Military.com sat down for an exclusive interview with Grey Bull Rescue founder Bryan Stern to understand how a small, veteran-led team is carrying out high-risk rescues—from war zones and collapsed states to hostile regimes and disaster areas—when traditional systems can’t move fast enough.
When People Need Help
When Americans become trapped in some of the world’s most dangerous places—inside active war zones, under collapsing governments, or in countries openly hostile to the United States—there is no guarantee that help will arrive in time. Embassies can close overnight. Commercial flights disappear. Diplomatic options slow as risks escalate. Fortunately, Grey Bull Rescue will be there.
In those moments, families often discover a small, veteran-led organization operating far from the spotlight: Grey Bull Rescue.
Military.com recently sat down with Grey Bull Rescue founder and CEO Bryan Stern, a combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient, to discuss how his team has conducted hundreds of high-risk evacuation missions, bringing Americans home from places where conventional systems could not, or would not, move fast enough.
Founded during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Grey Bull Rescue has quietly become one of the most effective American-led evacuation organizations operating today. In just over four years, the team has carried out more than 800 missions, helping rescue nearly 8,500 people from some of the world’s most volatile regions, from Syria to Venezuela, often when time, bureaucracy, or political constraints made other options impossible.
For Grey Bull Rescue:
- They don’t charge the people they rescue.
- They don’t pay their operators.
- And they don’t wait for perfect conditions when lives are on the line.
When Americans become trapped in war zones, failed states, or behind enemy lines, there is no universally reliable way to bring them home. Embassies can close. Commercial travel disappears. Diplomatic services can be overwhelmed. Families are left with uncertainty and limited options.
Increasingly, a small, veteran-led team is emerging as one of the few consistent answers — one that doesn’t wait for permission before acting.
In December 2025, Grey Bull Rescue — a nonprofit founded and led by combat veteran Bryan Stern — executed what observers described as its most complex and high-risk mission yet: the extraction of Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado from Venezuela to Norway, where she could safely reunite with family.
Military.com recently sat down with Stern to discuss what Grey Bull Rescue does, why it exists, what it needs, and the big, real-world difference it is making in people’s lives.
A Mission Born Out of Chaos
Grey Bull Rescue was not planned. Stern didn’t sit down after transitioning from the Army with a blueprint for a rescue organization. The idea was born from a real-world need.
In 2021, as the U.S. military prepared to withdraw from Afghanistan and the Taliban advanced, Stern and his team took action when established systems were failing.
“We landed the first plane under Taliban rule and took off the first plane under Taliban rule,” Stern told Military.com. “Getting a plane in isn’t the hard part. Getting Americans out weeks after the military leaves — that’s hard.”
Rescue and evacuation operations followed, dozens in Afghanistan, later in Ukraine, Gaza, and other areas where traditional evacuation options were limited, delayed, or nonexistent.
Who Grey Bull Rescue Helps and How They Do It
Grey Bull Rescue specializes in high-risk humanitarian rescue operations often outside the scope of government action or traditional humanitarian organizations. To date, the group has conducted more than 800 missions and helped bring nearly 8,500 people to safety from 43 different countries — including U.S. citizens and others in danger.
The missions have included:
- Evacuations during war and conflict
- Extractions of Americans detained or trapped abroad
- Natural-disaster evacuations
- Crisis rescues where other systems failed
Each mission is unique: fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, boats, or ground convoys may be used depending on the environment and threat.
“We’ve used planes, jet skis, helicopters, luggage carts — whatever works,” Stern explained. “The goal is simple: bring people home alive.”
“We exist because there is a gap in will, not a gap in capability, to save American lives.” — Bryan Stern
The Maria Corina Machado Extraction: Operation Golden Dynamite
Of all Grey Bull’s operations, one has drawn widespread attention: the extraction of Maria Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who had been in hiding for nearly a year.
With her movement under threat from the Venezuelan regime and other hostile forces, conventional evacuation routes were compromised. Grey Bull Rescue developed and executed a discreet maritime exfiltration under intense threat and surveillance.
The mission, dubbed Operation Golden Dynamite, involved heavy planning under compressed timelines and elevated operational risk. Stern and his team moved Machado by sea from Venezuela to a rendezvous point in the Caribbean Sea, where they safely transferred her to their vessel. From there, she continued on to Norway, where she met her family and attended events marking her Nobel recognition.
María Corina Machado herself later shared a brief message:
“I am alive. I am safe and very grateful to Grey Bull.”
While this high-profile mission goes beyond the typical Grey Bull Rescue client and was financed through donors rather than government funds, it illustrates the team’s capacity and willingness to execute when every other pathway is blocked or too dangerous.
“Hi, María. My name is Bryan. Nice to meet you. I got you.” — Voice captured from Operation Golden Dynamite video, illustrating the moment Machado was brought aboard in the Caribbean.
Why Speed and Flexibility Matter
Governments operate within legal, political, and diplomatic constraints that can make rapid responses difficult — especially when time is measured in minutes or hours. Grey Bull Rescue, by contrast, is not bound by traditional chains of command.
“There’s no chain of command,” Stern told Military.com. “My chain of command is the families of the people I’m trying to save — and God.”
That freedom allows the team to plan rapidly and act with urgency — mobilizing missions in days rather than weeks.
“Speed saves lives,” he said. “That’s not a slogan — it’s operational reality.”
Veterans at the Core of the Mission
Grey Bull Rescue is overwhelmingly veteran-led, not as a branding choice, but because veterans bring essential skills to high-risk environments: mission discipline, rapid decision-making with limited information, and an ability to operate under stress.
“For us, it’s continued service,” Stern said. “We’re patriots. This is just continued service, without the bureaucracy.”
Many team members come with backgrounds in special operations, intelligence, aviation, and crisis response. That depth of experience allows Grey Bull to navigate hostile territory and complex threats where others cannot.
The Real Human Impact
Grey Bull Rescue is not just about numbers; it’s about people — families torn apart by war, natural disaster, or persecution.
These aren’t faceless evacuations. They are life-changing rescues. “They’re people with kids, parents, spouses,” Stern said. “These aren’t abstractions.”
What Grey Bull Rescue Needs to Keep Operating
Despite its remarkable success, Grey Bull operates under real operational constraints — not due to lack of skill or will, but because of resources.
Grey Bull doesn’t charge those it rescues. Its operators volunteer their time. Every mission requires aircraft, logistics, fuel, and other costs that add up quickly in crisis zones.
“We’re very, very good at what we do,” Stern said. “But helicopters don’t fly themselves.”
This reality doesn’t slow the team’s readiness to act, but it does limit how many missions they can undertake simultaneously or how quickly they can scale to meet growing demand worldwide.
Why This Matters More Now
The world today is increasingly volatile. Conflicts erupt unexpectedly, governments collapse under pressure, and diplomatic evacuations are often too slow or too constrained to reach people in imminent danger.
At the same time, more Americans live, work, and travel abroad in places where instability is rising, yet the mechanisms for bringing them to safety can lag when minutes matter.
Grey Bull Rescue exists in that gap — where mission urgency meets operational capability at the speed of need.
A Different Model for Modern Rescue
Grey Bull Rescue does not replace government action. It does not supplant traditional diplomatic services. Instead, it operates where conventional systems cannot by providing unconventional solutions when lives are in immediate danger.
It represents a different type of service. One that is rooted in veteran experience, decisive action, and a commitment to bring people home alive.
“We love what we do,” Stern said. “And we’re good at it.”
Learn More
For those looking to support Grey Bull Rescue’s work, involvement doesn’t require a uniform or a background in crisis response. Individuals and organizations can help by increasing awareness of the mission, connecting families in need with the team, or supporting the operational capacity (through donations) that makes these rescues possible.
Grey Bull Rescue relies on a network of veterans, aviation professionals, logistics experts, corporate partners, and private citizens who understand that speed and flexibility save lives. Readers interested in learning more about the organization or how to support its mission can find additional information at https://greybullrescue.org.
