As a child, David Veros watched his father put on a Marine Corps uniform every day. “He had such a sense of pride, and a sense of service,” David says. “He understood that our lives have a bigger purpose. I wanted to be just like him. That’s what led me to the military.” 

David joined the Air Force Security Forces in 2004 and deployed to Iraq within his first year. “My dad had always talked about what it was like being overseas. But until you see it for yourself, it’s impossible to understand. When I came back from that deployment, I longed to go back. I don’t know why, other than I felt like I left a piece of myself overseas.” Over the next five years he was deployed to Iraq five more times. On his 4th deployment, he was directly hit by an IED, and his injuries got progressively worse. He was medically discharged and later diagnosed with PTSD and TBI.

Finding Purpose and Belonging Through WWP

Leaving active duty before he was ready left a void. “I felt like life was over,” he says. “I missed my brothers and sisters, which is an answer that many veterans give. But it’s true. The connections you make—nothing can match that.”

In 2014, he joined the staff of Wounded Warrior Project (WWP). “I wanted to help my fellow brothers and sisters getting out of the service to find some kind of community and connection, because I missed it.” His passion for helping other veterans led to leadership opportunities within WWP, and while the sense of success and belonging he felt through his work fulfilled him in many ways, something was still missing. 

Continued Personal Growth and Leadership Development with TMF

After initially connecting with TMF through an athletic event, David discovered a path he hadn’t realized he needed to travel. He decided to shift his focus from his professional life to his personal life by applying to the 7th cohort of the Spartan Leadership Program (SLP). After being accepted, he began SLP with the hope of “stripping away the noise, finding clarity in my purpose, and reconnecting with who I am beyond the noise and constant motion of service.” 

He quickly realized the program would offer so much more. “SLP challenged me to sit with discomfort, to lead with intention instead of obligation, and to rediscover the parts of myself I had buried under responsibility,” he says.  

Now, as a program graduate, David has a new perspective on what true leadership is. “I grew up working on what I could produce for others, not myself. TMF has given me the ability to look inward. I’m feeling like a better version of myself now. I’ve learned I still do have the ability to make a difference.”