburg to Picnic Island in Tampa. They raised $33,000 for Cnossen and his family.
The event has mushroomed since. Registration for the 2015 swim sold out in 33 minutes and organizers say the goal is to surpass the 2014 amount of $275,000 and hopefully reach $300,000 in support of the Navy SEAL Foundation.
Among other things, the foundation provides survivor support including mortgage relief, emergency relief, and home maintenance, post deployment retreats for returning personnel and their families to reconnect and transition assistance program partnership with The Honor Foundation.
For more information, or to donate, go to http://tampabayfrogman.com.
♦ The Pentagon announced no deaths last week in its ongoing contingency operations.
There have been 2,341 U.S. troop deaths in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the nation’s longest war and two deaths in Operation Inherent Resolve, the nation’s newest conflict.